Best exploration oriented quest you have experienced?

[Ludo Lense]

Curios about what people think about this since I think designing quests with exploration in mind needs to straddle a line between engaging or frustrating. If you make it to obvious then it is not really exploration (waypoint markers are antithetical to the concept of exploration) while if too obfuscating you risk losing the player.

For me, and I do realize it is subjective, it was "The Stranger" Gothic 1 Quest. For those who don't know (there aren't really any spoilers), you must find a series of books that are scattered across the map by solving riddles (they spawn in turn so finding book 1 spawns book 2 and so on). They pay off is kind of meh but journey is the most fun I've had exploring the map.

 

[Cthulhu_is_love]

the exciting search for Xardas

Spoiler

aka Gothic 3

 

[Ivan]

 

[Crooked Bee]

Finding Caius Cosades.

 

[Snorkack]

Morrowind - Finding out how to cure vampirism.

 

[Bubbles]

finding Milk

 

[Doktor Best]

Fallout New Vegas - Vault 11
Haunted Mansion - Vampire Bloodlines
Ring the 2 Bells - Dark Souls
The Stranger Quest - Gothic
NOTR prequest - Gothic 2
Baldurs Gate 2 - Windspear Hills
Baldurs Gate - Durlags Tower

There are so many other good examples but i am too lazy right now.

 

[Bubbles]

Larpers need an own subforum. Call it Auschwitz. Come on right in and take your shoes off!

http://www.rpgcodex.net/forums/index.php?forums/the-gazebo.58/

 

[Backstabber]

All of the quests that involve exploring Jharkendar in Gothic 2 Gold. Looting the ruins of an ancient civilization never gets old.

 

[DraQ]

X18 was better.

Larpers need an own subforum. Call it Auschwitz. Come on right in and take your shoes off!

Joined:
Mar 24, 2015

 

[Ludo Lense]

Fallout New Vegas - Vault 11
Haunted Mansion - Vampire Bloodlines
Ring the 2 Bells - Dark Souls
The Stranger Quest - Gothic
NOTR prequest - Gothic 2
Baldurs Gate 2 - Windspear Hills
Baldurs Gate - Durlags Tower

There are so many other good examples but i am too lazy right now.

Those are some dubious choices there. I don't think non-linear dungeons fit in exploration. I was more thinking quests that involve you travelling about the overworld. The Ocean Hotel from Bloodlines for example is almost fully linear though well hidden and still an excellently scripted quest.

 

[Carrion]

Find the Water Chip.

 

[Zed]

Finding Caius Cosades.

Morrowind - Finding out how to cure vampirism.

^ these and many more.
Morrowind was pretty great at making you find stuff with sometimes pretty vague descriptions.

 

[Jaesun]

Follow the Quest Marker

 

[Crooked Bee]

finding Milk

http://www.gamesofhonor.com/milk-quest ?

(Note the genre.)

 

[Bubbles]

http://www.gamesofhonor.com/milk-quest ?

(Note the genre.)

Did you have this in your registry of "games with bees in them"?

Ten years ago everybody would have known what I meant

http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Morrowind:The_Mad_Lord_of_Milk

 

[AMG]

Collecting 100 Nirnroots in Oblivion.

 

[granit]

The mage guild quests in Morrowind are great exploration quests.

 

[Zed]

finding Milk

http://www.gamesofhonor.com/milk-quest ?

(Note the genre.)

very linear,

 

[dragonul09]

The mage guild quests in Morrowind are great exploration quests.

Yhea,sending me to find some flowers in the middle of fuck knows who surely spells great exploration.

 

[rohand]

Finding Caius Cosades.

Morrowind - Finding out how to cure vampirism.

^ these and many more.
Morrowind was pretty great at making you find stuff with sometimes pretty vague descriptions.

Indeed.

Mine was looking at the first dwemer ruin I'd ever seen and going "WTF is that telescope thing?" in the distance.

 

[jaybirdy]

Following in Lord British's footsteps in the Underworld on Ultima 5. I remember literally gasping when I found his ship.

 

[octavius]

Finding the pirate treasure in Ultima 6.

 

[Great Deceiver]

Finding the raft

 

[Jaesun]

Equipping the ring