Quest (gaming)
Encyclopedia
A quest in role-playing video game
s — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and their predecessors, MUD
s — is a task that a player-controlled character
or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Rewards may include an increase in the character's experience
in order to learn new skills and abilities, loot
or treasure, in-game currency such as gold coins, access to new locations or areas, or any combination of the above.
Quests are typically grouped in to one of four categories: kill quests, gather quests, delivery quests and escort quests. Quests can be linked together to form quest series or chains. In this manner, quests are used to provide the player with further background to the setting their characters are in. This mechanism is also used to advance any story or plot the game might have.
Many types of quests are referred to as "sidequests". These are specifically tasks which deviate from the main plot, and are often not required to complete the game. Examples include minigame
s and running errands.
or collecting a list of specific items. Some quests may take only a few minutes or hours to complete, while others may take several days or weeks. Often, the larger the reward, the longer the quest takes to finish, and it is common for a quest to require characters to have met a certain set of pre-conditions before they are allowed to begin.
Questing is a tool used in role-playing games to avoid putting players in a position where they only perform a repetitive action such as killing creatures. Players may be performing this activity in order to gain new skills and progress to new areas, or in-game money in order to buy new items such as armour and equipment. This process, commonly known as "grinding
", can slow down a character's progression in the game and ultimately limit the player's enjoyment. Having a number of quests for characters to tackle is seen as a way to provide variety and to counter the need to grind in these types of games.
A side-quest is an optional section of a video game, and is commonly found in role-playing video game
. It is a smaller mission within a larger storyline, and can be used as a means to provide non-linear structures to an otherwise linear plot. As a general rule, the completion of side-quests are not essential for the game to be finished, but can bring various benefits to the player character
s.
quest or fetch-carry quest. This involves the character being sent to deliver an item from one location to another. Sometimes the character may need to collect the item first instead of being handed the item to deliver when starting the quest. These quests are made challenging by asking the character to journey through unfamiliar or dangerous terrain, sometimes while facing a time limit.
all while exploring an area alongside that Non-player character
(NPC). A typical escort quest would involve protecting a character as he or she moves through a monster-infested area. A majority of the time the quest will demand of the player to slay multiple monsters to ensure the safety of the NPC. Escort quests can be beneficial, in forcing the player's focus to a particular area in order to play out a scene or reveal a section of the plot. They can also be used to funnel a character from one location to another, leading the player along a route or path. However, problems with this type of quest can occur if the artificial intelligence
controlling the NPC causes them to behave in unexpected or unmanageable ways.
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
s — including massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) and their predecessors, MUD
MUD
A MUD , pronounced , is a multiplayer real-time virtual world, with the term usually referring to text-based instances of these. MUDs combine elements of role-playing games, hack and slash, player versus player, interactive fiction, and online chat...
s — is a task that a player-controlled character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
or group of characters may complete in order to gain a reward. Rewards may include an increase in the character's experience
Experience point
An experience point is a unit of measurement used in many role-playing games and role-playing video games to quantify a player character's progression through the game...
in order to learn new skills and abilities, loot
Looting (gaming)
Looting in a gaming context, specifically in massively multiplayer online games and MUDs, is the process by which a player character obtains items such as in-game currency, spells, equipment, or weapons, often from the corpse of a creature or possibly the corpse of another player in a PVP situation...
or treasure, in-game currency such as gold coins, access to new locations or areas, or any combination of the above.
Quests are typically grouped in to one of four categories: kill quests, gather quests, delivery quests and escort quests. Quests can be linked together to form quest series or chains. In this manner, quests are used to provide the player with further background to the setting their characters are in. This mechanism is also used to advance any story or plot the game might have.
Many types of quests are referred to as "sidequests". These are specifically tasks which deviate from the main plot, and are often not required to complete the game. Examples include minigame
Minigame
A minigame is a short video game often contained within another video game. A minigame is always smaller or more simplistic than the game in which it is contained. Minigames are sometimes also offered separately for free to promote the main game...
s and running errands.
Overview
In the most general sense, a quest is a "hunt for a specific outcome", in contrast to simply winning a game. Typical quests involve killing a set number of creaturesMob (computer gaming)
A mob, mobile or monster is a computer-controlled non-player character in a computer game such as an MMORPG or MUD. Depending on context, all such characters in a game may be considered "mobs", or usage may be limited to hostile NPCs and/or NPCs vulnerable to attack.-Purpose of mobs:Defeating...
or collecting a list of specific items. Some quests may take only a few minutes or hours to complete, while others may take several days or weeks. Often, the larger the reward, the longer the quest takes to finish, and it is common for a quest to require characters to have met a certain set of pre-conditions before they are allowed to begin.
Questing is a tool used in role-playing games to avoid putting players in a position where they only perform a repetitive action such as killing creatures. Players may be performing this activity in order to gain new skills and progress to new areas, or in-game money in order to buy new items such as armour and equipment. This process, commonly known as "grinding
Grind (gaming)
Grinding is a term used in video gaming to describe the process of engaging in repetitive and/or boring tasks not pertaining to the story line of the game...
", can slow down a character's progression in the game and ultimately limit the player's enjoyment. Having a number of quests for characters to tackle is seen as a way to provide variety and to counter the need to grind in these types of games.
A side-quest is an optional section of a video game, and is commonly found in role-playing video game
Role-playing video game
Role-playing video games are a video game genre with origins in pen-and-paper role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons, using much of the same terminology, settings and game mechanics. The player in RPGs controls one character, or several adventuring party members, fulfilling one or many quests...
. It is a smaller mission within a larger storyline, and can be used as a means to provide non-linear structures to an otherwise linear plot. As a general rule, the completion of side-quests are not essential for the game to be finished, but can bring various benefits to the player character
Player character
A player character or playable character is a character in a video game or role playing game who is controlled or controllable by a player, and is typically a protagonist of the story told in the course of the game. A player character is a persona of the player who controls it. Player characters...
s.
Kill quests
A kill quest sends the character out to kill either a specific number of named creatures, or a specific non-player character or NPC. These types of quests often require the character to bring back proof of their work, such as animal fangs for a creature kill quest, or the head of an NPC. There are also quests to kill other players.Combo quests
The combo quest requires a player to attack certain enemies or structures with a combination of attacks until the required number of combos has reached. Enemies in these quests are usually either immortal or infinite in number till the player is successful in which the enemies would be killed or stop appearing.Delivery quests
Another type of quest is the delivery quest, also known as a FedExFedEx
FedEx Corporation , originally known as FDX Corporation, is a logistics services company, based in the United States with headquarters in Memphis, Tennessee...
quest or fetch-carry quest. This involves the character being sent to deliver an item from one location to another. Sometimes the character may need to collect the item first instead of being handed the item to deliver when starting the quest. These quests are made challenging by asking the character to journey through unfamiliar or dangerous terrain, sometimes while facing a time limit.
Gather quests
Gather quests, also known as collection quests, require a character to collect a number of items. These can either be gathered from a location or environment, or require the character to kill creatures in order to collect the required items. The quest may also require the character to collect a number of different items, for example to assemble a device.Escort quests
The Escort quest is a combination of slaying monsters to maintain the well-being of a non-player characterNon-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
all while exploring an area alongside that Non-player character
Non-player character
A non-player character , sometimes known as a non-person character or non-playable character, in a game is any fictional character not controlled by a player. In electronic games, this usually means a character controlled by the computer through artificial intelligence...
(NPC). A typical escort quest would involve protecting a character as he or she moves through a monster-infested area. A majority of the time the quest will demand of the player to slay multiple monsters to ensure the safety of the NPC. Escort quests can be beneficial, in forcing the player's focus to a particular area in order to play out a scene or reveal a section of the plot. They can also be used to funnel a character from one location to another, leading the player along a route or path. However, problems with this type of quest can occur if the artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence
Artificial intelligence is the intelligence of machines and the branch of computer science that aims to create it. AI textbooks define the field as "the study and design of intelligent agents" where an intelligent agent is a system that perceives its environment and takes actions that maximize its...
controlling the NPC causes them to behave in unexpected or unmanageable ways.