General News - Better Side Quests

“But ranty man on the internet,” I hear you cry, “The Witcher 3 also contains a quest where you must guide a stupid barnyard animal back to its owner, invalidating everything you’ve ever said!” Damn you, hypothetical reader, you’ve caught me out. Or maybe I picked this specific side quest just so I can compare the two. Ah-ha!

Yes, Geralt has to find a goat and bring it back to an ugly old man. It’s not the game’s greatest moment. It is, however, a whole bunch of things that the quest in Inquisition is not. Brief, for example. Funny, too, as Geralt coaxes a wee creature with a little bell. It bleats merrily, as it follows the grim, angry monster slayer. And the best part: it runs off and smack bang into an angry bear. “Run, you piece of shit,” Geralt growls. The goat bleats indignantly. Geralt draws his sword.

Humour, surprise, a bit of tension and a fight – not bad for a quest to rescue a goat. My reward wasn’t just armour or gold or experience points, it was a moment of levity in a game that frequently made me question my choices and even gave me a lump in my throat a few times. In Dragon Age: Inquisition, sidequests are all about acquisition. New agents. A new sword. More power. They keep the gears turning, but not much else.

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joxer said:

I won't read the whole thing but yes. Sidequests in TW3 thumb up, filler garbage from DA:I thumb down.

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azarhal said:

I think that is one of TW3 greatest achievement, make people believe that their main quests were side quests.

For example, the quest the author talks about (A Princess in distress) is not a side quest. You have to complete it to advance the main quest Family Matters.

All the good stuff in TW3 was directly linked to the main storyline characters, none were optional, not doing them simply had a different effect on the late game/ending than if you did. The side quests where all the MMO-ish stuff (bandit camp, free prisoners, not-main quest monster contracts, find treasures, etc).

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henriquejr said:

A nice, well-written article. If some game developers/game designers could read it, then they possibly could learn something. But I think they won't read it. Or learn anything.

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BoboTheMighty said:

No…are you even talking about the same game?
A ton of side quests have nothing to do with main story or characters and are given as much attention, (despite being less in length) than those connected to it.
And the ones that are connected to it, branch out to tell their own, separate story which makes entire world, main and side quest narrative far better connected and organic than in any other open world or video game to date.
Bandit camps or treasure hunts are typical world activities, not side quests.

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azarhal said:

Seems to me that you are the one who didn't pay attention. Just like the guy in the article who think A Princess in Distress is a side quest when it is impossible to continue Family Matters (a main quest critical path) unless you complete it. The quest is even in the story mission category in the log.

Any quest that affect the main quest narrative and the main storyline ending is a main quest, even if the game label it "side quest" because it is optional (and in truth they aren't optional, not doing them is a resolution in itself). Getting the Ciri's Empress ending is a very good example of that, you need to do the entire Roche/Dijkstra quest chains (considered side quests by the game) through the whole game in a certain way to get it.

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