So the new quest designer is from another MMORPG

I don't want to play the party pooper again but I really hope that Damien will not create more MMO-like quests but instead looks at great single-player games for interesting stories.

Because, when I read through the quest descriptions of Tabula Rasa, the game Damien worked on, I read about quests like:

"Deliver Saviours' dogtags."
"Deliver Nylla's armband."
"Collect the Logos Information for "Power""
"Acquire 8 Boargar Cell Samples"
"Speak to Ranger Anjuhi.
Speak to Ranger Anjuhi, the leader of the Stone Anvil Rangers.
Kill the Xanx!"
"Destroy egg clusters
Fithik egg clusters destroyed 0/6"
"Take test results to Eleanor."

I mean do we really need more MMO quests?
Maybe I am wrong and Damien will create really cool quests but I hope that those are quests with twists, surprises and really cool stories like they are being told in The Witcher 3. What we really don't need are more MMO-type quests in a story-driven RPG with a single-player narrative...

Sorry, for being negative again...

 

Thought for sure he mentioned he was with Black Isle Studios and worked on Icewind Dale II.

 

...you do anyway.
Be happy we have a new quest designer. Maybe give him a chance to wortk on something and complain after you see the first results?

We need more quests. That's for sure. And there is nothing bad about a couple of classic MMO quests.
As long as the amount is limited.

 

I mean no disrespect, but it's statements like this that make me thankful that people who say "look at" other games for story ideas are not game developers themselves, for the most part. And if someone reading this IS a game developer and "looks at" other games for story ideas, go away. We don't need you. We don't want you. You are basically nothing more than a monkey that pushes buttons it sees pushed, or a parrot that regurgitates what it hears. Sorry for the harshness.

What we do need is innovation, or at least some original thought. I have no problem getting "Saviors' dogtags" if the quest to get the dogtags has me go through some unique mechanics and plot to get to it. Because in the end, all quests are fetch quests.

I agree that killing the ubiquitous "10 rats" because some NPC is too lazy to do it themselves is not something we want in our games. But gosh darn if I wouldn't be interested in coming across an NPC on the floor with his two arms torn off laying beside him in a bloody pool while he gasps his last breaths and says, "I was charged by my liege to obtain an obsidian necklace. Unfortunately, it seems to be guarded by a cadre of trolls who were not to pleased to see me flail my arms in an effort to distract them." Something like that, well, maybe I'll go try and kill me some trolls.

It obviously becomes difficult to intertwine single player with mulit-player. And I am surprised no one sees this and keeps pushing the "single player narrative". As if this type of person has NO idea how difficult it is to make this work in BOTH single and multi-player modes. As if creating some cool stuff in the Witcher 3 (a single-player game) can be easily ported over into a multi-player game. Here is a hint: NO, it cannot. You don't think that the developer of Witcher 3 hasn't already thought what a cool multi-player world they have on their hands? You don't think they already figured out that they cannot properly port over their mechanics easily from a single-player game into a multi-player game?

IMHO, Portalarium just didn't realize how hard this would be. And make no mistake, it ain't easy. And I am no developer, yet I understand this.

Please don't suggest people look to other games for ideas about questing so much. I get that some game mechanics are great and could be "ported" over. But when it comes to story and delivering quests, lets try to cheer on innovation and original ideas.

 

Thank you. This is indeed an important aspect. SotA is advertised as a story-driven game with a single-player narrative and I absolutely agree that it is difficult if not impossible to mix single-player and multiplayer. One aspect will always suffer and in regards to SotA this is clearly the single-player part. I don't know why no one thought about this at the beginning but it should have been clear. Yet when advertised as a "story-driven game with a single-player narrative" this is what people expect. Then they don't expect MMO-type quests. They expect quests like they are done in single-player RPGs. A great narrative, an exciting story, choices with consequences, twists, surprises, multi-layered quests... And not bring me 8 rings or kill 20 rats. Will we get this?

 

in my world of gaming these have always been called tasks not quests and quests is what we want. not arguing with your point it's just this has confused me from day 1. Now I understand though that they seem to be the same thing.... except really not, a quest has a story and multiple parts where as a task you kill then ur done.

I'll stop my rambling now
edit: meeeh maybe I didn't.

[removing personal response - Berek]
edit2: guess I did

 

Damien Foletto, PMI-ACP

Software and game development industry veteran with an emphasis in game design and project management. Highly creative background with a proven history of developing great content and products for companies such as Microsoft, Activision, EA, and more.

Titles shipped:

Icewind Dale 2
The Fall: The Last Days of Gaia
Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth
X-Men Legends 2: The Rise of Apocalypse
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance
Tabula Rasa
DC Universe Online
DCUO: DLC1 - Fight for the Light
DCUO: DLC2 - Lightning Strikes!
DCUO: DLC3 - The Battle for Earth
DCUO: DLC4 - The Last Laugh
DCUO: DLC5 - Hand of Fate
Xbox Fitness
Project Spark

Other Titles worked on:
Baldurs Gate 3
Fallout 3


https://www.shroudoftheavatar.com/?page_id=26862

Damien “Puuk” Foletto has journeyed through game design and development for the better part of 18+ years. He got his start at Interplay’s Black Isle Studios working as a game designer on Icewind Dale 2, burning the midnight oil (crunch time) making back stories for the myriad of items in the game, as well as fleshing out and designing the epic end game of the Severed Hand. After Black Isle’s closure (sob), Damien infiltrated many other popular game companies, working on such titles as Lord of the Rings: The Battle for Middle Earth, X-men Legends 2: The Rise of Apocalypse, Marvel Ultimate Alliance, Tabula Rasa, DC Universe Online, and several more, lesser known titles from overseas (The Fall: The Last Days of Gaia, for example).

When not designing epic boss fights, quests and back stories, Damien enjoys spending time with his wife and daughter, a wiener dog and puguahua (not a spelling error), reading, working out, playing games (all types), and participating in whatever his wife plans for his off time, whether he likes it or not.

Role: Senior Quest Writer/Designer

 

I am really glad that we finally get another one working on the quests (maybe a little late but better late than never) but I still hope that we will get quests that are more than the typical MMO-type quests.

 

An impressive resume to be sure, but I will wait to see the first few quests he designs before commenting on their quality That being said, I do hope for some really EPIC quests (perhaps involving some ancient, highly intelligent dragons ) in addition to the more mundane quests

 

Sorry but.... are you serious?

We need A LOT more quests, both for single-player and MMO.
We totally lack in quests for just everything.

 

As I am still waiting for the "single-player narrative" as well as the choices with consequences - yes

 

Yeah, but your question was just... i dunno... wrong?
I mean... you asked "do we really need MORE MMO quests?"

The "more" word kinda bothers me there, i mean.... what quests do we have? like.... almost zero after the noob Areas/Main-Story...
So i would be happy with just anything at that point Sure some more interesting quests wouldn't hurt. But i also wouldn't mind some typical MMO-type quests. Just anything to do...

 

Quests are what keeps the game interesting and going. If you dont have some sort of agenda then all you are doing is grinding for mats and killing mobs. After a while that tends to get boring. I love grinding, killing and crafting like everyone does....oh and dont forget skill gaining lol. But there are times when you just want to go out and do something completely different. Wow just had a Monty Python moment there. But yeah we do need more quests.
WHen i first started i spent hours doing mail deliveries for the town cryer....one got me some gold and two go me out exploring the lands and learning where everything was. Still dont know where everything is but its good for new or low levels to do...or even experienced players so they can search for places. So YES we do need more quests even if they arent all story lined ones. Just to break up the monotany of the grinds.

 

It's been four years of development and perhaps many of us are getting a bit antsy in the "where's the Ep1 release?" department. Logically, Ep1 can't be released with so few quests.

So I say let's give Damien a hearty SoTA welcome and give him a chance to shine

As an aside to Damien - we need quests with some DRAMA! Something to tug at our heartstrings and keep us emotionally invested. We need some gut punches that make us sit back and say, "Woah." My 2-cents, from an emotional woman's perspective

 

I just hope the systems themselves can support someone awesome enough to have worked on Icewind Dale. I'm very concerned with what I perceive as the limits of the dialog, quest, and scripting systems.

Also concerned that even good quests fall flat due to the presentation, camera placement, dialog UI.

 

But haven't we played those "MMO" quests over and over again in so many other games? Aren't they the same in nearly every game? Take a look at the quests in the example from Tabula Rasa in my first post. I can't even count how many times I have played such quests. How many times I delivered some notes, letters or packages, how many times I have killed 20 wolves or collected 20 gems...
I want to experience great, deep and emotional stories full of twists...

 

I hope they keep the dialog system... I love that about the game. Not sure about its limitations but for me it is a selling point. Oh and welcome to SotA Damien.

 

I'm talking about the specifics of it, the limitations that the story guys like Lum are dealing with. Quite a few bugs I've submitted come back as "That's a limitation of the system."

I'm not talking about specifically removing the ability to type. It's actually a pretty ambitious thing to try to do.

 

True, but like i said, i would be happy with just anything or a mix of everything.

 

I'll do my best! One of the big reasons I wanted this position at Portalarium is because it hearkened back to the good ol' days at Black Isle.