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On the quest releases' problem
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Why do we even need more quests?
This may seem redundant in this forum, so I'll be brief. The thing with quests is that they're a unique kind of content in that they can only be played once by any one account. Ever. Why aren't we asking for a new minigame/D&D/boss/dungeon/skill training method/etc. every month?
Because it's unneeded. A minigame has no restrictions: once released it can be played infinitely and remain fun to play. A quest can only be completed once. The entire point of a D&D is that you play it when it crosses your path and you want a break; a new skill training method/area is designed to be used over and over again (generally speaking). A quest can only be completed once.
That is not to say that the quest experience lasts as long as the quest does. People talk about it afterwards; they contemplate, speculate, congregate. Heck, even some random quest that hasn't been in the spotlight...well, ever, could get some attention. Look at A Soul's Bane, which was for a while the most discussed quest a few weeks ago (hail Loarnab!). But obviously, a constant influx of new quests is required. Unlike a minigame, which you can play repeatedly (and, if you want to gain its rewards before Zamorak's world freezes over, you should), a quest provides limited experience. And that's why new ones are needed frequently. (also storyline progression and stuff but let's ignore that for now
)
If I recall correctly, one of the announcements for God Emissaries (released May 2013) called them a replacement for a quest because they provided a lore book. Lolwat? Lore books are nice and well, but they don't replace quests. They could, perhaps, if quests were solely about lore, but they aren't. Lore isn't even required in quests (look at Underground Pass or The Chosen Commander: barely any new lore, absolutely brilliant quests nonetheless). They are about adventure, storyline, characters, thinking, humour, etc. Bizarre Boron Fusswell, scryer extraordinaire. OSRS: POH ideas & RS3 minigames & achievement ideas !
Perhaps you're half right; perhaps we can't win. But we can fight.
— Zanik
30-Jun-2014 07:17:34
While yes, lore is often an aspect of quests, it isn't necessarily, and a lore book certainly cannot replace a quest.
One cannot expect the questing community to be appeased by getting some new lore. Sure, we'll happily devour it, but we are waiting for quests - and those are a heck of a lot more than just lore.
Some may bring up the fact that we used to get 20+ quests a year as an argument to do so once more. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with that - having 25 quests released in 2015 would be amazing. But can we really ask for that to be done solely on the grounds that it has been in the past? Yes and no.
The fact that we used to get X and Y is not a particularly strong argument that X and Y should be done again. Not even in this case, where the change was for the worse and wasn't deliberately planned out ("Okay guys let's gradually release less quests per year because we can huehuehue!" - now that'd be unimaginably evil!
). However, the fact that we used to get many more quests per year than we do now, while not necessarily an indication that it MUST be done again, it is without doubt evidence that it CAN be done. Rather, it could - so why can't it now?
We would be treated to 2ish quests a month back in the day. And they were good. One might think that releasing so many quests would result in a lot of crappy half-developed work but it doesn't. As I said before, 2005 had 29 quests and they were all, without exception, somewhere between good and amazing (that's my opinion, but I doubt someone else could dislike more than three or four of those quests). Jagex have proven that they're able give us a large number of quests AND maintain a high overall quality. Why, by Zamorak's flaming nostrils, then aren't they keeping that up?! Well... Bizarre Boron Fusswell, scryer extraordinaire. OSRS: POH ideas & RS3 minigames & achievement ideas !
One cannot expect the questing community to be appeased by getting some new lore. Sure, we'll happily devour it, but we are waiting for quests - and those are a heck of a lot more than just lore.
The past isn't the present
Some may bring up the fact that we used to get 20+ quests a year as an argument to do so once more. Now, don't get me wrong, I don't disagree with that - having 25 quests released in 2015 would be amazing. But can we really ask for that to be done solely on the grounds that it has been in the past? Yes and no.
The fact that we used to get X and Y is not a particularly strong argument that X and Y should be done again. Not even in this case, where the change was for the worse and wasn't deliberately planned out ("Okay guys let's gradually release less quests per year because we can huehuehue!" - now that'd be unimaginably evil!
). However, the fact that we used to get many more quests per year than we do now, while not necessarily an indication that it MUST be done again, it is without doubt evidence that it CAN be done. Rather, it could - so why can't it now?
We would be treated to 2ish quests a month back in the day. And they were good. One might think that releasing so many quests would result in a lot of crappy half-developed work but it doesn't. As I said before, 2005 had 29 quests and they were all, without exception, somewhere between good and amazing (that's my opinion, but I doubt someone else could dislike more than three or four of those quests). Jagex have proven that they're able give us a large number of quests AND maintain a high overall quality. Why, by Zamorak's flaming nostrils, then aren't they keeping that up?! Well... Bizarre Boron Fusswell, scryer extraordinaire. OSRS: POH ideas & RS3 minigames & achievement ideas !
Perhaps you're half right; perhaps we can't win. But we can fight.
— Zanik
30-Jun-2014 07:17:50
The root of the problem
One can think of various reasons why we are getting less quests (note that this is all speculation, albeit well-reasoned).
First of all, quests take up a lot of resources. Especially now, where quests often have us visit new places that have to be unique. Rite of Passage is extremely expensive according to Mod Jack, and I imagine Fate of the Gods will also have been since Freneskae had an all new non-recycled environment. According to Mod Osborne, five (I believe, may be wrong, but definitely five-ish) quests are usually in development at any given time and quests can take quite a while to make. (up to a year - but that's very rare and only for the WGS's out there really)
Additionally, other large projects also require a large budget, which may well inhibit quest release. Think RuneScape 3 or Prifddinas - these had/have a very large team of developers, designers, Quality Assurance testers, artists, etc. working on them, who would then be unable to work on quests.
Finally, however, some people seem to believe that quest quality is inversely proportional to quest quantity. As we have seen with 2005, 2006, 2007... this is not true. If more quests are released in a year, that doesn't mean they would be worse than they could have been. It's entirely possible for a year to have 30 brilliant quests, or just 3 very bad ones (of course the opposite is also possible). This is undeniable, just look at those other years. In this game, there is evidently no correlation between the amount of quests released and their quality (note that the quests would still have to receive adequate development time of course
).
Bizarre Boron Fusswell, scryer extraordinaire.
OSRS: POH ideas
&
RS3 minigames
&
achievement ideas
!
Perhaps you're half right; perhaps we can't win. But we can fight.
— Zanik
30-Jun-2014 07:17:59 - Last edited on 30-Jun-2014 07:20:44 by Lord Drakan
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