On open gameplay and organic quest design.

[Lakshmana]

[COLOR="yellow"] Recently, the show Extra Credits had some episodes on quest design in MMOs. Specifically, how modern quests are centered around just pushing you forward with the 3-5 types of quests that have become standard, and how these games are capable of giving the player a much more organic and engaging experience.
Please give them a look:
Part 1
Part 2

I take the music at the end of the first movie as a subtle reference

-Lak

[Gramul]

the idea of these quests would be fun when i am bored and wanna run around just doing random stuff, but other then that it is not that interesting i don't feel like having to convince a npc to give me a quest or to happen upon a item i need to start it, i am not all that into lore, but i guess it wouldn't be much of a problem since we have alot of quests already in game so i wouldn't need to even look for these quests to lvl. so yea not a bad idea (i mean as long as i keep my simple do what i ask quests)

Oh yeah, I'm not asking to get rid of the old quests. They're fine for leveling when you don't want to just grind without cause. I'm just looking for non mechanical and mentally engrossing story centric content as an aside. Things to keep the "explorer gamer" like myself, invested.

[odintius]

Have to agree after watching both videos very true hopefully SE will take this in consideration thanks for the post very informative. Allot of the sugguestion in that video to me is so very true I have played Secret World also and I have the same opinion I still like ffxiv but allot could be expanded on it fine to have the learning quest their but add also all the other types like what was suggested in the video would go along way also imo.

[Calevr]

Hey Gramul thank you for this! I hope they see this idea is good. It would also be great to have more player interaction on the field too!

[FJerome]

i know they did this in the south shroud with redbelly hive. if the FATE "retaking the hive" succeeded, a vendor would be added and the fort would be occupied by wood wailers. later, if another fate where poachers would attack the hive failed, they would retake control of it, and the wood wailers and merchant would run away.

Wait, seriously? I think I've seen that FATE failed all of once so I never noticed but that's pretty freaking cool.

[Skies]

Oh yeah, I'm not asking to get rid of the old quests. They're fine for leveling when you don't want to just grind without cause. I'm just looking for non mechanical and mentally engrossing story centric content as an aside. Things to keep the "explorer gamer" like myself, invested.

Hrrgn, I see a deep inherent problem to those types of quests coupled with one of the design paradigms of XIV and I simply do not have a proper way to handle it myself.
Yoshida is trying to avoid having the players needing to search outside the game in order to complete things within it. A thing XI suffered a lot in with the way their quests were very esoteric and without outside aid from the internet almost impossible. They're trying to avoid that sort of thing.

How would one handle making a quest in those molds shown in EC while avoiding it become... Victim to the avaiability of information out there right now? Quests involving exploration and discovery in that manner would become obsoloted extremely fast as soon there would be data on how to accomplish it and what is avaiable all over the net, the actual effect of the quest is, the wonder of discovery, would be lost on the grand majority of the playerbase, mostly making it, then, wasted effort to make a quest such.

CAN that be avoided? Furthermore, are the devs already in a point in the game's life where they can afford to make a quest for the sheer love of storytelling? (like that one quest in 1.23 made by Ferne himself)
I'd like to think someone out there has an answer to that first question. And I am sad to say I believe that for that second quest, the answer is a no. But we should still cling to hope for the future, at some point it would get there.

[Skies]

Wait, seriously? I think I've seen that FATE failed all of once so I never noticed but that's pretty freaking cool.

There are some other instances most people don't notice of such things. There are some completely unannounced vendors out there such as the qiqirin in Old Maid's Mill that actually travel between places, and will get attacked while travelling! They run away and vanish for a time if they end up dead, but if they arrive safely there are rewards, I believe the Baby Raptor comes from him. But those are also completely unannounced events, I saw him while I was running a class quest there, there was no announcement, no quest marker no nothing.

There is another trader that makes the trip from the Observatorium to Dragonhead, although I haven't seen what happens with him.