Brevity is the soul of wit: Request to fix the horrible writing on XIV's quests

[Anonymoose]

I have to agree that ffxiv have such a long storyline with just one NPC -.- i love reading lore but that way to much and sometime the thing skip 1 line of storyline and you have to skip it all just to reread everything -.-

Much with FFXI, I just make sure that it's well documented on my friendly neighborhood wiki and go back and read it later (or, if the Plot Details aren't there yet, I copy/paste it into a txt doc bit by bit and PUT it there for later).

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If you've got the time to read for a moment, I genuinely hope I don't lose your attention before the end of this post - as I think it encompasses both sides of the issue rather well and offers some insight to fixing it.

My previous assessment of delivery (a few posts up) aside, I have a completely different opinion about in-game lore as a whole:

Quests, missions, etc. usually require a fair amount of time and sometimes require assistance. Stopping to smell the roses when there is more to do and people are waiting for you isn't an option. This creates the first half of the problem - we're almost required to mash enter through most of the important parts just by default out of respect for the other seven people in our party from various other countries.

Problem two is a little easier, but still a pain in the gobbiebags: Often, quests are done distantly from one another and the overall arc of the story fades from memory. Sometimes in FFXI, I'd go back and watch an entire release's storyline in one sitting via the Goblin Footprints and I'd be like, "Man, I don't remember any of this sh!t." You, too? Sometimes, it's like going back and revisiting it all is your only option if you really want to experience it at all.

Lastly, a problem that explains itself, most times, at the time a quest is done, the goal is not the content, it is the progress. It's not the lore, it's the reward. To put it in FFXI terms - when we did the quest, it wasn't to "see the fall of the Zilart," it was to "unlock sea so we can finally get in on that." That doesn't mean we don't care about the lore, it's just not the time. Sometimes, being "in the moment" just isn't possible.

For players like the OP, this is why the journal exists - it's a short, sweet reminder of what's been going on. But that's not enough for some of us - how do we maintain an extensive access to lore without creating the issues experienced by the OP /or/ those outlined above?

Step One: Introduce the ECHO NPC (<-- Link for Description) as a Goblin Footprint.

Step Two: Make the difference between a cutscene and a dialogue as if black to white.
A lot of quest information is delivered in a one-time slathering of text-wall from an NPC outside of a cutscene. If you enter mash over it? It's gone. Forever. Not only this but the delivery is bland and boring because it's not delivered in a cutscene, where NPC animations and environmental object movements are actually posssible, but in the "Live Layer" of the game - forcing the NPC to just stand there... and talk... and talk... and talk. The OP is right about this part - Live Layer NPCs shouldn't drown you in text. Keep it short and sweet. Save the goods for cutscenes, which we can then watch again later via the Echo NPC. Enter-mashing doesn't need to be a bad thing, remember, as stated above, it's practically required.

Step Three: Make it count.
Now that cutscenes are free to be exploited to their fullest - make it count. Movements! NPC animations! Interactiveness with objects in the surrounding environment! You know, things we see in the cutscenes we do have - we just need more of them and delivered at the right times. This way, true enter-mashes can breeze right by it, and true lore lovers can respect their party and complete the quests in a timely manner knowing they can go back and watch it all like a movie later - remember, at the time, sometimes it's just the reward.

Step Four: Spruce up the Live Layer again.
The live layer doesn't have to be left out - design some side-quests that are feasibly things the town needs frequently and have them play out in real-time. Have the NPC deliver some short dialogue in /say and have the NPC / Players complete the quest much like the "lamp lighting" quest in Jeuno. This, plus some environmental realism (NPCs that walk around and do stuff, objects that move, etc) would really give the game a nice boost.

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Twelve willing, this is already in the works for 2.0, but if someone wants to take my roadmap / philosophy and try to get a thread going - it's all your's.