Every game has a goal and you achieve a lot of them through various quests. As a game designer, it’s important to know the differences. After all, it’s your job to balance them and to fill the world with valuable content. Every quest has its own purpose and should be treated as such. We’re going to show you the different types of quests in games and when you should use them.
Quests In Games – The Basic Structure
If you’re a gamer, then you’re definitely familiar with the word ‘quest’ or have at least somehow heard about it. A quest usually is some sort of task that a player has to do in order to achieve their goal. For example, a hunter asks you to aid him by slaying 10 wolves that keep attacking villagers on the road. If you complete the mission, he rewards you with money, experience and a better bow. Now let’s take a look at the major categories of quests that you’ll find in almost every game.
Main Quests – The Major Plot Line
A Main Quest usually is the central narrative thread that drives the game forward and ultimately leads to its conclusion. It doesn’t necessarily have to revolve around a story. It could also be a series of goals the player has to achieve in order to beat the game. They often unlock new features and are made out of more complex and difficult quests. This is in order to challenge the player with puzzles, powerful enemies or demanding missions that gradually get more difficult.
Their main purpose is to guide players through the game by giving them a clear direction and motivation. Highlighting them in order to stand out from the rest of the quests. This is important to signal to the player which of them advances the plot. One crucial thing you should keep in mind is that you should warn players from points of no return. There is nothing more frustrating for a player. Entering a quest only to suddenly be cut off from certain features or side quests can stop them from playing.
Side Quests – Adding Spice & Variety
The next and very important type of mission on this list are side quests. As the name already suggests, they are not important for completing the game. But they can change and spice up the gameplay by a lot if you use them to your advantage. Some side quests in games like ‘Cyberpunk: 2077’ or ‘Red Dead Redemption 2’ can alter the main quest slightly. For example if you’ve already met an NPC in one of the side quests they often interact with you differently throughout the main story. Be it positive or negative.
Side quests add a lot of depth and variety to your game play but try not to overwhelm your players. Adding too many can sometimes feel more like a chore, especially if they are constantly one and the same. Fetch this, fight that, repeat. If you want to have lots of side quests along with the main story, make sure to give them a lot of variety to keep players entertained. A very good example is ‘The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim’ where a lot of the side quests are at least as spectacular as the main story, if not better.
Radiant Quests – Random & Repeatable
Radiant quests are randomly generated and repeatable quests that provide more content and replay value. If you don’t do them correctly, they can feel very repetitive and shallow. A lot of games use them for dailies or other features that are used to grind either money or experience for various reasons. If a quest is repeatable you should make sure to make it obvious for the players so they don’t fall into the trap of thinking that it’s actually a quest line.
Not every game is suited for implementing radiant quests. So if your game doesn’t require the grind for money, experience or reputation you should rather consider adding a few more extra side quests instead.
Emergent Quests – Not Predefined & Unscripted
As the name suggests, emergent quests come from the gameplay itself. Two of the most popular games that are very known for their emergent quests are ‘Minecraft’ & ‘The Sims’. There the players create their own tasks and missions for themselves.
Another form of emergent quests are things that arise through various actions the player can do while playing. For example if you get caught committing a crime in GTA V you get stars and the police start to track you down. Your new objective is to flee from them and hide in order to lose the stars. This isn’t a scripted event but a reaction of the game to a player’s interaction with the world surrounding him.
Different Kinds Of Tasks – Use Variety In Your Game
Now that we know the basic structure of quests that can appear in games we’re going to take a look at the types of tasks the player has to do in order to complete them.
Combo Quest
Combo quests often get used in tutorials or arenas where the player has to attack a certain target with a combination of attacks or skills until they hit the required number of combos. Enemies usually are immortal or show up an infinite number of times until the player has successfully hit the combo.
Delivery Quests
A common type of quest are so-called delivery quests. Those usually involve the player delivering an item from one location to another over a short or longer distance. This kind of quest can include some sort of time limit to make things more challenging or they have to travel through unfamiliar & dangerous parts of the map the NPC couldn’t go through.
Escort Quest
Another type of escort quest is where you have to accompany an NPC to a different area. Most of the time they need some sort of protection from monsters while you travel or they entertain you with some story-relevant dialogue while leading you to a particular area. If you want to incorporate escort quests into your game, make sure to test them thoroughly. Nothing is more frustrating than an NPC that moves at either a too-slow or too-fast speed, completely ruining the pacing of the game or even better if they get stuck or lost along the way. A lot of players dread this sort of quest but if done right, they can be a lot of fun and add more depth to the story.
Gather/Fetch Quests
The opposite type of a delivery quest are the so-called gather or fetch quests where your character gets sent to collect a certain number of items and bring them back. They can be gathered from a specific location or NPC, or can be drops from monsters you find crawling through the lands.
Kill Quests
A kill quest sends the player out to kill either a certain amount of creatures or NPCs in order to succeed. These types of quests often require the character to bring back some kind of proof of their work. They can either be trophies or other items the target drops for the player.
Syntax Quests
The so-called syntax quests are unique to text-based games where you have to figure out the correct input in order to advance through the game. While they almost disappeared over the years, with the rise of AI they probably are going to become more relevant in the future.
There are many more types of quests out there but those are the most important types of quests you can find in games. Knowing the basics will allow you to shape them to your needs and discover even more interesting tasks your player can complete. Don’t just use one type of quest that feels retentive after a while and keeps people from enjoying the experience. Vary between them, give them a twist or combine them with each other to keep your players entertained!
If you’re planning on adding your own quests into your game, we have a complete guide on how to write and structure them:
Between Goals & Rewards: How To Write Quests For Games
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