Skyrim is doing what GW2 is doing when it comes to quest. I get quests notifications (like go to shrine or siomething) when I pass by an npc and hear a little bit of conversation with other npc. Or quests actually happen, 1 npc kills another etc. GW2 will have those dynamic events which work the same way. Searching for quest npc is so last century when it comes to design =P
Skyrim is doing what GW2 is doing when it comes to quest. I get quests notifications (like go to shrine or siomething) when I pass by an npc and hear a little bit of conversation with other npc. Or quests actually happen, 1 npc kills another etc. GW2 will have those dynamic events which work the same way. Searching for quest npc is so last century when it comes to design =P
When you hear NPC's taking you still have to go talk to them once their conversation is over and random quests you get while exploring are few in comparison to quests you get by strikign conversations with NPC.
Skyrim is mixture of two play styles where you choose your playstyle and sacrfiice a huge chunk of content if you just stick to random encounter or you cna play it like a traditional way and do every quest you can find. GW2 doesn't give you any such option since there are no quests and only dynamic events with different stages.
So yeah seraching for quest designe is still very much there in Skyrim just that you won't see it in a very obvious manner.
As far as #2 goes, do you know horrible this is? The example I will use is FFXI. If the towns are huge, which most are, it makes it even more of a chore for me. Running around a town, just trying to locate a quest is such a painful chore for me, I would rather not do them at all. After I do this a few times, I really notice how bad the system is for my personal preferences and I wonder why its even in the game.
I agree though, the ! for quests is a bit overkill and the whole system needs to be reworked. They need to take it to the next level and take a page from GW2. The worlds in these games are alive, and should be treated as such. NPCs should walk up to you and ask for your help. Going to them and asking at random if they need help with anything is a old outdated mechanic that needs to be abolished.
I agree with your second paragraph, in that a better system of NPCs offering quests/tasks could, and should, be designed. I personally feel it turns them into little more than quest dispensers. They may as well be like the mission kiosks in Anarchy Online... emotionless, lifeless computer terminals.
I edited your first paragraph because I personally prefer it without !s and ?s, even in the 7+ years I played FFXI, and your wording seemed to indicate that everyone shares your opinion of the subject, which they don't. I actually prefer having to actually find the characters myself and not have them conveniently pointed out to me on screen. It helps immersion, makes them seem a bit more like living, breathing people and less like cold, robotic quest dispensers.
It helps that in FFXI most of the characters are a lot more interesting than in most other MMOs (esp. notables like Shatotto, Prishe, Ajido Marujido, etc).
Speaking of NPCs approaching you, they actually had that in the beginning in Everquest 2. You'd run past NPCs and they'd call you out for help, etc. Of course, in the beginning, SOE was trying to make EQ2 a much more immersive and believable world. That is until WoW came out. Then they quickly changed gears and started turning it into as much of a copy of WoW as they could get away with. Last time I played (a couple expansions ago), I don't recall NPCs doing that anymore. I could be wrong.
"If you just step away for a sec you will clearly see all the pot holes in the road, and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops
Comments
Skyrim is doing what GW2 is doing when it comes to quest. I get quests notifications (like go to shrine or siomething) when I pass by an npc and hear a little bit of conversation with other npc. Or quests actually happen, 1 npc kills another etc. GW2 will have those dynamic events which work the same way. Searching for quest npc is so last century when it comes to design =P
When you hear NPC's taking you still have to go talk to them once their conversation is over and random quests you get while exploring are few in comparison to quests you get by strikign conversations with NPC.
Skyrim is mixture of two play styles where you choose your playstyle and sacrfiice a huge chunk of content if you just stick to random encounter or you cna play it like a traditional way and do every quest you can find. GW2 doesn't give you any such option since there are no quests and only dynamic events with different stages.
So yeah seraching for quest designe is still very much there in Skyrim just that you won't see it in a very obvious manner.
I agree with your second paragraph, in that a better system of NPCs offering quests/tasks could, and should, be designed. I personally feel it turns them into little more than quest dispensers. They may as well be like the mission kiosks in Anarchy Online... emotionless, lifeless computer terminals.
I edited your first paragraph because I personally prefer it without !s and ?s, even in the 7+ years I played FFXI, and your wording seemed to indicate that everyone shares your opinion of the subject, which they don't. I actually prefer having to actually find the characters myself and not have them conveniently pointed out to me on screen. It helps immersion, makes them seem a bit more like living, breathing people and less like cold, robotic quest dispensers.
It helps that in FFXI most of the characters are a lot more interesting than in most other MMOs (esp. notables like Shatotto, Prishe, Ajido Marujido, etc).
Speaking of NPCs approaching you, they actually had that in the beginning in Everquest 2. You'd run past NPCs and they'd call you out for help, etc. Of course, in the beginning, SOE was trying to make EQ2 a much more immersive and believable world. That is until WoW came out. Then they quickly changed gears and started turning it into as much of a copy of WoW as they could get away with. Last time I played (a couple expansions ago), I don't recall NPCs doing that anymore. I could be wrong.
and the cash shop selling asphalt..." - Mimzel on F2P/Cash Shops