If there’s one thing I’ve also thought the Witcher did better than most RPGS, it’s quests. Sure, there’s padding all over the place, but most of the time side-content feels like it has a lot of meaningful weight behind it. It’s not simply “go here, pick that up and return” – something which the Witcher 3’s lead quest designer feels Dragon Age: Inquisition had too much of.
In a recent interview, CD Projekt RED Lead Quest Designer Mateusz Tomaszkiewic spoke about some of his influences when creating content for The Witcher 3. When asked about his thoughts on BioWare’s RPG epic from last year, Tomaszkiewic criticised the games reliance on side-quests that often boiled down to boring fetch and return chores.
For my taste, it could do with less fetch quests. But it’s still a good game. Ultimately, it increases the diversity, which can never be wrong with role-playing games.
Tomaszkiewic then offered up Fallout: New Vegas as a great example of how clever quest design and atmosphere go hand in hand, and how it enriches the player’s experience. In fact, Fallout: New Vegas and Gothic are Tomaszkiewic’s favourite open-world titles, which influence his design considerably.
Well, my favourite open world game is Fallout: New Vegas. Even the monsters… There were these beasts who used to constantly tear me, what were their names again? Deathclaws. Just horrible creatures, since you could not just rush through them!
Also Gothic, an open world on a smaller scale but very well done with no scaling.
While I’m not the biggest fan of New Vegas and its story, I can’t fault the quest design the game had. Quests were heavily influenced by your standing with the games’ many factions, mixing with a rich open-world to create a memorable setting and experience. If Tomaszkiewic has been influenced by its design, then The Witcher 3 could have an equally engrossing world to explore – and one not padded by unnecessary fetch questing.
But we’ll all have to wait until May to see just how well side content is handled, when The Wild Hunt launches on PS4, Xbox One and PC. Without DRM.
Last Updated: February 5, 2015
oVg elfroot slayer
February 5, 2015 at 12:10
My wife is sick, she needs a health tonic from my Son who is on the other side of the mountain.
Get to Son, “My mother is sick? Not again” please take this health tonic to her immediately. Poor Mother”
I forgot about poor sick mother in the Hinterlands 86hours later. Do not worry, I got the health tonic to the husband just in time. All is well.
Matewis Jubilai
February 5, 2015 at 12:13
Suddenly I am reminded of the silver star from Asterix in Switzerland 😀
Admiral Chief
February 5, 2015 at 12:44
XD
Spathi
February 5, 2015 at 12:15
Well, it’s better than:
Hi level “over 9000” Mage, saviour of many a city. Please go into my basement and kill 10 rats for me, cause I’m a lazy ass douche with a filthy house and bad hygiene.
oVg elfroot slayer
February 5, 2015 at 12:16
Those RATS were MASSIVE
Matewis Jubilai
February 5, 2015 at 12:17
and then they don’t complain when you look inside EVERY cupboard and chest in their house, on the way to said basement…
Spathi
February 5, 2015 at 12:19
I empty out all the worthless stuff on their floor just to inconvenience them. That will show them!!!
Matewis Jubilai
February 5, 2015 at 12:23
My favorite are the innkeepers in neverwinter nights, that are frozen in place, and can but listen to me going up the stairs or behind the counter and bludgeoning in every single room’s door, as well as any locked drawer/chest/armoire that I can’t lockpick 😛
oVg elfroot slayer
February 5, 2015 at 12:32
I still remember the guilt I had after stealing 1gil from a secret draw in a little peasant girls room at the beginning of FF9 🙁 NEVER AGAIN, I PROMISE 🙁
Matewis Jubilai
February 5, 2015 at 12:36
Man I need to get into the FF games.
I once, with savespamming, stole a sleeping guard’s plate armour off of him in Oblivion. Can’t imagine how the poor guy tried to explain that to his captain 😛
oVg elfroot slayer
February 5, 2015 at 12:38
That explains how his knee got fcuked up. IT WAS YOUR FAULT
Matewis Jubilai
February 5, 2015 at 12:43
lol yeah, he probably got transferred to the icy Skyrim as punishment, and got bitten by a vampire on the journey(since the 2 games are 200 years apart apparently)
So Hard (Umar)
February 5, 2015 at 12:17
LOL I got there and was like where is this son, his mom needs the potion….Oh look a rift, like 4 feet away.
Another one I found funny was delivering flowers to the husband elf’s wife’s grave. He was so happy that the flowers were delivered, as if the flowers were the most important thing and not the actual visiting of the grave.
oVg elfroot slayer
February 5, 2015 at 12:24
lol
The amount of side missions for side mission sake nearly destroyed my OCD.
So Hard (Umar)
February 5, 2015 at 12:31
I feel you…Oh look, lets use this skull to find the millionth shard on the opposite side of the map lol
Spaffy
February 5, 2015 at 12:41
I hate that I have to go back to the parts of the map I just spent hours exploring to find said shards.
And your character is doing this weird jumpy jumpy jumpy to try and get onto a rock where the shard is
So Hard (Umar)
February 5, 2015 at 14:03
AHHH HAHAHAHAHA, jumpy jumpy…”Almost…on…top of that cliff…one more jump…..*slides all the way down* FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFF”
Spaffy
February 5, 2015 at 14:21
yep, that’s the one 😀
Captain JJ the crafter
February 5, 2015 at 12:24
Do not pass GO, do not collect $200.
20twelve
February 6, 2015 at 08:00
That quest… it made me angry. Twice.
Matewis Jubilai
February 5, 2015 at 12:11
Sigh… I wish I could make/afford the time for a 3/4 week Fallout binge : Fallout1,2,3,Broken Steel,The Pit , Anchorage, New Vegas.
Also, fetch quests are bad, but escort missions will remain the worst 😛 (except Alyx Vance and Companion Cube <3)
Hammersteyn
February 5, 2015 at 12:11
I know of one guy that will be racing to buy this.
http://img.bulawayo24.com/articles/41b7b323df6d19ea3f531fc0a40dc117000020150204.jpg
HvR
February 5, 2015 at 12:21
Well if he like it so much he should put a ring on it
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/B9ENxYlIcAACb2d.jpg
Captain JJ the crafter
February 5, 2015 at 14:09
http://huisgenoot.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/02/rob2.jpg
Ghost In The Rift
February 5, 2015 at 12:16
LOL hope the game can deliver, he would look like an poephol if The Witcher 3’s quests aren’t that good, but i doubt it, it is gonna be 1 hell of a game!!
The Witcher 3 has better quests than Dragon Age, Dont Support DRM!!!
Captain JJ the crafter
February 5, 2015 at 12:24
The fact that he loves Fallout gives me greater appreciated for Witcher 3.
Hammersteyn
February 5, 2015 at 12:25
The man has taste true enough.
Tosh MA
February 5, 2015 at 12:28
There’s only 1 fetch quest worthy of mention:
http://cdn.meme.am/instances/500x/57960228.jpg
Admiral Chief
February 5, 2015 at 12:44
Heh, no wonder you don’t like FO:NV makes sense, because of your choice in gpus…
Matthew Holliday
February 5, 2015 at 12:48
in the absence of Ryanza-sama
Dont support DRM
Witcher 3 is coming
Ryanza
February 5, 2015 at 13:03
Seeing as my name was mentioned. I would have said more than just that. Such as: You play as a Witcher, so it won’t be fetch quests, it will be investigating monster quests and then killing monster quests, with small information rewards about your main quest of finding Yennefer / Ciri.
Don’t Support DRM. The Wild Hunt is coming.
That’s how you do a Ryanza comment. But don’t mind me. What was it, Bitcher 3 is coming.
Matthew Holliday
February 5, 2015 at 15:41
https://moodyeyeview.files.wordpress.com/2013/04/we.png
WitWolfy
February 5, 2015 at 14:48
I didnt think that the Dragon Age fetch quests were THAT bad….
Spy Master Tokashi
February 5, 2015 at 15:48
same here. It was not painful quests, it was fetch quests but you do not spend hours doing them. It is an extra XP quest…
aerociviz2
February 5, 2015 at 22:11
I’m glad his influences and view on side quests are good, as some rpgs have very bland ones while some have really good ones. Games like Fallout New Vegas had really good ones. To he honest when I used to play games like Runescape, one thing that I liked about it were its really well done quests-one reason why i never really got into WoW, as WoW quests are mostly bland besides a few. Im getting Inquisition and Im seriously going to look up a list of all the worthwhile side quests instead of wasting my time on bland ones. Happy to know that the Witcher 3 will show some promise on that.
On another note, its too bad that most rpgs side quests dont feel like how dlcs are… like if the Mass Effect series had side quests that were like its dlc, or any game to honest, then those would truly be great sidequests.
20twelve
February 6, 2015 at 08:00
So amped for this game. Reading the books again…. just to prep…
ministry86
June 14, 2015 at 11:05
Witcher 3 has just as many fetch quests and tedious quests that serve no purpose other than to take up player time to artificially increase game length.