The Secret World is by far the most polished, interesting and entertaining MMORPG I have ever played. It is smart, entertaining, and bold, and though perhaps difficult to approach at first, it always rewards the effort you put into it. At its heart, however, it’s still the MMO you know – but it does the things you know, and perhaps dislike, in a way that elevates them and makes them fresh. I wanted to discuss today some bugaboos that haunt not just MMOs, but perhaps even the humble Tabletop RPG player, the far less technological common subject of this blog. Quest is the word of the day.
MMOs are made and broken by quest lines. We’ve all got archetypal quest lines we love or hate. None more than the following two. I want to talk about not only what The Secret World does right, but also what you, as a game designer, dungeon master, adventure writer, whatever, can think about when you assign “quests” like this. Avoiding them is foolish, I think. These objectives resonate with people – if they’re done properly, they can convey a lot more than you think.
