What type of side quest design do you prefer?

Preferably the former. The latter can be fine if it at least offers a follow up to the story/characters of that area.

Where's the 'unlock them as you progress through the story as appropriate' option, that is the most correct one.

A few at the start, most as plot milestones happen, the last few at the end as epilogues.

KanzarisKelshen posted...

Where's the 'unlock them as you progress through the story as appropriate' option, that is the most correct one.

A few at the start, most as plot milestones happen, the last few at the end as epilogues.

That fits both categories here, which is why I divided it into further subcategories.

I agree the way P3 and P4 handle this is bad (generally speaking I abhor any sidequest that relies on drops)

However, I think I like the second way better when implemented naturally. The ideal of this is that you return to a town and find new stuff the second way through as a reward for exploration (as opposed to it slapping an exclamation point on the screen and telling you to "go here to start sidequest").

Xenoblade 3 is an example of the latter being done well.

Side quests given to you before you finish the main story is nice, as long as they are the best side quests. Everything given to you inside the main straight-line gameplay should be the highest quality, and anything given to you outside of it should be extra stuff that is clearly designed for people who want more playtime.

It's the worst when you get a ton of busywork quests in your log at hour 5, when you're not even sure you like the game enough to spend the full 50 hours to finish it.

Conversely, if a player 100%s an area in the middle of the story, you should give them the extra content right there in case they want more. They shouldn't have to come back later for it. Unless it's like post-game stuff.

foolm0r0n posted...

Side quests given to you before you finish the main story is nice, as long as they are the best side quests. Everything given to you inside the main straight-line gameplay should be the highest quality, and anything given to you outside of it should be extra stuff that is clearly designed for people who want more playtime.

It's the worst when you get a ton of busywork quests in your log at hour 5, when you're not even sure you like the game enough to spend the full 50 hours to finish it.

Conversely, if a player 100%s an area in the middle of the story, you should give them the extra content right there in case they want more. They shouldn't have to come back later for it. Unless it's like post-game stuff.

Easy solution for that last point is to make it so you have to come through multiple times to 100% an area. That way you can sprinkle some side quests in as the story progresses and people can pick them up on the way back to clear the area.

Though I do dislike quests that are impossible until you progress a chunk more and unlock the right ability. Those are just going to clog my space while I get annoyed at them.

MacArrowny posted...

That fits both categories here, which is why I divided it into further subcategories.

I don't like the separation. There are some RPGs where you revisit towns you've already been to, and thus it's appropriate to have a new side quest there since it wouldn't have fit into the plot before. That is different than Persona 3 and 4, where you go back into dungeons you already cleared to get items you should have already been able to get. Towns and dungeons are very different things.

If you're going to make me revisit old locations, you better have fast travel.

BlueCrystalTear posted...

I don't like the separation. There are some RPGs where you revisit towns you've already been to, and thus it's appropriate to have a new side quest there since it wouldn't have fit into the plot before. That is different than Persona 3 and 4, where you go back into dungeons you already cleared to get items you should have already been able to get. Towns and dungeons are very different things.

I can make it work for those situations too, if you like. Which is better:

1. You revisit the town for the story, getting new quests at the beginning/as you explore
2. Once you finish revisiting the town story-wise and exploring everywhere, you get new quests at the end to encourage you to explore the town even more

DreamEater12 posted...

Easy solution for that last point is to make it so you have to come through multiple times to 100% an area. That way you can sprinkle some side quests in as the story progresses and people can pick them up on the way back to clear the area.

This is the best RPG design for sure (e.g. Nier Automata) but devs don't have the guts to do this because gamers will shriek LAZY and BACKTRACKING the instant their eyes view the same 3d model twice