DirtyOldShoe
Some kind of lucky
This post is directed at Fallout 4
An observation I made that I thought of sharing and to take a look at the implementation in Elderscrolls and Fallout, somewhat recent titles.
A Quest Guide/Tutorial Stage is when the world/setting/enviroment is explained to the player. This can be from what to expect in the world to who you are and your role, but most importantly it is the individual the gets you acquainting with the game.
Morrowind: Didn't really fill this role in, the best I can come up with is the generic guard that tells you who to talk to when you get off the ship. You are not really assisted in Morrowind and have to figure things out on your own for the most part.
Oblivion: Baurus. He discusses the main quest with the player and gives them direction on where to start, he also explains a bit about his group and what they do. Oblivion also lacked in the Quest Guide department. However there were 2 options later to save him based on how you played and he could play a role in the main quest past this point.
Fallout 3: Your Dad was the Quest guide, and on each play you would be forced to relive your childhood, with the option of a few superficial role-play elements. He not only served a purpose by acquainting the player with the game, but was also the main hero, main protagonist.
Fallout New Vegas: Sunny Smiles was used as the Quest Guide. She explains what bobby pins are for, hacking, magazines, cooking, ingredients, survival. She helps the player with directions, the town she is from, gets the player a gun, shows how to shoot properly. All in all a very effective and semi short Quest Guide.
Fallout 4: Your spouse, Valt Tech Agent, Codsworth, Voiced Protagonist, Dogmeat, Preston (or the other two Prestons from other factions), Momma Murphy, Sturgees, Piper, Nick Valentine, Shaun, Kellogg, Kate, Curey, Danse, Trashcan Carla. All of these characters act as the Quest Guide, acquainting the player with the world on every play-though.
I do believe it is important to have a Quest Guide, but only one and for a short time. The players should be able to get enough information from one NPC to be able to dip there toes in the world, not only does this provide repetition, it also cripples any DLC content Bethesda may consider adding as the content will either flow with the existing system of having 18 quest guides or contradict the core game. For example, Adding a hardcore mode and not having an open introduction like Sunny Smiles will be bad for new players, most likely Bethesda will cop out and put info in the obscure help section. It will not be introduced immersively through the game. Settlers as they are should not be alive by all accounts. The world does not suggest thirst with the ample amount of food and Cherry Nuka Cola around every corner. The other problem with them overhauling this is that unlike New Vegas, Fallout 4 wasn't built from the ground up to be a survival game. It will add many inconsistencies, on top of the ones that are present. The player will need to have new dialogue for these needs, the NPCs in the game will also need to accurately share in them and the entirety of the game needs to be made over.
Fallout 3 could have had this system added as the world Bethesda build reflected an environment and even had a quest about how to survive in the wastes. There is no Survival Skill, so there is no point in having a Survival mode, the two are connected and need each other. The skill puts weight on the difficulty and value. Add needs to Doom 1. Yes, it is adding an additional element, but it is a shooting game and the people that like doom aren't playing it to eat tatos, they are playing to kill stuff and kill stuff better.
Share your thoughts.
An observation I made that I thought of sharing and to take a look at the implementation in Elderscrolls and Fallout, somewhat recent titles.
A Quest Guide/Tutorial Stage is when the world/setting/enviroment is explained to the player. This can be from what to expect in the world to who you are and your role, but most importantly it is the individual the gets you acquainting with the game.
Morrowind: Didn't really fill this role in, the best I can come up with is the generic guard that tells you who to talk to when you get off the ship. You are not really assisted in Morrowind and have to figure things out on your own for the most part.
Oblivion: Baurus. He discusses the main quest with the player and gives them direction on where to start, he also explains a bit about his group and what they do. Oblivion also lacked in the Quest Guide department. However there were 2 options later to save him based on how you played and he could play a role in the main quest past this point.
Fallout 3: Your Dad was the Quest guide, and on each play you would be forced to relive your childhood, with the option of a few superficial role-play elements. He not only served a purpose by acquainting the player with the game, but was also the main hero, main protagonist.
Fallout New Vegas: Sunny Smiles was used as the Quest Guide. She explains what bobby pins are for, hacking, magazines, cooking, ingredients, survival. She helps the player with directions, the town she is from, gets the player a gun, shows how to shoot properly. All in all a very effective and semi short Quest Guide.
Fallout 4: Your spouse, Valt Tech Agent, Codsworth, Voiced Protagonist, Dogmeat, Preston (or the other two Prestons from other factions), Momma Murphy, Sturgees, Piper, Nick Valentine, Shaun, Kellogg, Kate, Curey, Danse, Trashcan Carla. All of these characters act as the Quest Guide, acquainting the player with the world on every play-though.
I do believe it is important to have a Quest Guide, but only one and for a short time. The players should be able to get enough information from one NPC to be able to dip there toes in the world, not only does this provide repetition, it also cripples any DLC content Bethesda may consider adding as the content will either flow with the existing system of having 18 quest guides or contradict the core game. For example, Adding a hardcore mode and not having an open introduction like Sunny Smiles will be bad for new players, most likely Bethesda will cop out and put info in the obscure help section. It will not be introduced immersively through the game. Settlers as they are should not be alive by all accounts. The world does not suggest thirst with the ample amount of food and Cherry Nuka Cola around every corner. The other problem with them overhauling this is that unlike New Vegas, Fallout 4 wasn't built from the ground up to be a survival game. It will add many inconsistencies, on top of the ones that are present. The player will need to have new dialogue for these needs, the NPCs in the game will also need to accurately share in them and the entirety of the game needs to be made over.
Fallout 3 could have had this system added as the world Bethesda build reflected an environment and even had a quest about how to survive in the wastes. There is no Survival Skill, so there is no point in having a Survival mode, the two are connected and need each other. The skill puts weight on the difficulty and value. Add needs to Doom 1. Yes, it is adding an additional element, but it is a shooting game and the people that like doom aren't playing it to eat tatos, they are playing to kill stuff and kill stuff better.
Share your thoughts.
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