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What makes a quest memorable to you?


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#1 Jenny

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Posted 11 August 2021 - 08:46 PM

When it comes to a quest being memorable / sticking out from the rest, what is most important to you? Is it the level design, visuals (screen design, graphics, etc) or maybe things like stories and dialogue? I've seen a lot of things mentioned that go into making a quest memorable for people, so I'm curious if there's a general consensus.

 

What makes a quest memorable to you?

 

 


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#2 Evan20000

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Posted 11 August 2021 - 09:08 PM

I made a post tangentially relevant to this topic here. I'd be mostly repeating myself were I to write a new post on the subject as most of what I said there can extrapolated to most of the "designed" elements of a game. Story construction, dialogue, character traits and interactions are a different cup of tea though but I don't necessarily have the best answers for a formula of what makes them click with myself/other people.


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#3 Mani Kanina

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 08:08 AM

What makes a quest enjoyable for me is easy to answer, that lies in the level design and moment to moment gameplay...

But what makes a quest memorable is a different question altogether. Novelty, I'd say, is a very big contributing factor. If a quest does something new or a new spin on something then those things are more likely to be memorable. Excellence can also be memorable but that's harder to achieve. It's way harder to be the very best offering on a certain thing for someone rather than just offering a new twist on matters. It's kinda why most ZC dungeons that uses the lower and raising water gimmick from OoT's water temple falls flat for me; Because their execution is generally way worse.

Charm, I'd say, is the third thing that makes a quest or game memorable, at least for me. But that's way harder to quantify, and will subjectively vary the most for player and player. Mostly I'd say that for me this takes the form of certain narratives and story ideas, but not always. For example I find Breath of the Wild extremely charming, but a lot of that is just enjoying the world and the sights in the world as I explored it.



#4 Hergiswi

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 08:41 AM

generally if a quest is type A i find it pretty memorable


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#5 coolgamer012345

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 08:47 AM

generally if a quest is type A i find it pretty memorable

My tastes are quite the opposite. I usually find Type B quests much more memorable. Then again, with all the (private) Type B quests I commission (being a rich master), perhaps those being the most memorable to me is a confounding variable.


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#6 Shane

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 08:56 AM

For me, when personality truly shines through a quest it's more iconic and memorable - even more so than the "big epic scale" quests that sometimes feel a little bit "manufactured" for a lack of a better word. That's something any quest can achieve really, no specific skill required and personality can seep through any component of the quest. I still remember quests like "Legend of Nayru" and "I Will Attend The Funeral" just because of how much personality they had. Being experimental and following your heart rather than a set of standards imposed by others generally helps to show personality. And with a free fan game program like ZC, you have nothing to lose ultimately!


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#7 TheRock

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 10:48 AM

If the quest has a unique way the game is played and the experience is unique. Like "Mikes Fun House", "The God of Power", "A Tribute to Yeto's Quest", "To The Top", "Yuurei", "Lost Isle", and "Reikon" to name some of my favorites. I like to be in the world of the video game and experience something new. 

In short, I find that quest is memorable to me by "For the experience like no other".



#8 Valerie

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 01:24 PM

I usually don't find any quests memorable even if I worked on them for years... Sometimes I watched videos of people playing my quests and have thought "I made this? I don't remember doing that..."

#9 Evan20000

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 06:00 PM

My tastes are quite the opposite. I usually find Type B quests much more memorable. Then again, with all the (private) Type B quests I commission (being a rich master), perhaps those being the most memorable to me is a confounding variable.

Yes, but unironically. Typically quests that are okay with being provocatively difficult, even if they're bland, tend to illicit some emotional reaction in a way that most inoffensive but bland quests don't. You associate the quest with the emotional reaction, and for better or worse, it becomes memorable for it. Whether or not that's an ideal goal when making quests is honestly up to the designer, but it's foolish to deny that quests like AQ, AQ:F, LoH, Lost Isle and the sort are still very memorable among their detractors even all these years later because they illicited such a strong reaction.



#10 NoeL

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 09:02 PM

Ok, let's list the quests that've stuck in my memory:

  • The Revenge 2 (PrinceMSC)
  • Sabotage Dragoon demo (c-dawg)
  • At least one of PolygonX8's Metroid quests
  • Lost Isle (DarkFlameWolf and Peteo)
  • Mysteries of the Deep tech demo (blue_knight)
  • Crucible Crest demo (Mitchfork and Shiek)

All of these quests did something different, and all of them did something new.

 

The Revenge 2 was ground-breaking from a visual and level-design perspective: it had a custom tileset (mix of BS and GB graphics), exploited room items to have "animated tiles" before those were a thing, "freeform" dungeons (i.e. not the square rooms from Z1 that we were used to), and generally fantastic OW and dungeon design. Pretty sure the tile and map limits were maxed out too, making it (in terms of scope) the largest quest possible in 1.90 - and it happens to be the perfect length for a quest IMO (~5 hours, give or take)! The pinnacle of 1.90 quests, and my all-time favourite quest.

 

Sabotage Dragoon introduced narrative in a way I'd never seen. It was the first time I'd seen dialogue boxes with character portraits in a quest, and the protagonist would have conversations with NPCs. Add to that the really nice art style and level design and this one stood out to me. Don't think this quest was ever finished, but the demo was enjoyable and memorable.

 

PolygonX8 made a handful of Metroid quests back in the 1.90 days. I think I played them all, but I can't remember what any of them were called - they were all fairly similar from memory. What made this memorable was the creative transformation of Metroid mechanics into Zelda mechanics - particularly using flippers to substitute the morph ball. The custom art was also a nice touch.

 

Lost Isle was probably the most ambitious quest of its time, and arguably one of the most ambitious quests ever. Whereas most ambitious quests crash and burn due to bloated scope and developer burnout, DFW was a creator known for following through with her projects - often in record time. At this point she already had a portfolio of solid, occasionally great quests (Isle of the Winds was another that sticks with me), and Peteo had made a name for himself with the critically-acclaimed MMDWR. While I personally never got that far into Lost Isle (it just wasn't that fun to play, at least for me at that time in my life) the scope, level variety and overall polish was exceptional. Also I drew a huge overworld map for that quest, which I guess also makes it more memorable.

 

Mysteries of the Deep was frickin' Wolfenstein 3D in Zelda Classic. The dude built a raycaster engine in ZScript! Sadly blue_knight disappeared without a trace, leaving all his awesome zcripted tech demos to languish. I also did a bit of work on a tileset for this one, feeling the DoR graphics didn't fit the dungeons well.

 

I don't play many modern quests due to time/ZC apathy, but Crucible Crest was one I checked out (mainly because Sheik and I are buddies) and absolutely loved. This is kind of an honourable mention because I couldn't remember the name of the quest at all (and TBH, it's a bit of a mouthful). But it still stuck in my memory as a heavily customised Z1 "remake" with a high degree of fun and polish. Exceptional design in all fields, and I'm highly anticipating the final release.

 

 

So in conclusion, what I find memorable in quests can be summed up as: ambitious (pushing the boundaries), creative (something novel, unique or interesting) and polished (fun, stable, succinct, high-quality).


Edited by NoeL, 12 August 2021 - 09:02 PM.

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#11 Ghost

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Posted 12 August 2021 - 09:32 PM

I'm biased, but the quests I remember have a lot of ghosts in them. The more ghosts, the more memorable it is. That's just how it is.


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#12 Twilight Knight

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Posted 13 August 2021 - 03:52 AM

I'm biased, but the quests I remember have a lot of ghosts in them. The more ghosts, the more memorable it is. That's just how it is.

More goats? Got it. *Quickly puts many goats in his quest*

How about ghostly goats? I think that would be memorable.


I think all I'd have to say about what makes a quest memorable is already said here by others. I myself am a big fan of intricate plots and stories that keep you guessing, but some quests that are very memorable to me hardly have any story.

I'd like to make a shootout to the most memorable quest I've played: Mario's Insane Rampage, I still remember it well even though I played it over 10 years ago. It's unforgettable to me!


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#13 Zolias

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Posted 13 August 2021 - 01:50 PM

For me, memorable quests have to sometimes push boundaries of what's considered 'appropriate' by society's standards, hence why Ballad of a Bloodline (the first rendition) was one of the most memorable quests to me.

Other times, they need to have an engaging storyline, as well as many secrets,  Ballad of a Bloodline, Passage Through Time (and the rest of ywkls' storyline quests after Balance of Nature), Nargad's Trail: Argon's Evil Lair and Crystal Crusade, Hero of Dreams, and Seasoned Blood all fall into this one.

Finally, some just make due with a shock factor (jump scares, sudden and sometimes unintentional wtf moments, strange humor, etc.)  Again, three quests I remember have these features, one of them listed here twice already: Ballad of a Bloodline (Nightmare Level), Seasoned Blood (again, Nightmare level), Hero of Dreams (Opening where you're told Link is played by Brad Pitt - his best role to date, imo) and Lost Isle (pretty much the entirety of it) are in this place.

So yeah... those are my typical three criteria of what makes a quest memorable.

Finally, graphic-wise, it's nice to have 32-bit graphics in appearance, but they're not really necessary for a good quest... I have played some terrible DoR quests, and I have played some really good classic-styled quests.  While it's sometimes an inclusion for people, and sometimes I personally may judge by cover to begin with, I will at least try something once to see if I like it.  Hence, why it's not a criteria of mine.


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#14 Valerie

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Posted 13 August 2021 - 02:53 PM

I'd like to make a shootout to the most memorable quest I've played: Mario's Insane Rampage, I still remember it well even though I played it over 10 years ago. It's unforgettable to me!


I wouldn't be surprised if you remember it better than I do, and I'm the one who made it! I remember it had at least 3 secret areas, and I don't know how well they are known to others... a 2nd ghosthouse, hell, and I think a 2nd sewer? There might be more I can't remember. I have thought about updating that quest and it's sequel, and even making another sequel (I have notes written down in a notebook for a sequel).
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#15 trudatman

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Posted 13 August 2021 - 04:12 PM

unique and comfortable visual presentation with vivid colors, crisp edges.  professional tone.  immersive feel.  occasional broccoli.


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