2nd Edition
Quests Design, Theory, and History in Games and Narratives
Combining theory and practice, this updated new edition provides a complete overview of how to create deep and meaningful quests for games. It uses the Unity game engine in conjunction with Fungus and other free plugins to provide an accessible entry into quest design.
The book begins with an introduction to the theory and history of quests in games, before covering four theoretical components of quests: their spaces, objects, actors, and challenges. Each chapter also includes a practical section, with accompanying exercises and suggestions for the use of specific technologies for four crucial aspects of quest design:
• level design
• quest item creation
• NPC and dialogue construction
• scripting
This book will be of great interest to all game designers looking to create new, innovative quests in their games. It will also appeal to new media researchers, as well as humanities scholars in the fields of mythology and depth-psychology that want to bring computer-assisted instruction into their classroom in an innovative way.
The companion website includes lecture and workshop slides, and can be accessed at: www.designingquests.com
A Note on the Second Edition of Quests
Preface
The Audiences of this Book
This Book’s Structure
Four Techniques for Making Better Quests
CHAPTER ONE: PART I.: DEFINITIONS, THEORIES, AND HISTORIES OF QUESTS
Quests as a Bridge Between Games and Narratives
Literary Definitions of Quests
Moving Past the Ludology and Narratology Debate
Quests, Games, and Interpretation
The History and Theory of Quest Narratives
Campbell, the Hero’s Journey, and Quests
Northrop Frye
W. H. Auden
Vladimir Propp
Narrative Structures Become Activities in Games
The History of Quest Games
Tabletop Role-Playing Games: Dungeons and Dragons
Text-Based Interactive Fictions: Adventure and Zork
Graphical Adventure Games: King’s Quest
Action-Adventure Games: Adventure (Atari ) and The Legend of Zelda
Computer Role-Playing Games
Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games
Indie Quests
Enacted Meaning, Meaningful Action
A Spectrum of Quests
Meaning as Initiation
Meaning as Narrative
Thematic Meaning
Designing Meaningful Action
The Virtue System in Ultima IV
Correspondences in Morrowind and Eternal Darkness
Allegory and Avatars
CHAPTER ONE, PART II: BEGINNING QUEST DESIGN
A Sample Exercise and Design Document:
Sir Gawain’s Quest
Sir Gawain Design Document
A. Constructing the Spaces of the Quest Through Level Design
B. Setting the Stages of the Quest through Journal Updates
C. Making the Objects Through Quest Items
D. Designing the Challenges of the Quest Through Scripting
Introduction to Quest Design Exercises:
Exercise .: Overall Quest Flow
Exercise .: Objects of the Quest
Exercise .: Spaces of the Quest
Exercise .: Characters of the Quest
Game Engines, Middleware, Construction Sets, and Level Editors
Tutorial .: Install Unity, Install Fungus, and Build a Flowchart
CHAPTER TWO, PART I: THE SPACES OF THE QUEST
Technique One for Making Better Quests: Design labyrinthine, dream-like, and surreal spaces
Goal-Oriented Spaces
Tiered and Leveled Spaces
Outward Movement
Quest Hubs, Strands, and Initiatory Space
Dungeons and Labyrinths
Allegorical Spaces
Dream Spaces
Spaces and Avatars
CHAPTER TWO, PART II: LEVEL DESIGN
Tutorial .: (Spaces of the Quest/Level Design): Building a Quest Space with a Modular Kit
Optional but convenient sub-step:
Tutorial .: Mini-map and compass
Exercise .: Building the Green Knight’s Castle
Exercise .: Designing an Allegorical Core
Exercise .: Constructing Quest Hubs
Exercise .: Building the Quest Spaces for a Dragon Battle
CHAPTER THREE, PART I: THE CHARACTERS OF THE QUEST
Technique Two for Making Better Quests: Develop iconic characters who motivate quests and offer choices for their outcome.
Quest Characters and Archetypes
(Jungian and Post-Jungian)
Propp’s Dramatis Personae
Quest Characters and Tarot
Encounters and Dialogue
CHAPTER THREE, PART II: NPC CREATION AND DIALOGUE TREES
Tutorial .: Creating a custom character
Exercise .: Writing Quest Dialogue
CHAPTER FOUR, PART I:THE OBJECTS OF THE QUEST
Technique Three for Making Better Quests: Construct symbolic objects that reveal portions of a fragmented story.
Symbolic Quest Items
Objects in the Souls Games
The Tattoos in Planescape: Torment
Quest Objects in Invisible Sun
Propp and the Absent Object
Hitchcock and the McGuffin
Object-Oriented Programming and the Lore of Quest Items
The Rod of Many Parts
Conclusion
CHAPTER FOUR, PART II: DESIGNING QUEST ITEMS
Tutorial .: Object Creation Tutorial
Exercise .: Lady Bertilak’s Girdle
Exercise .: Multiple Quest Objects
Exercise .: The Bed of Marvels
Importing Custom Items
Modeling Custom Items
Exercise .: Designing Your Own Objects
CHAPTER FIVE, PART I: THE CHALLENGES OF THE QUEST AND QUEST SYSTEMS
Technique Four for Making Better Quests: Script challenges that allow players to enact meaning within the framework of the game’s rules.
Quest Flow, Quest Systems, and Scripting
Fetch Quests
Combat and Kill Quests
Escort Quests and Dungeon Crawls
Quest Systems
Main Quests and Side Quests
Quest UI and Quest Journal Systems
Quest Systems, Interlacing, and the Grail Saga
Scripting Ambiguity and Individual Interpretations
CHAPTER FIVE, PART II: SCRIPTING
Outlining Sir Gawain’s Quests to Prepare for Scripting them as Gameplay
Quest Challenges
Scripting and Quest Systems
Functions
Scripting Quests
Tutorial .: (Challenges of the Quest/Scripting): Creating a Quest Flowchart
Step One:
Step Two:
Step Three: Add conditional statements to the startQuestDialogue block.
Tutorial .: Scripting a Kill Quest
Tutorial .: Creating and Calling Additional Flowcharts to Build Quest Chains
Step One
Step Two
Step Three
Scripts Attached to Spaces
Scripting Triggers
Scripting Portals
Tutorial .: Creating a Portal in Unity
Step Four: Add a box collider and a rigidbody to the player object.
Scripts Attached to NPCs
Scripting Alignment and Faction
Scripts Attached to Objects
Puzzles and Interpretation in Quests
Scripting a Puzzle
Exercise .: Scripting Gawain’s Pentagram Puzzles
Exercise .: Scripting Five Kill Quests for Sir Gawain
Exercise .: Scripting Sir Gawain’s Trials with Lady Bertilak
CHAPTER SIX: QUESTS AND PEDAGOGY
Changes in Quest Pedagogy
Quest Design Workshop
Quest Design Workshop, Step One: Framing
Quest Design Workshop, Step One: Overall Quest Flow
Quest Design Workshop, Step Two: Quest Spaces
Quest Design Workshop, Step Three: Quest Characters
Quest Design Workshop, Step Four: Quest Objects
Quest Design Workshop, Step Five: Consolidation
Comparison Exercise: Adapting The Crying of Lot as a Quest
Conclusion: The Future(s) of Quest Design
Appendix One: Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, Books I and II
Historical Prologue
Book I: Christmas in Camelot
Sir Gawain and the Green Knight Book II
Gawain's Journey
Christmas at a Strange Castle
Appendix Two: The Faerie Queen, Book One, Cantos XI and XII
EDITED WITH NOTES BY GEORGE ARMSTRONG WAUCHOPE, M.A., Ph.D. PROFESSOR OF ENGLISH IN THE SOUTH CAROLINA COLLEGE
CANTO XI
Notes to The Faerie Queen, Cantos XI and XII
Works Cited
Biography
Jeff Howard is Senior Lecturer in the Games Academy at Falmouth University in Cornwall, where he specialises in occult, metal, and Gothic themes and mechanics in games.
