I always read/listen to the quest giver. I'm interested in the story lines of the games I play. LotRO had some of the most well-written quests I have seen. It was a joy to read them.
It depends on the game, if there is something in the quest text or cutscene that is absolutely necessary to completing the quest, of course I pay attention, but for most, it's just generic nonsense that doesn't matter anyhow, why bother with it?
That drive me nuts. I liked reading all the quest text in WoW...and my ex-friend (for other more personal reasons he isn't a friend anymore)...but he'd accept a quest and run off and complete it. Then say "wow you are so slow, come on and catch up"...and run off to the next quest.
He also took EVERY item that dropped. And if it was a roll the dice item, he'd need it even if he couldn't use it...and then he'd give me the white and junk items...
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
I'll read the first 10 or so quests and if it isn't interesting or concise then I will probably skip the majority of the rest of them. Once you've read some fantasy quest text, you've read them all and generally is a waste of time. I have to absolutely love the game lore to go out of my way to read it. Example-Skyrim I've read a lot of the various books in the game before building a library for them.
Often quest text are uninteresting because of the format. NPC: BLAHBLAHBLAHYAMMERYAMMERYAMMER PC:ok... ok.. ok... Give me the job. But when it is a conversation with multiple dialog choices (Neocron) or even fully voiced (SWTOR) I'm more likely to read/listen to it all...well atleast the first time through.
Walls of text bore me to death. That's the main reason I skip them in these forums. But when playing a mmorpg for the first time I tend to read a majority of the quest dialog. I have to admit though I only do this with mmorpgs that originate from a English speaking developer as I think a lot of "meaning" gets lost in translation from non English based mmorpgs.
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
If the "I read or listen to the quest" category was actually more than the "I just accept" one.I would have laughed and said this poll was a load of bullshit..
I read and listen to every quest.What I always realize while doing this is, the people whizzing by me,zooming in to open the quest dialogue to accept,then promptly zooming off to the quest marker..GO GO GO GO GO
its sad really.People say MMO's must have stories etc,then they dont even bother with them.
Personally I find most stories in MMOs to be shallow and pedantic.
No, but seriously, most of the stories in MMOs today are just dull and unimaginative. Besides, as others have said, it's not like it really matters because it will haven no effect whether or not you bother reading the quest.
The only exception I can think of was actually Dragon Nest, because a LOT of the quest text in that game can be pretty hilarious.
Played: DAoC, AC2, WoW, CoH, GW, GW2, WAR, AoC, Champions Online, Rift, Dragon Nest, Vindictus, Warframe, Neverwinter, Dungeon Fighter Online
90% or more, yes, I read the quest text or watch the cutscene. I bought the game to participate in it, not rush to the end.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse. - FARGIN_WAR
I usually read all quest text for the first hour or so of play. I'll decide to skim through it or continue reading depending on the quality of the text and whether it interests me or not. Most of the time it's just pointless babble that amounts to nothing but telling you to go kill 10 boars. Sometimes I'll just resort to only reading the objectives if the quest descriptions are really horrible. Oh yeah, I also completely skip it if I've already done the quest on another character for example. Guess it just depends on the situation really.
Very surprised to see 41% (of 75 voters) say they read the quest text. Because when playing Vanguard, a game that attracted an unusually high number of role-players, absolutely no one that I knew or grouped with were reading the quests. Total time spent at a quest hub was maybe 60 seconds to get about six or more quests.
I *wanted* to read the quests to get some immersion, but was always rushed by the people in my group.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon. In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
Very surprised to see 41% (of 75 voters) say they read the quest text. Because when playing Vanguard, a game that attracted an unusually high number of role-players, absolutely no one that I knew or grouped with were reading the quests. Total time spent at a quest hub was maybe 60 seconds to get about six or more quests.
I *wanted* to read the quests to get some immersion, but was always rushed by the people in my group.
the worst part is they immedietelly accept the quest, and (my ex-friend did this all the time)...ask "where do I go?"
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
Very surprised to see 41% (of 75 voters) say they read the quest text. Because when playing Vanguard, a game that attracted an unusually high number of role-players, absolutely no one that I knew or grouped with were reading the quests. Total time spent at a quest hub was maybe 60 seconds to get about six or more quests.
I *wanted* to read the quests to get some immersion, but was always rushed by the people in my group.
1. Forum may not be good representation.
2. People in group may be "ashamed" to read the quest because they don't want to reveal that they are 'suckers who read text walls' or simply because they don't want to keep other people waiting for them, especially if they know they are playing with people who are not interested in quests story.
its sad really.People say MMO's must have stories etc,then they dont even bother with them.
Probably forum idealists that don't even play more than one MMO at a time, because I don't know anyone who plays MMO's for the story, including myself. It's all about hitting things til they're dead. If I wanted a good story, I'd read a book, not play an MMO.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
its sad really.People say MMO's must have stories etc,then they dont even bother with them.
Probably forum idealists that don't even play more than one MMO at a time, because I don't know anyone who plays MMO's for the story, including myself.
But come on now--that's primarily due to so few of them having decent lore writers.
Know why some those Twilight Zone episodes (cheesy as they are by modern effects standards) won all of those awards?
But real writers aren't often in the budget, when we can just invent a new Major Baddie any time it's required, and ex-machina entire continents and dimensions into existence once per expansion.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
its sad really.People say MMO's must have stories etc,then they dont even bother with them.
Probably forum idealists that don't even play more than one MMO at a time, because I don't know anyone who plays MMO's for the story, including myself.
But come on now--that's primarily due to so few of them having decent lore writers.
Know why some those Twilight Zone episodes (cheesy as they are by modern effects standards) won all of those awards?
But real writers aren't often in the budget, when we can just invent a new Major Baddie any time it's required, and ex-machina entire continents and dimensions into existence once per expansion.
Maybe. I actually found the lore in GW2 pretty compelling, just not the dialog nor most of the NPC's. I think my problem is that even if the writing is decent, it's still in a themepark game where rushing ahead is usually the order of the day. No one wants to sit around reading when they could be playing the game... well, that's not entirely true otherwise Bioware wouldn't have been so popular (I find their games dull as hell myself). Unfortunately, there seem to be fewer ways to incorporate story into a sandbox, where I'd probably actually read it as I took my time and enjoyed the virtual world. When it comes down to it, a lot of people are going to completely bypass any quest text and space bar surf through voice acting.
It would be better for these companies if they made the quest text more engaging when combined with the actual gameplay, or here's an idea, just make questing better in general. I think we've killed enough rats by this point.
Well back in vanilla wow I was out questing, I think I was killing ten rats, I used to read the quests to find out what I had to do. I remember running into another player looking for something, and they asked for help. Since I was almost finished that quest hub I said that "May be I could.". He told me what he was doing, and I said "Oh that quest, follow me.". The player then thanked me in wonder saying how they spent hours looking for it, and asked me how I ever found it. I replied " Um well I read the quest...". I did feel like a bit of an @$$, but it was worded in a real direct fashion.
Since the quest helper mini map thing came out though, I have to admit I stopped. Tsw was good though I wanted to read those quests, because the conspiracy theorist in me was hoping for a puzzle.
I'd like to. Really I would. It's just that even if the dialog is spectacular is still boils down to killing 10 rats or clicking on three things nearby that glow in order to receive the amazing magic sword for saving the planet. The quest tracker will point me in the direction, tally my progress and tell me when to stop and return for my reward.
When I put it that way, I wonder why I even bother with MMOs any more.
Comments
I did read the quest back in the day.
When there where no arrows pointing to your next location, When just sublte hints where given of certain items and things u needed to gather
Played: UO, EQ, WoW, DDO, SWG, AO, CoH, EvE, TR, AoC, GW, GA, Aion, Allods, lots more
Relatively Recently (Re)Played: HL2 (all), Halo (PC, all), Batman:AA; AC, ME, BS, DA, FO3, DS, Doom (all), LFD1&2, KOTOR, Portal 1&2, Blink, Elder Scrolls (all), lots more
Now Playing: None
Hope: None
If its my first play through, yes.
If its a situation where I'm repeating content I've already done while leveling an alt, achievement whoring, etc, then I just click accept.
That drive me nuts. I liked reading all the quest text in WoW...and my ex-friend (for other more personal reasons he isn't a friend anymore)...but he'd accept a quest and run off and complete it. Then say "wow you are so slow, come on and catch up"...and run off to the next quest.
He also took EVERY item that dropped. And if it was a roll the dice item, he'd need it even if he couldn't use it...and then he'd give me the white and junk items...
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
All of my posts are either intelligent, thought provoking, funny, satirical, sarcastic or intentionally disrespectful. Take your pick.
I get banned in the forums for games I love, so lets see if I do better in the forums for games I hate.
I enjoy the serenity of not caring what your opinion is.
I don't hate much, but I hate Apple© with a passion. If Steve Jobs was alive, I would punch him in the face.
I'll read the first 10 or so quests and if it isn't interesting or concise then I will probably skip the majority of the rest of them. Once you've read some fantasy quest text, you've read them all and generally is a waste of time. I have to absolutely love the game lore to go out of my way to read it. Example-Skyrim I've read a lot of the various books in the game before building a library for them.
Often quest text are uninteresting because of the format. NPC: BLAHBLAHBLAHYAMMERYAMMERYAMMER PC:ok... ok.. ok... Give me the job. But when it is a conversation with multiple dialog choices (Neocron) or even fully voiced (SWTOR) I'm more likely to read/listen to it all...well atleast the first time through.
"Small minds talk about people, average minds talk about events, great minds talk about ideas."
If the "I read or listen to the quest" category was actually more than the "I just accept" one.I would have laughed and said this poll was a load of bullshit..
I read and listen to every quest.What I always realize while doing this is, the people whizzing by me,zooming in to open the quest dialogue to accept,then promptly zooming off to the quest marker..GO GO GO GO GO
its sad really.People say MMO's must have stories etc,then they dont even bother with them.
I typically don't bother reading quest text.
Personally I find most stories in MMOs to be shallow and pedantic.
No, but seriously, most of the stories in MMOs today are just dull and unimaginative. Besides, as others have said, it's not like it really matters because it will haven no effect whether or not you bother reading the quest.
The only exception I can think of was actually Dragon Nest, because a LOT of the quest text in that game can be pretty hilarious.
Played: DAoC, AC2, WoW, CoH, GW, GW2, WAR, AoC, Champions Online, Rift, Dragon Nest, Vindictus, Warframe, Neverwinter, Dungeon Fighter Online
Currently Playing: Dungeon Fighter Online Global
Waiting for: None
90% or more, yes, I read the quest text or watch the cutscene. I bought the game to participate in it, not rush to the end.
- Al
Personally the only modern MMORPG trend that annoys me is the idea that MMOs need to be designed in a way to attract people who don't actually like MMOs. Which to me makes about as much sense as someone trying to figure out a way to get vegetarians to eat at their steakhouse.- FARGIN_WAR
Very surprised to see 41% (of 75 voters) say they read the quest text. Because when playing Vanguard, a game that attracted an unusually high number of role-players, absolutely no one that I knew or grouped with were reading the quests. Total time spent at a quest hub was maybe 60 seconds to get about six or more quests.
I *wanted* to read the quests to get some immersion, but was always rushed by the people in my group.
Luckily, i don't need you to like me to enjoy video games. -nariusseldon.
In F2P I think it's more a case of the game's trying to play the player's. -laserit
the worst part is they immedietelly accept the quest, and (my ex-friend did this all the time)...ask "where do I go?"
My Skyrim, Fallout 4, Starbound and WoW + other game mods at MODDB:
https://www.moddb.com/mods/skyrim-anime-overhaul
Touché.
1. Forum may not be good representation.
2. People in group may be "ashamed" to read the quest because they don't want to reveal that they are 'suckers who read text walls' or simply because they don't want to keep other people waiting for them, especially if they know they are playing with people who are not interested in quests story.
Enter a whole new realm of challenge and adventure.
Probably forum idealists that don't even play more than one MMO at a time, because I don't know anyone who plays MMO's for the story, including myself. It's all about hitting things til they're dead. If I wanted a good story, I'd read a book, not play an MMO.
Er...both?
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
But come on now--that's primarily due to so few of them having decent lore writers.
Know why some those Twilight Zone episodes (cheesy as they are by modern effects standards) won all of those awards?
But real writers aren't often in the budget, when we can just invent a new Major Baddie any time it's required, and ex-machina entire continents and dimensions into existence once per expansion.
Self-pity imprisons us in the walls of our own self-absorption. The whole world shrinks down to the size of our problem, and the more we dwell on it, the smaller we are and the larger the problem seems to grow.
Maybe. I actually found the lore in GW2 pretty compelling, just not the dialog nor most of the NPC's. I think my problem is that even if the writing is decent, it's still in a themepark game where rushing ahead is usually the order of the day. No one wants to sit around reading when they could be playing the game... well, that's not entirely true otherwise Bioware wouldn't have been so popular (I find their games dull as hell myself). Unfortunately, there seem to be fewer ways to incorporate story into a sandbox, where I'd probably actually read it as I took my time and enjoyed the virtual world. When it comes down to it, a lot of people are going to completely bypass any quest text and space bar surf through voice acting.
It would be better for these companies if they made the quest text more engaging when combined with the actual gameplay, or here's an idea, just make questing better in general. I think we've killed enough rats by this point.
The first time though I usually read the story, but on alts its click click give me the quest already
Well back in vanilla wow I was out questing, I think I was killing ten rats, I used to read the quests to find out what I had to do. I remember running into another player looking for something, and they asked for help. Since I was almost finished that quest hub I said that "May be I could.". He told me what he was doing, and I said "Oh that quest, follow me.". The player then thanked me in wonder saying how they spent hours looking for it, and asked me how I ever found it. I replied " Um well I read the quest...". I did feel like a bit of an @$$, but it was worded in a real direct fashion.
Since the quest helper mini map thing came out though, I have to admit I stopped. Tsw was good though I wanted to read those quests, because the conspiracy theorist in me was hoping for a puzzle.
I'd like to. Really I would. It's just that even if the dialog is spectacular is still boils down to killing 10 rats or clicking on three things nearby that glow in order to receive the amazing magic sword for saving the planet. The quest tracker will point me in the direction, tally my progress and tell me when to stop and return for my reward.
When I put it that way, I wonder why I even bother with MMOs any more.
Voice acting has made it even worse somehow.