Let's put this into a gaming context by looking at one of the most common types of MMOG quests: the collection quest. In this type of quest, the player character (PC) is asked to collect some number of items under some pretext, such as in "A Deadly Bloom," a quest from Lord of the Rings Online (LOTRO). The dialogue reads:
There is a dangerous plant spreading from the goblin cave north-west of here. The dwarves call it "Skorgrim's Bloom" after that vile dwarf slain many years ago when Edhelion fell.
This foul weed is foreign to Ered Luin, and its spread must be contained. The plant is quite deadly, and I fear that many unknowing creatures will be poisoned if they graze upon it.
We cannot wipe it out in one blow, but we can halt its spread. The plants can be found flowering along the path leading to Mirkstone Tunnels, north-west of here. Uproot some of these plants, and you will be rewarded.
Compare this to a collection quest from World of Warcraft, "A Rare Bean":
You are ill-equipped to face the restless elements of Nagrand. Before you can help the Earthen Ring, you must help yourself.
To the west you will find dung heaps left behind by the wildlife of Nagrand. You must search the dung for the digested remnants of the Nagrand caracoli. From this bean I am able to make a tablet that will aid you in your battle against the restless forces of nature.
Return to me when you have collected no less than two fists worth of caracoli... Ogre sized fists.
Even at first glance, the language used in these quests is very similar. Each one contains many of the same basic formulas, using slightly different wording to say the same thing:
- The object to be collected;
- The area in which the object can be found;
- Directions to find the object;
- Explicit restatement of the goal;
- The promise of a reward.
Since each formula has a self-contained purpose, the formulas can be moved around within the same body of dialogue without losing any meaning; reward might be listed first, or directions given last, for example. It's to the credit of the authors - and a testament to the flexibility of the English language - that these examples are not perfect mirrors of one another; many MMOG quests are practically clones.
Quests' formulaic nature becomes clearer when you consider kill quests. One of the most popular targets for such quests is the wolf; World of Warcraft has its fair share, and LOTRO has at least a few, including a kill/collection quest named, unsurprisingly, "Wolf Pelts." Here are two others for comparison:
Combe has always relied on this lumber camp for her livelihood, and now the people of Archet will be relying on us to supply the wood to rebuild their town, I expect. There's no shortage of work, that much is certain!
We'll need to start taking down some of the trees to the north-east, along the cliffs, but there's a wolf-den up that way that endangers our workers!
Could you deal with those wolves for me? It's not safe to chop down trees near there, and I'm afraid we might lose some of our best loggers. Follow the cliff wall. You'll see the wolves, or they'll see you.
- LOTRO, "Den of Wolves"
Sven and I have dangerous days ahead of us, what with the Necromancer to the east and all. And out here alone as we are, we have to hunt for our own food. It seems every time I'm heading back to camp with some meat on me, starving or rabid dire wolves come out of the forest wanting a bite. It goes without saying, living out here is dangerous work!
But if you can rid us of some of those wolves, we'd have an easier time of it. They mostly prowl north and east of here, near the river.
- WoW, "Wolves at Our Heels"
