As with collection quests, note the common formulaic elements in these quests. Each mentions:
- The target to be killed;
- The area in which the target can be found;
- Directions to find the target;
- Explicit restatement of the goal.
Also note the common element that these two kill quests are missing: mention of a reward. The lack of explicit statement of this reward is typical (if not ubiquitous), and has been since as far back as 1980s Ultima, when you could receive tersely-worded kill quests like "Go now and kill a Gelatinous Cube. Do not return until thy quest is done!"
Since we started off comparing epic poetry to MMOG quests, it's also interesting to view this comparison in light of some ancient epic quests. For example, in Beowulf, Hrothgar twice acts as a sort of quest giver to the hero - first to kill Grendel:
Never to any man erst I trusted,
since I could heave up hand and shield,
this noble Dane-Hall, till now to thee.
Have now and hold this house unpeered;
remember thy glory; thy might declare;
watch for the foe! No wish shall fail thee
if thou bidest the battle with bold-won life.
and then to kill Grendel's mother:
Now is help once more
with thee alone! The land thou knowst not,
place of fear, where thou findest out
that sin-flecked being. Seek if thou dare!
I will reward thee, for waging this fight,
with ancient treasure, as erst I did,
with winding gold, if thou winnest back.
In each case, Hrothgar cleverly works in the goal, the area in which the target can be found and a promise of reward (apparently, back then people were rewarded for kill quests).
The Argonautica by Apollonius Rhodius also includes several examples of quest giving, all couched within the overarching quest of Jason's journey to recover the golden fleece. Here are two examples of a use quest and a subdue quest from various points in the story:
"And the seer touched Jason as he lay wrapped in soft sheepskins and woke him at once, and thus spake: "Son of Aeson, thou must climb to this temple on rugged Dindymum and propitiate the mother of all the blessed gods on her fair throne, and the stormy blasts shall cease."
"It is the rule that no stranger who comes to the Bebrycians should depart till he has raised his hands in battle against mine. Wherefore select your bravest warrior from the host and set him here on the spot to contend with me in boxing. But if ye pay no heed and trample my decrees under foot, assuredly to your sorrow will stern necessity come upon you."
Note how each quest giver works in location, goal and (however vague) the reward for victory.
When an audience member sat down to listen to an oral epic poet in ancient Greece, he knew he was going to hear about Jason and Achilles and Medea and Atalanta beforehand, in the same way an MMOG player knows he's going to get Fighters and Warriors and Clerics and Rogues. Furthermore, our ancient poetry lover also knew he would hear about "swift-footed Achilles" or "resourceful Odysseus," in the same way our MMOG fan can expect to hear about wolves that need slaying and mushrooms that need collecting.
Such formulas - whether in epic poetry or MMOGs - are not just for the convenience of the artist; they're ultimately for the benefit of the audience, eliminating guesswork and confusion and giving people what it is they expect - a new toy with familiar packaging. By using formulas, however unconsciously, MMOG writers are telling their audiences a story that's been told more or less the same way, for thousands of years, ensuring the hero - whether it's Odysseus, or Master Chief, or $PlayerName$ - will live happily ever after.
Alas, the same cannot be said for the wolves.
Michael Fiegel is a writer and game designer best known as the creator of Ninja Burger. He is a co-editor at Gamegrene, and most recently worked on Perpetual Entertainment's late Gods & Heroes MMO. He can be contacted at aeon AT aeforge.com.
