Reading Response: Quests in context: A comparative analysis of Discworld and World of Warcraft
I found this reading to be incredibly one dimensional. The author analyzes the quest structures of World of Warcraft and a MUD called Discworld. She looks at the quest structures of each game and how they fit into previously defined "quest" analysis. She comes to the conclusion that quests are easier to complete in WoW and harder to complete in Discworld because in WoW quests are easier to find and more clearly directed than in discworld. Well, no duh. WoW is a BILLION dollar game with top talent developers working endlessly to ensure a seamless and rewarding experience where as Discworld is a free (i think) text based MUD that has been cobbled together over the course of 17 years. The reading really failed to answer deeper questions like WHY are quests important to games? or why does the idea of taking up some epic quest appeal so deeply to players of games and people in general? What is it about the mythic structure that makes it so enduring?
Comments
WHY are quests important to games? or why does the idea of taking up some epic quest appeal so deeply to players of games and people in general? What is it about the mythic structure that makes it so enduring?
This leads you to the work of Joseph Campbell and his extraordinary series of books about the power of Myths, The Hero's Journey, The Hero With a Thousand Faces etc.
It is well documented how George Lucas used Campbell's ideas (and used him as a consultant) during the creation of Star Wars.
J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter, follows the monomyth schema very closely as well.
You can actually find YouTube interviews with Lucas talking about that. And if anyone has not seen the PBS interviews of Bill Moyer's with Joseph Campbell do yourself a huge favor and go rent the series.