Skyrim To Feature Infinite Quests

As if RPGs didn’t suck away enough of our life already, it seems that the upcoming time-sink, Skyrim, will feature infinite quests.  Yep, according to Skyrim director, Todd Howard, in an interview with Wired magazine, Skyrim will boast a “never-ending stream of procedurally generated content, giving players an infinite number of things to do.” Tasty.

According to Wired:

“The game’s Radiant quest system randomly generates new tasks based on your progress in the game. An innkeeper might ask you to hunt for bandits in a place you haven’t found yet, or an aspiring alchemist could request that you collect 10 undiscovered flowers for his work. Howard claims that the options are endless.”

In addition, extra work can be picked up from the guilds to keep you out of mischief, and further extending the game’s life.  What we found more interesting, however, was Howard’s revelation that the game will feature ‘environmental storytelling’, which Wired talk briefly about:

Skyrim’s world is sprinkled with secrets and minor bits of narrative that you’ll have to piece together as you explore, an aspect of game design that Howard says the team picked up while working on their last game, Fallout 3.

One of Fallout 3′s biggest strengths was in the things it didn’t tell you and, instead, left you to piece together on your own – read Mark’s ‘God Is In The Details’ article for more on this topic – such as the tragic spooning skeletons laying on a bed beside packets of Rad-X, while a child’s skeleton lay next door beside a sad pile of blocks, or the skeletal remains of a family who were on their way to the safety of a vault, with their suitcases in the boot of their car and a letter of acceptance in their pockets… only they hadn’t made it.  This and a myriad of other tiny, blink and miss them discoveries enriched Fallout’s universe, and while Oblivion sadly lacked them – Nate Dyer and Fort Nikel being one of the heartbreaking exceptions – we can’t wait to find out what similar treasures lay buried in Skyrim’s lands.

So, when you’ve finished decorating your mountainside pad with dragon hides and gaudy vases made of Minotaur penises, it is nice to know that there will always be something extra to do.  Not that we ever ran out in Oblivion.  A quick poll and some cajoling (threats) here at GLHQ caused many writers to grudgingly reveal that they spent too much time in Oblivion pottering around playing Sim Cheydinhal, arranging armour in cabinets and sorting out alchemiacal ingredients into separate cupboards from magical jewelery.  Another reason to masturbate furiously over Skyrim?  We think so.

Source: Wired

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