One of the key design questions facing World of Warcraft"s development team is how to create a game where players can have fun "whether they have half an hour or all night to play." Enter the World of Warcraft quest system. Quests may be pretty standard fare for massively multiplayer RPGs, but the difference in World of Warcraft is the quality, accessibility and sheer quantity of quests that await adventurers. Jeff Kaplan, one of Blizzard"s lead quest designers, takes a few minutes away from the game to walk us through World of Warcraft"s quest system and how it will be different than other massively multiplayer games.
Insider: What different types of quests will we see in World of Warcraft?
Jeff Kaplan: The quest system in WOW has evolved tremendously. Initially, our quest types were very basic. There were simple bounties (go kill ten foozles) and collection quests (bring me ten foozle teeth). As the project progressed and our game systems became more complex, we were able to integrate the quest system into all of the other components of the design. This has allowed a lot more freedom and flexibility.
Given this increased freedom, we"ve been able to add quests that require area triggers. For example, the game will know if you visited a certain area - or we can put a timer in place for a quest. All of our spawn and event systems are tied into the quest system. This allows us to institute a "defend the objective" mission. There is one of these in the Pyrewood Village in the Undead area, where Deathstalker Faerleia - who is trying to destroy the Town Council - needs your help in ambushing the Council Members. When you accept the quest, the council walks in and you have to fight along side Faerleia.