by Adol The Red » Mon Jan 26, 2015 3:20 pm
I feel like getting just the right amount of side content is an art form itself, and then of course whether or not it's too much or too little depends so heavily on the player. As far as Dragon Age goes, I've only played partway into the first two and have not played Inquisition yet, so I cannot directly comment, though these days I take high levels of criticism from fanbases with a grain of salt.
The problem for me is that lately I have less time for games, and have also developed less patience. I do love large worlds, and of course I love the side quests that go with them. I think the best of these do something that stands out and helps build the world a little. The quests themselves may not all be unique, but they could involve a character with an interesting personality or introduce world lore from a different or deeper perspective. I like games that give a list of facts to read (even if I have been ignoring them lately). The database section of Colony Wars was one of my favorite parts of that game, just because it helped establish the world. So while a lore related quest might not tell you something you don't already know, game creators could introduce it in a deeper way.
It's when quests - and sometimes the games themselves - start to feel like busy work that I lose interest, and yet, I hate to leave an available quest undone. The completionist impulse is of course my problem, and sometimes simple quests are good just to get extra money, items, experience... whatever you need. Just, add something, make it worth the effort, is what all of these words are trying to say.
I may not necessarily play it. Lately I crave simplicity in games. I grew up on RPGs and love them, both modern and old style, so I hope I get that patience back again someday. And I hope game makers challenge themselves to make all of their side content interesting in at least some way.
Epic , brah!
does the dolphin exhale his blow after he... blows his load? 
