In MMORPGs, I’m usually someone who completely ignores lore and story. I don’t think it’s that I’m not interested in them per se — rather, I believe that in many modern MMORPGs, lore and story are not conveyed in a believable or immersive way. Mortal also has significant weaknesses in this area.
A few days ago, I started thinking about how quest design in MMORPGs could be reimagined, and how old concepts from games like Ultima Online or Asheron’s Call could be redesigned with modern technical possibilities. Interestingly, I’ve never actually played those old MMORPGs.
I think this concept would be a particularly good fit for Mortal:
1. The problem with quest design in today’s MMORPGs
There are two extremes in today’s MMO market, and both break immersion in their own ways:
a) Themepark MMORPGs
2. Conceptual solution
The solution is to design storytelling and player guidance so that the world remains persistent, believable, and the same for everyone without the “chosen one” illusion, but also without abandoning story entirely.
The concept is based on three pillars:
a) Environmental Storytelling
The world itself tells the story through locations, inscriptions, books, notes, relics, and visual cues.
Dynamic, local events visible only to players nearby.
Special NPCs with daily routines, travel paths, and changing dialogue which are audible to surrounding players through voice acting.
A player encounters a traveling scholar NPC sitting by a campfire, telling a legend which only appears when certain conditions are met in the world, or until the NPC repeats its routine, or both.:
“Go north. You’ll find a small burned-down hut on the great mountain.
In the hut’s basement lies the key to the Mad Mage’s dungeon.
But be careful—the hut is said to be cursed. At least, that’s what the legends say.”
The basic idea is that the game world’s interactable items are the actual quest givers. NPCs, books, or inscriptions draw attention to various events and secrets in the world through hints, or they simply tell you something about the world’s or the town’s backstory.
All embedded in an interactive system that, depending on the state of the world, reveals different event cycles, NPC behaviors, and locations within the game world.
A few days ago, I started thinking about how quest design in MMORPGs could be reimagined, and how old concepts from games like Ultima Online or Asheron’s Call could be redesigned with modern technical possibilities. Interestingly, I’ve never actually played those old MMORPGs.
I think this concept would be a particularly good fit for Mortal:
1. The problem with quest design in today’s MMORPGs
There are two extremes in today’s MMO market, and both break immersion in their own ways:
a) Themepark MMORPGs
- Every player is "the chosen one"
- NPCs give everyone the same task, as if only that player could complete it.
- Quests often follow repetitive patterns (“kill X enemies,” “collect Y items”).
- The world doesn’t respond believable to multiple players being present at the same time. This is often “solved” with personalized and instanced story quests.
- Important content or core systems are locked behind long quest chains.
- Often completely lack lore or story, or reduce it to a minimum.
- The world offers freedom and player-driven content, but without a narrative framework, many players lack motivation or emotional connection.
- Story elements, if present, are often so superficial that they feel meaningless in daily gameplay and fail to create a connection to the world.
2. Conceptual solution
The solution is to design storytelling and player guidance so that the world remains persistent, believable, and the same for everyone without the “chosen one” illusion, but also without abandoning story entirely.
The concept is based on three pillars:
a) Environmental Storytelling
The world itself tells the story through locations, inscriptions, books, notes, relics, and visual cues.
- Players can discover hints leading to special locations or events.
- Everyone has access to these hints no NPC gating.
- The story isn’t limited to a quest UI but is embedded in the game world.
Dynamic, local events visible only to players nearby.
- Triggered by conditions like time of day, season, or world state.
- Can include combat, puzzles, exploration, or narrative scenes.
- No global announcement, no quest marker only those present experience it.
Special NPCs with daily routines, travel paths, and changing dialogue which are audible to surrounding players through voice acting.
- Some only tell stories or world lore.
- Some give hints for a quests that make sense for groups.
- players nearby the npc can hear the story dialogue, so everyone can have the hint for the quest
- Quests aren’t repeated endlessly some NPCs give them only once per day or per event cycle.
A player encounters a traveling scholar NPC sitting by a campfire, telling a legend which only appears when certain conditions are met in the world, or until the NPC repeats its routine, or both.:
“Go north. You’ll find a small burned-down hut on the great mountain.
In the hut’s basement lies the key to the Mad Mage’s dungeon.
But be careful—the hut is said to be cursed. At least, that’s what the legends say.”
- The "quest" is only available that day and only for players who encounter the NPC live.
- The playerd can sets off without quest markers, only following the NPC’s hints.
- The key is actually in the hut, but it’s not a “quest item” it simply exists in the world.
- An old note from the Mad Mage in the basement reveals that the key belongs to a dungeon.
- They can set off to find the entrance on their own.
The basic idea is that the game world’s interactable items are the actual quest givers. NPCs, books, or inscriptions draw attention to various events and secrets in the world through hints, or they simply tell you something about the world’s or the town’s backstory.
All embedded in an interactive system that, depending on the state of the world, reveals different event cycles, NPC behaviors, and locations within the game world.
Last edited:
