The Journey, Not The Destination

Throughout my life, I've always seen the goal of where I want to be. I've just never seen the path to get there. I had the realization last night, that maybe I should start enjoying life more, and maybe living in the present, as opposed to trying to figure out how to reach the goal. Don't get me wrong, it's important to have goals to strive for, but it seems as though we are a culture that is obsessed with reaching goals and accomplishing things. I feel as though we scarcely take the time to enjoy the things around us, or we are so caught up in trying to make ends meet, or doing what it takes to reach our goals, we don't really see what's around us. I think that if we took a page from the time that we put into video games, we might learn a thing or two.

Recently I completed The Witcher III: The Wild Hunt and its expansions. I played the main game and the first expansion the way that I eat my plate when I go out to eat: I finish the main course first, and then move on to the sides. I don't particularly think that there is anything wrong with this, especially since the writing in the story makes it seems as though I am so pressed for time, but perhaps I really missed out on enjoying the world of Witcher III. By the time I got around to obtaining the second and final expansion, Blood and Wine, I decided that I would do just that. It also helped that the expansion gave a nice change of scenery as well. I took my time with the game, and decided that I would hunt down side quests, and just explore. I was a pretty well experienced Witcher, and I had some good equipment to boot, I was going to go wherever the wind took me. Because of this, I enjoyed myself. I took on any side quest that I could find, and really enjoyed each one. They were filled with interesting characters and memorable moments. If I had gone my normal route of focusing on the main quest, I probably would have ignored all of these little moments.



Games don't often encourage side quests. They are constantly portrayed as something that is secondary, even tertiary, and yet the writers and designers spent just as much time on them to make sure that they would be a quality experience. Well, at least for the bigger side quests any way. Take for example: Batman: Arkham City. In this game, there are several side quests that the player can choose to pursue, and each one feels like it could be its very own game. The story and characters are well crafted, and the overall experience of them feels fulfilling. However, the game does nothing to stress their importance, even though during the course of these quests the lives of several characters are on the line. If Batman were to just ignore the precedent set by his psychotic foils, the lives of the innocents would be forfeit. It seems rather odd that Batman has the option to ignore saving people. After all, that's what he does. What if a game actually forced the player to focus on side quests?



Mass Effect 2 is one of my favorite games of all time. It's in my top 5. What ME 2 does, is just that. The game forces players to take on side quests, and each one is amazing in its own way. If you've never played the game before: Commander Shepard is at it again, fighting off evil aliens that are reeking havoc across the galaxy. However, because of the mystery of these evil n'eredowells, their tactics are just as confusing. The evil alien race in question are the Collectors, mysterious bug-like beings that only appear when they want to, seemingly at random. This time around, they are directly attacking small human colonies and abducting everyone there. As is befitting to their mysterious nature, the Collectors use hit & run tactics. They come, they abduct, they leave. So, during this time of the Collectors absence, Commander Shepard has some time on their hands. Apparently, a lot has happened with the crew since the good Commander has been gone, and some things need sorting out. These are the side quests of the game. Throughout, the player will find themselves being asked to speak privately with each crew member about something that is bothering them. Because of your attachment to the characters, and the need for them to remain focused during the final mission of the game, you happily oblige to hear them out. Each crew member tells their story of what has been on their mind, and through this, you learn more about their past and personality. To see each character reflected in the nature of the missions that are provided is something that is just way too cool! Each mission feels tailor made to the respective character. While Commander Shepard feels pressed for time in stopping the Collectors; them being gone puts my mind at ease while I'm helping out my crew members. This, I believe, is how side questing should be structured.



Side quests make up a majority of what RPGs are, and yet most of them get ignored, or are just a poor excuse for XP grinding. Side quests should enrich the world, as they are a good reason to explore it. They can be a way for players to learn more about the universe that they are exploring, and yet the most common side quest is something along the lines of "go to this place that I've marked on your map and bring back item X to me". That's it. That's all there is to it. The experience of doing such a thing turns out to be trivial and not even worth doing, as the in game reward isn't even worth it.

Now, maybe we have something in life that we can do with ignoring, and maybe there are some things that just aren't even worth looking into. What if, though, we took a chance and changed course? Our end goals will still be there, because the path is unclear. We may not know exactly how to get where we want to go, but if we keep working towards it, we might just make it. Even if that means taking a detour every once in a while.