Let’s Talk About Side Quests

Image by Jess Bailey

“If everything had a point, where would we sit?”

Image by Paul Pastourmatzis

I actually asked my dad that once when I was younger. I’d been telling him about an experience I’d had that day – along with my usual side-stories and tangents (I used to tell five stories to get to one). I think my dad was trying to help me learn brevity when he asked me, “What’s the point, Sarah?” but, I recall being particularly annoyed that he didn’t want to hear my story the way I wanted to tell it.

In my mind, things were all connected and telling several short stories that informed the larger one was my norm for quite a long time. In truth, I still like to roll that way – I love a good side-story or tangential connection – but, at this point in my life, I’m better able to gage my audience and know when to stick to the bare bones and when to give backstory and side-notes. Fair warning though, if you ever have coffee or tea with me (outside of a business meeting), it’ll most likely be freeform all the way. I tend to prefer letting things unfold over trying to drive some point home.

I think that’s why I love the side quests in video games. There’s this sense of unfolding that happens, the promise of a good story. The chance to see the character you’re playing as in different settings that, depending on the developers, may or may not impact the overall storylines of the game.

Yes, I’m a big fan of the side quests.

So much so, that I often prioritize the side quests and looting in a game at the expense of the main quest lines, often leaving those for last. While this sometimes bugs my husband (who often wants to experience the game’s main plot line uninterrupted), my dabbling in the tangents has a way of leveling up our character so that they’re overpowered for the linear missions by the time we finally get to them. I like this a lot and it makes game play more enjoyable for me when my character is already a badass because of all the XP and riches gained playing the subplots. So, yes to the side quests!

Of course there are some side quests I’ve found lame and annoying, like capturing all those King Richard’s flags in Assassins Creed 1, or helping Druffy in Dragon Age: Inquisition (Slowest. Animal. Ever.). And, there are some side quests that were mere distraction and also never ending, like those radiant quests in The Elder Scrolls: Skyrim. True story, I quit playing that game. I have no idea how it ends.

Image by Ismael Paramo

But, there are also some side quests that are simply incredible, like the Bloody Baron’s family stuff in Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, or Legion’s loyalty mission in Mass Effect 2 (or any of the loyalty missions for that matter). Side quests like those add value not only to the overall storyline, but to the world the game is set in. Some developers even make the outcome of the side quests affect the outcome of the entire game (Red Dead Redemption or Horizon Zero Dawn anyone?).

And sometimes, you have no idea which side quests will affect the ending and which are just random (I’m looking at you, NieR: Automata) but, every game has them. And every life has them too. Side quests, side missions, seemingly random tangents that are somehow connected to the main storyline. I think about how often we may want to skip through or even bypass some aspects or tasks in our lives on our way to what we may perceive as the main event. But what if the things we might see as superfluous tangents or possibly meaningless side-tasks actually informed our lives? What if the choices we make and the way we handle the seemingly mundane actually impacted more than just the moment?

Spoiler alert, they can, and often do.

Just like in the video games, events and experiences that may seem like side quests and missions in our own lives can help us level up and prepare us for what is to come. So, what if we were more present in the moment? What if we allowed for the unfolding? What if we helped that person or did that thing? What if we explored without an attachment to the outcome, without knowing if or how this-or-that side quest may impact the overall story of our lives? What if we didn’t worry about the point of the thing and just sank into the experience of it? What if we took the tangents? And what if the tangents inform, or even make up, the whole story? What if…

We won’t know unless we let ourselves play. And that, perhaps, is the whole point.

Here’s to taking the tangents. To allowing for the unfolding, and to delighting in the side quests, knowing they will lead us to the next plot point in the main storyline of our lives even more badass than we were before.