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Hi, this is Mark Brown with Game Maker's Toolkit,[br]a series on video game design.

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The first thing I did when I emerged from[br]Vault 111 in Fallout 4 was deactivate the

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main quest. And whenever someone gives me[br]a mission...

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BLAKE ABERNATHY: Those raiders that killed Mary, they took her locket too. If you could get it back, it'd mean a lot to us...

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I deactivate that too.

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I'm doing this, slightly mad thing, because[br]I had just been playing The Witcher 3, and

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felt that the game's helpful, hand-hand-holding[br]quest information - like the commands on the

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side of the screen, the marker on the mini-map,[br]and the magic GPS trail to my next location

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- was kind of... spoiling the experience.

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Like, take this chap with the funny hairdo.[br]He's giving me some directions to my next

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quest point and he says...

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BOWL CUT BLOKE: Know the small[br]pond near the village? Path leads off from

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it. Follow that 'til you come across a lone[br]rock. Walk around that and into the woods,

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find the old cart, you're there.

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Okay, got it. Pond, Boulder, Cart. I'm on[br]it. But as soon as we leave the conversation,

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a dotted line appears on my mini-map. So[br]I follow it. I end up here, and I guess I have to find

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GERALT: a large stone near the pond

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ah, god damn[br]it Geralt! I was about to say that.

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The quests in this game are often exciting[br]and funny and thoughtful, but getting to them

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just has you blindly stumbling from waypoint[br]to waypoint, not fully taking in this incredible

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world that CD Projekt Red has established.[br]It's so hard to be truly immersed in a world

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like this when you spend most of your time[br]operating in this artificial video game layer,

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that sits on top of everything else.

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Games with nonlinear levels and big open worlds[br]didn't use to be like this. It's hard to believe

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there was once a time before floating arrows[br]and mini-maps but go back and play Deus Ex

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and when Paul Denton says he has map for you,[br]he just means you now have an aerial photo

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in your notes, and you'll have to figure out[br]where you are, where your objective is, and

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where to go by observing and investigating.[br]Similarly, the maps in the original Thief

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were incomplete sketches, covered in doodles[br]and notes.

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And then there's Morrowind. You've got a map[br]but it only shows you places you've been so

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if you need to get somewhere new you need[br]to ask someone for directions, or consult

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your journal, or look at a signpost. You actually[br]have to be a part of the world, and become

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immersed in the landscape. Instead of simply[br]following a trail of breadcrumbs you make

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your own way through Vvardenfell, and often[br]end up finding secrets and surprises along the way.

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A few games are still carrying that torch.[br]Science-based survival sim Miasmata, for example,

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offers you a map, which is pieced together[br]from places you've been and scraps of paper

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you find, but it refuses to show you your current[br]position unless you get to a good vantage point

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and triangulate your location by pointing[br]to two, known structures. Or weenies, if you

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watched the previous episode. Again, simply[br]moving through the world requires skill and

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determination, and there's a huge sense of[br]reward when you reach your destination.

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But okay. Those are arcane retro games and[br]high concept indies. What about modern triple-A

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open worlders, that feel the need to offer[br]dynamically updated maps and helpful hints

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in the name of accessibility?

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Well, how about more optional quests that[br]shun such navigational aids, and encourage

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devoted players to really engage with the[br]world? Like the treasure maps you find in

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games like Red Dead Redemption, Skyrim, and[br]Assassin's Creed Black Flag.

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The idea with these is that you get a scrap[br]of paper which directs you to some hidden

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booty. The map might have a crude drawing[br]of some landmass or a rock or a tree, and

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that's about it. You then need to scour the[br]landscape and find the real-world equivalent

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of this drawing. You're left to figure it[br]out yourself with no hints, no map markers,

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no hand-holding.

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They're fun because they encourage you to[br]really study and explore the game's world.

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And they also have a nice byproduct in that[br]they delay the gratification of getting a

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reward. Like finding keys, to open lockers[br]in Yakuza, or hitting goddess stones to unlock

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goddess chests in Skyward Sword, putting an[br]extra step in before finding a reward makes

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it all the more sweeter.

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Anyway. I always cherished these scraps of[br]paper in games because they give me a chance

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to slow down, take in the environment, and[br]figure things out for myself.

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The other way to encourage proper exploration[br]is with small scavenger hunts, that don't

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actually count as quests. Sometimes they're[br]called hidden quests or unlisted quests by

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the fans.

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One of my most memorable moments in Fallout[br]3 took place in the Anchorage memorial museum.

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I hacked into this computer, and found a note[br]about a hidden stash, behind a busted storage

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door near the service entrance. I just needed[br]to find a floor safe in the clinic.

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Which is this room. How do I know it's the[br]clinic? Well it says clinic on the door which

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is a pretty big giveaway but also there's[br]an operating table and x-rays on the wall

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and a changing screen and a scalpel in the[br]locker. You can see how playing in this fashion

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encourages you to read the world in a very[br]different, but more organic way.

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Anyway. Inside the safe is a component, which[br]lets me open the door. And behind that door

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is some goodies, a key, and a note pointing[br]me to a refrigerator. Which I find and open

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to get my prize: a big load of bottle caps[br]and... A recipe for mirelurk cakes?

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Well, turns out the recipe is just an Easter[br]egg. An inside joke at Bethesda. But I didn't

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care. The real reward was the chance to engage[br]my brain, to study the surroundings, and to

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follow clues instead of bread crumbs.

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So that's why I'm wandering the wasteland[br]in Fallout 4 without waypoints and quest markers.

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I want to be lead by my own curiosity, and[br]not by a compass. I want to find interesting

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notes and follow scavenger hunts, but using[br]my own powers of investigation. I want to

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see some interesting building over the horizon,[br]and just go see what fun treasures or stories

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can be found inside.

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And when I find a note that says...

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SHELTER GUARD: Found the mayor in the tub last night. Locked the door before the missus found him

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I want to find the right room by finding a sign like

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this, instead of just following a waypoint.

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I'm not exactly making much meaningful progress[br]in the game, mind you. I've been playing Fallout 4 for

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around 10 hours and finished exactly two quests.[br]The game simply isn't designed to be played

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this way - like how you can also turn off[br]all the quest helpers in The Witcher 3 but then

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some guy will say...

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MILAN NORAN: The patrol has been lost, somewhere along the south shore of Lake Wyndemere

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and you soon realise there are no signposts[br]and no place names on your map and you can't

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ask for directions. So you try and find it[br]yourself and you end up in a bandit camp and you

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run away and oh god is that a bear? This has[br]gone very wrong indeed.

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But I am having fun. Perhaps in an ideal world,[br]games like this would be perfectly playable

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without map markers, but you could turn them[br]on if you get really lost, or you just want

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to make some fast progress. But, for now,[br]at least, it'd be cool to see a few more optional

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missions in games that don't show up on your[br]map or your quest log, and let you take a

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moment to really soak the world in. To get[br]around through observation and investigation,

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and not blind subservience to that little[br]dotted line.

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Hi guys, it's Mark here. Thank you so much[br]for watching the episode. If you enjoyed it

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please leave a comment, like the videos subscribe[br]to the channel, or consider pitching in via

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Patreon. This month my supporters not only[br]helped fund the episode, but helped with suggestions

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and ideas for this very episode. If you want[br]to get involved and literally make the show

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happen, then please head over to Patreon.com.