Do All the Side Quests

If you are a gamer, you probably understand the ideas of the main-line quest and the side quest. If you're not a gamer, though, let me explain. I promise it's relevant.

The Game of Life

In modern role-playing games, you are represented in the game as a character who must go through some process of training and discovery to reveal the story of the game and then, through a series of interactions, achieve the game's objective. The main-line quest is the overall plot of the story, it's the thing that the character needs to do in order to resolve the story. It could be to slay the dragon, vanquish the villain, unlock the secrets of the past or whatever, but once the main-line quest is completed, the core story of the game is essentially over.

Side-quests, on the other hand, are shorter adventures that the character may or may not encounter along the path of completing the main-line quest. They could be as simple as finding a lost item for a non-player character (NPC), collecting resources, learning how to fabricate new tools, weapons and armor or developing some useful skill. In better games, side quests may be so complex that they qualify as miniature stories of their own with significant NPC interactions, multiple locations to visit, or special requirements of the player-character to have developed unique skills, found special items or even having completed lesser side-quests. Typically side-quests have challenging goals to achieve such as besting some mid-sized foe or discovering a sub-plot that, while not vital, adds richness and texture to the game experience... and they almost always end with the character receiving some sort of unique item or ability that they otherwise might have missed.

Quest Lines

So why am I talking about video game side quests? Because life is a lot more like video games than we might like to think, at least when it comes to how you think about your quest lines.

There are all sorts of gamers, from those who enjoy "speed running" games to get from beginning to end in as little time as possible (even if it means breaking in-game physics!) to "completists" who will scour a game's map to pick up every single item, resource and loot drop that exists (pro-tip: max out your carry capacity and buy a place to store things early!) but while most gamers will indulge in at least some side quests where necessary, many feel they are largely a waste of time. Why spend hours grinding some cave or labrynth looking for some hard-to-find named weapon that may not een be there when you can be charging full speed into boss fights with your bare fists?

Just the other day I was having a discussion with a friend about all the "trivial tasks" they had to do in order to get to some objective they were after... call this person, pay this fee, wait in this line, file this document... and my immediate thought was side quest. "Do all the side quests." I told them... and then explained how the point of side quests isn't to waste your time and keep you from getting to where you need to be, the point is to prepare you for what's going to happen when you get there.

Finding the Purpose

In life, just like in video games, the reason you play the game... the purpose of all the details and dialogue that the designers and writers invested into it, isn't just to beat the final boss and be done... the point is to learn about the world, experience its depth and richness, and to develop your character. Side quests introduce you to the world, provide back story and context, and give the player's actions purpose and meaning. They introduce you to other characters; story tellers, item merchants, quest givers, support characters and even, in the good games, companions who can help with your burden, offer useful tools or advice, and literally cover your back when you need it the most.

Side quests aren't distractions from the story, they ARE the story. Yes, you can get stuck in an eddy, working the same bit the map over and over for what seems like little reward, and if you find that happening, maybe it's time to take a bit of a break and get some fresh perspective. But avoiding side quests because they're tedious or don't seem important at the moment or, worst of all, you're in a hurry to get to the big boss at the end is going to cost you. If you skip the side quests that prepare you for the boss battle, it's likely you'll be ill-prepared, under-equipped or insufficiently skilled to earn a satisfying win when you get there... and perhaps the cost of that victory will also include losing the chance to discover all the other joys that the game had to offer along the way.