But you do have to reduce out the baseline gaming going on around you, from the power-levelers to the nabobs to the jokers, if you want to suspend your disbelief long enough to think that Aragorn is giving some quest just to you. The narrative simulation comes with a lot of baggage, to be sure, and sometimes that includes game mechanics or some jackass on the chats.

But like you say, Tom, little things stick with you. It’s little episodes of joy amidst longer periods of mere play. I think there’s a real formula to be found for the right rate of stand-out quests. The only reason they can’t all have unique animation is the time it takes to generate all that content.

You got to wonder how much of these restrictions will be gone in five years.

Games like this can still have incredible narrative power, and it sounds like this instance brought it to bear in a very good way. I think some design choices can help facilitate gaming narrative. Primarily separating players or groups of players from the general environment. Also awarding items (like Gandalf’s staff) for important quests that don’t fit into the general game economy. Trophies or “key” items that might have some mechanical benefit, but that cannot be sold when they are surpassed in power by other items. Storing those kind of items in a separate inventory so you aren’t “wasting” space on them might also be a good idea. It all comes down to mechanical benefits or narrative benefits, and what type of player you are and what kind of things you value in a game. I think design choices that provide options to either type of player can definitely enhance the gameplay.

I do it with all my Alts, not due to any spectacular xp/item reward, but just because I love the ending of it.