Jonric: How substantial a role will quests play in the game? Will there be many side quests? What are your intentions regarding the inclusion of different types?

Alan Wild: There will also be over 200 sub-quests and random quests for players to undertake. However, as we want Sacred as non-linear as possible (but still with the structure of a strong central storyline) it will be up to the player whether or not to partake in these sub-quests. Not completing them won't prevent you from finishing the main story, although you will be rewarded for completing such quests, and will undoubtedly benefit from a much larger gaming experience in the process.

Michael Bhatty: We have a lot of different quests for Sacred. The main quest functions as a clamp, holding the storyline together. The flesh of the world is the set of side quests, which are bound to specific regions.

By solving the quests, the gamer can pacify these dedicated regions, improving his reputation and getting better prices or subsequent quests. Also, he reduces the spawning by a percentage, so the areas become much safer to travel.

The random quests are indistinguishable from the region-bound quests, but have pool to draw from. We worked hard to avoid getting silly quests, by defining several categories of tasks given by different NPC types. Moreover, we have several hidden quests, including finding out more about your character's origin and even engaging into some nice romance... sort of...