this sums up pretty much every RPG ever made, simply because that's what is supposed to happen in an RPG, kill a NPC or monster, clear a dungeon or retrieve an item.

That reminds me of http://www.uesp.net/wiki/Oblivion:Amusei from the Oblivion thieve's guild.

While I do agree, that there should be more choices, the question is, what would be the lore decision in the end?

Fallout 3 and New Vegas didn't need to care about that, because in those games, it only affects a small area and you don't need to incorporate them into the next games. Now you could try the Mass Effect approach and scan savegames from the predecessor, but this would be impractical, since TES is a vast open world with much to do and this would equal more writing for the next game.

Point being: Yay for more decisions on smaller quests, that don't affect the world, nay for more than benign quests/questlines (= guilds and main quest). I personally think it even was too much to give the decision for Azuras quest, since now the question is, does the Black Star still exist in the next game?

Agreed!!!!

I agree with this man's agreeancement.

I hope the upcoming DLC will have better quests.

The thing to keep in mind is that all of these things are still possible whilst having multiple paths within a single quest. Having the option to betray a quest giver or oblige them or extort them for more money doesn't prevent you from avoiding the quest altogether. It does offer you a greater range of freedom and character expression once you have accepted the quest.

Yes but there is usually a point to getting the item. Not the point being to get the item.

I agree, Sadly, the way most quests are set up currently in Skyrim, I couldn't care less if I complete them or not. They are so close to MMO quest design already that its sickening.

Yes, for a thousand times, yes. It's so weird to see people defending the status quo by articulating the status quo. :/

From quests to encounters
Every single quest should feel like an encounter with an NPC. It doesn't have to be a "quest" with a story or a location, but a random encounter that leaves the player with an experience. There are no other gameplay mechanics that allow players to interact with the world. Quest mechanic is the only one. It can be a random detailed conversation with an NPC with no rewards outside what it does to your character's reputation or alignment.

I feel like game studios that make RPGs should respect this. The guys that design these NPCs and the interactions players can have with them as a first priority when they make role playing games. Every single encounter matters. It's so much more important than combat mechanics or graphics themselves. Or maybe at worst, as important. Now it seems like these encounters don't really get the respect/work hours they need.

There was a mod idea that intrigues me quite a bit that was adverised on Nexus around the time when CK was released. The idea was simple, players create themselves as NPCs and plant them somewhere in Skyrim with their own personality, own "quests" and try to make that encounter somewhat stand out. This kind of competition and attention to detail should spawn something incredibly beautiful, if there was a team that focused on quality control behind it.