In order to play this quest, you need to download ZQuest and the .qst file for it. Go to this link and download ZQuest version 2.55 Alpha 120 (That's the version I developed it for). In the files, there should be a Quests folder. Download the .qst file here and put it in that folder. Then, open the zplayer executable, create a profile, and choose the quest. Now you can play it!

Role: Independent

Platform: PC

Software: ZQuest

Project Description: Discovery is a complete adventure made in a Legend of Zelda quest editor called ZQuest. It contains 9 dungeons, interactive NPCs, and several items, mandatory and optional.

I had high ambitions for this project, as I wanted to create a full Zelda adventure on the same scale as the original Legend of Zelda. This was only my second project on the ZQuest engine too, so I still had a lot to learn about the engine as I worked on this. However, since I had 7 weeks to work on it since it was a project for a level design class, I felt it was enough time to develop this project.

Before I started developing this quest, I drew a paper map that showed the overall layout of the world, showed the intended locations of multiple different entities, paths, and dungeons, and showed the critical path that the player should follow to beat it. I received a lot of feedback on this design and the item locations in the final project are different from the paper map to better fit the gameplay. I also drew a pacing map to give a rough visualization of the pacing of the game relative to when the player takes on the dungeons.

The overworld was separated into 9 different sections to give it a lot of variety, and I worked on 1 or 2 of those sections each week. I set up the overall layout of the overworld and the dungeons first and then I went back and polished them afterward. I had a rough idea of what I wanted the story to be like from the outset, and I wrote the finer details as I worked on the project. The dungeons were the only part of this map design that I made up as I went. I wanted to keep them shallow so I could focus more on the overworld, but I made them more interesting and unique as I worked on the project and learned new things about ZQuest.

The quest contains a narrative that serves as the backstory and the primary motivator for the quest. The dialogue from NPCs also give the player hints about where to go or what items they need. Progression in this quest is tied to the items, as many areas can only be accessed with specific items. Several items that can be found in the quest are also optional and they merely serve to help the player beat the game more easily. Most of these optional items can be found in areas that the player doesn't have access to when they pass by them for the first time. This rewards exploration and paying attention to the environment.