ABSTRACT
Studying the spaces of the quest in games and narratives can lead to a set of design principles that involve the construction of an allegorical universe. Designing the spaces of quests is a matter of planning increasingly more remote, difficult-to-access, exotic locations in which quest-givers more and more relevant to the quest(s) can be found. In addition to upward movement, a repeated pattern of venturing into a perilous, unknown place and returning appears throughout many quest games and is visible on the maps that are often used to travel quickly between locations. Upward and outward movement is often alternated with the character’s descent into perilous underground mazes known as dungeons because of their origins in Dungeons and Dragons. Action and movement through space are possible in quest games because of the involvement of the player as active participant rather than as spectator who only identifies emotionally with a character.
