RPGMemes

Sometimes it's funny when tabletop RPG players expect the game to behave like a video game.

GM: "The nearby town sent a message that a swarm of zombies is coming down the haunted mountain for them! They need help!"

PCs: "Cool. But let's finish that mushroom side quest first, and then we gotta help our wizard buddy get his new broom tuned up."

GM: "...okay."

PCs: "Ok, what do we see when we get to that town?"

GM: "Seems like everyone's dead. Looks a swarm of zombies or something came down from the mountain and ate everyone alive or something, maybe a day or two ago."

PCs: <confused, shocked>

IIRC in Mass Effect 2 after your crew gets abducted going and doing some side stuff before doing the rescue mission did actually result in some crew member(s?) dying

And also not doing enough side quests and upgrades before you got the abduction also meant the outcome of the rescue mission changed.

This is why I have no words when I see people complain about the pacing of a main quest, but specifically mean the dialogue kinda telling you that time is of the essence. Like, dude. I've been gaming so long that unless a timer specifically pops up on the screen, it is assumed that there isn't actually a time limit (there are exceptions. Fallout 1 and 2 both have hidden timers in them where bad things happen if they run out; but at least those gives you months of in game time to beat the clock). Most of the time these dialogues are even literally being snarky because they assume the player isn't new to video games.

I absolutely hate timed quests in games. I’m perfectly capable of suspending a little bit of disbelief—in fact, I prefer it sometimes. Don’t fucking rush me during my relaxation activity.

Hey! Skyrim was legitimately easier when dragons and vampires weren't killing off all your townspeople. It made sense not to trigger the dragons, and wipe the floor with the vampires as soon as possible. Jarl Balgruf will be there when the Archmage/ Nightingale/ Speaker is ready. It takes me a few weeks to take over those organizations.

If you're going to die, better to die on the main quest. I avoid side quest distractions.

I’m reminded of Deadline an interactive fiction game where you are solving a murder mystery and unless you are in the right place at the right time you will miss some important evidence.