Mission/Quest

* See also Example MMORPG Missions
* See also Auto_Generation and Procedural Generation
* See also MMORPG_AI_Improvements
* See also Game_Mechanisms
* See also Types_of_assets ( for all the MMORPG gimcracks available to enhance them )
* See also Player_Story
* See also Initial_World_Composition
* See also Quest_Generation_system
* See also Server_Bubbles ( for Mission instances ) 
Tasks for the Player to undertake, usually pre-canned by the game designers, usually with someone ( a quest giver ) to start it, some goals to achieve, and then some rewards for completion.
In this MMORPG many of the Mission/Quests would be at least partially generated 'on-the-fly' programatically to vary their content and to fit the local situation ( or even to be unique via combinatorics ).
"There are Forty Thousand Stories in Rapture City, This has been one of them" :
From the Noir Movies, ie- "Naked City"
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A 'Quest' is something more personal to the Player - Something which spans their entire playing of the MMORPG.
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Constant Churning Situation :
Circulation of Missions taking place in Specific/Iconic/Well-Known (non-generic) Public Sites, to not have multiple Player mission-takers active at well-known locations at the same time. ( A Server Bubble mechanism can alleviate alot of this ). Open Missions ( Players just show up/add-in ), as long as a Player Mob which can overwhelm the Server is prevented.
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GOAL : Unique 'Scenes' ( INTERACTIVE - More than just some more Terrain and Mobs to Kill )
Unfortunately, complex intertwined story with Props and (especially) numerous realistic interactions with inhabitant NPCs AND Player 'sub goals' is ALOT of work/effort to create. The usual MMORPG with repetitive shooting scenarios is far far easier ( utilizing the reuse of same NPC combat script over and over, and some preplaced opponents in a path the Player must fight through).
HAVE : Fewer people shooting at you, more dodging about the dangerous situation ( then you could have it be less of an absurd shooting gallery ). You could get to listen to more conversations giving the different viewpoint of the many different inhabitants.
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Detailed Scenario Creation (for Missions/Quests) :
* Choreographing a Quest/Mission with 'staged scenes', music and effects something like you can in a Solo game ( versus the SandBox mode ). Allow more variability and activities the Player is to undertake.
* With the MMORPG's Player Created Assets, you can have MANY times as many Missions, incorporating more of the World into them. And the content of a particular Mission can be made variable. They can also be made more intricate or specialized, rather than the limited linear "A then B then C" 'quest chains' many MMORPGs are chronically afflicted with.
* So much of the current MMORPGs are too generic ( with huge areas containing a 'Minefield of Opponents' -- which make so much of the gamneplay in a "Pretty Desert" - terrain with little interaction/interest ). This BioShock Rapture MMORPG is to be built far more for variable content.
* The Mission would be made with its own Detailed story and involvement of Player 
** Specific details created integrate/fitted to MATCH specifics with Story variation for the Player, and the World Situation. 
** All gets put-together/assembled -- versus totally random auto-generation or being purely static content.
* Interactions with Mission Story NPCs (themselves variable from a pool of 'types') would be having their behavior matching the situation and being reactive to the Player.
** The MMORPG's new advanced AI would be made use of, so to have NPCs 'act natural' within the story ( without Exact choreography ). 
** The roles of the NPCs included in for the Mission Story would have to be defined ( part of the Mission data making use of the MMORPGs Template methodology ).
* Players can be made to act out various movements and actions in a 'Play' (specific stage direction) as part of the Story. Most other segments of the Mission have the Player (and any Team) in Free Movement. The transitions between the 'Play' mode and the SandBox/Free Player actions is usually a complication and a programming difficulty. Accounting for many endcases with the Players Freedom wont be an easy task Look at Infinite's company-lauded Battleship Bay Beach Scene, with its 'More Scripting than Evah', which was still largely little independent choreographed scenes with NPC mannequins which the Player could wander near to activate, with Elizabeth reacting/interacting with them and the Player's free movement.
* Use of a Dialog Tree for the Quest-Giver NPC, which can have many 'information' branches that the Player can access and gain clues from.
* A Instance bubble mechanism would hold Terrain with exact/variable generated Prop (Object) placements to build/create the needed situation for the Mission's Story. Supporting props would be fitted as needed to fill out the scenes.
* Story Scene Locations can be designed to be flexibly relocatable ( not limited by being tied to exact locations). 
** Make use of the World System to allow instancing 'on-the-fly' - allowing isolated story scenes when needed.
** A Lead-in activity would be scripted with generic paths to get the Player to the main Quest scenario location
** Alternate fixed/unique locations would be used as needed ( same story, variations )
* Quest can be made up of story sites 'precisely defined' - with specifically detailed 'contained' scenes - as long as they are placeable, having no external limitations/dependencies, and can be fit within generic world placement rules ( use of standard layout for rooms/hallways/sewer-tunnels).
* Example Mission :
** The Player has selected a Goal to advance their position in New Rapture and thru inquiries is told of an Opportunity.
** You are told to 'meet the man' at a Hotdog Cart at the corner of Apollo Avenue and Wodin Street to get a Map. That required scene is set up ( just have to pre-place the cart and NPC in that area, and after the Quest the cart and NPC can be wheeled away and be gone). There is Minor 'staging' impact to the public places viewable by all Players. 
** You then get sent somewhere else like a Foundation Tunnel ( semi-generic, which isn't really mapped uniquely ), and then go into a connected location to find something ( Item/Person/Message/Info/etc ... ) Specific Story interactions happen there.
** On success and extracting yourself from that place, You eventually return to the Hotdog Cart where you met the Quest-Giver for the reward or double-cross or whatever ( or some other method of payoff/result ).
* Additional Quests would increase as the MMORPG operates, with time more creators add new Mission/Quest experiences for the Players ( versus the usually pathetic Content 'Drops' releases/updates which current MMORPGs usually provide sporadically ).
* Such Quests can be made 'one-shot' where the Player gets only one attempt at it, and whether they succeed or fail they are blocked from doing it again ( where their prior knowledge makes it much easier to achieve ).
* Missions/Quests with Time-Limits - A bit different than the usual MMORPG generic Quest you take, and then 'finish' weeks later, after doing 6 other simultaneous Quests. With the complexity detail of these Missions, the Timelimit won't be ~15 minutes like some games have Mission Time-limits in "Red Dead Redemption Online" with 10 - 20 minute timeouts. They seem stupid within the context, but add an urgency element..
* Quests can leave permanent/durable 'scars' on the Game World Terrain - Which can be left to be seen at later times ( this MMORPG makes it handy for this system to relocate (place) the 'scar' location in different places in the City ). 
** The terrain scar usually would progressively 'heal' after sufficient time ( to later minimize cumulative add-mods). 
** Funny, if some Player missions are the actions which 'Clean Up' the scars.
* These Missions will be well Vetted and Tested before being published in the game, to avoid the 'broken scripting' and malfunctioning missions seen so often in BIG NAME MMORPGs.
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Superior Mission Design :
In other MMORPG games, where if you are an explorer and move about the terrain without first having the 'canned' Mission activated preliminaries, you come upon the Mission-related places and some few interesting props lying about - BUT they mostly are things which might as well be inert rocks for all their lack of interactivity. THEY don't activate, the door says "You don't have the required Quest", or you can't walk through them. You perhaps FOUND THE PLACE, but nothing works without the Quest being active.
Another situation : If you step off the 'magic path', and miss one of the placed event 'Triggers', then the Mission execution is screwed up and the planned 'quest' sequence does NOT execute properly (gets stuck).
For this MMORPG, things have to be better designed than that.
Tested and Fixed : It takes just a few skilled Players to find the problems, and then others to fix them. THIS 'Fixing' feature is almost always missing in Todays MMORPGS.
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Shootout At 'The OK Cafe' (Repeatable Scenarios) :
Earlier Rockstar games like "GTA San Andreas" did not allow you to REPLAY (after success) the primary story Missions ( NOT 'on demand' selectable at a later time once you played them through the story arcs ), which would have been fun to have because those missions were more challenging due to their constraints and interestingly choreographed Action and Pacing ( not as 'Sandboxy', as many/most of the simpler flavor activities were ).
The MMORPG should have this option In Spades to allow VERY Challenging Scenarios for Player Redo so that Players could experiment and try different approaches. Better AI would mean that the opposition in the scenario might vary quite alot depending on the actions the Player takes.
Group Missions ( Raids/Cooperative Scenarios ) likewise should be represented as the interactions between Players SHOULD add alot to the Game Playing.
Most Scenarios should NOT be composed substantially of the common 'enemy wave cycle' pattern, which many games have chronically offered ( Where you just keep getting subsequent tougher waves of enemies, til they finally get you ).
The MMORPG's Mission Mechanism (MMM) is to allow "Combinatoric Mutation" of the Scenarios to make them somewhat different each time.
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Mission NPC Interactions :
Characters who are part of a Mission|Mission/Quest should not 'ignore' you.
Quest-giver to evaluate Player - Test to see if they can handle difficulty (part of the 'Arc' is to have Preliminaries)
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Those Quests/Missions Story Texts Which Few People Read :
The Fetch-X / Kill-Y-of-the-Whatzit / Investigate-the-Z Quests/Missions used as generic filler on most MMORPGs, usually having a one line summary so you can quickly glance at your list of 30 (or so) you've accumulated. For this MMORPG, you would have fewer and more detailed adventures. The rule for this MMORPG may be : If you don't read it, you miss important clues and may not get optimal results ( miss useful Extra Loot, the caution about the Trap at the entrance, etc ... ) 
With fewer 'Missions' active at one time, then there's less distraction/difficulty in remembering the ones you have In-Progress (I've been in MMORPGs when you have 40 Missions queued up at once, and ones you frequently forget about til they have no relevance anymore or have worthless ( Level) XP Experience Points - a generic system of tracking Player advancement with points awarded for completing missions/actions. Thresholds of XP count award greater abilities/access to achieve with completing them ). Generally in this game you organize/prepare for one Big Mission at a time, though you might have a casual 'Do it when you can' Routine Missions logged/ready for the 'more casual' between times.
Good stories can be interesting in themselves ( the MMORPG is meant to broaden the possible Player's game experience ). Players can play 'Casual' if they want to - There should be lots of basic short Missions and Activities which STILL can be challenging/interesting.
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MMORPG - No Do-Overs (in Game Play) :
How many games realistically (?) handle failure in their choreographed mission situations ? ( GAME OVER DUDE!!! are largely gone)
In MMORPGs live-action, you typically don't get to immediately rewind and start over ( usually the whole Mission can be taken over, or in group 'Raids' you quickly resurrect and rejoin the situation ).
A more adaptable (and less contrived/stilted) game mechanic must allow :
* Bizarre (but non-fatal) outcomes - So you continue with whatever falls out ...
* Splicer opponents are as inept as you are ...
* This MMORPG's Splicers won't have a 'Deathwish' like most games simpleton NPC enemies, when a situation starts getting weird they decide that Retreat is not a Bad Idea.
* Outcomes are not critical to any Following Missions, and you can have many more potential partial results (fluidity and uniqueness) written into the mechanism.
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Player Management Skills (in MMORPG New Rapture) :
Missions where YOU recruit other Players (or NPCs) to carry out a sequence of related Mission objectives :
YOU become the Quest-Giver (or Quest-Middleman) and Recruiter. 
Secondary rewards to you (beside the rewards you 'hand out' to the 'operators' - Players/NPCs) - Test your skill at hiring cheap ... (Anything (interactions) you do with NPCs pretty much has to be 'canned' options, but Dialog Trees are one of the Player Created Assets which can be hugely expanded and varied).
Some of the City Job (role-playing) Missions have this ( where you are a middle manager who organizes stuff ) -- Recruiting Players or finding NPCs to do the needed work/project.
City would have 'contracts' to get something done, and it would take a period of time (employing the Auto-Generation capability for presenting partial progress at the Mission site (like building stuff), and the NPC(s) doing the appropriate activities. The Players may do some of the work themselves ( including with their Team NPCs, though those may feel themselves unworthy of mundane grunt-work, and rather feel better when employing their specialties ). 
It might be interesting to get a Dilbert-like revelation about how government bureaucracies usually operate (illustrating why Ryan hated big government so much).
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Created Mission Scenarios - What of Quality ? Versatility ? :
More versatile than this example- The Little Sister Introductory Attack Scene in BS1 Welcome Center's Spotlight Theater - The Little Sister will stand there sticking her ADAM extractor into the dead Splicers head, over and over, until doomsday UNTIL you come down the stairs ( which is then forced to be impassible/impossible to go back up, and the 'pad-locked' door is blocked til you are 'allowed' to pass after the pre-canned event is completed ). Likewise there is that 'Will You Kindly Lower That Wrench' mode Player scenes, having most of their interactions disabled as the canned bit plays out.
The Scene plays out very simply as recorded, and Jack (YOU) can only stand there with a finger up your nose, until it is played through. 
But then this is the old problem of choreographed Scenes. Where the much-touted "big AI improvement" of Half-Life (ages ago) was actually just having a few more scripted interactions built within the scene - Which if you happened to do unexpected things (outside of that scripting) it could NOT handle it. Usually, the basic scene sequence/characters just went on its merry way regardless, once you triggered the next sequence ( ie- NPC talking/gesturing blindly at the Player's expected position in the Scene, even when you moved behind that NPC ... ) It is Disconcerting when the NPCs don't even turn themselves a bit to face and talk at you.
"JUST STAND THERE AND SHUT UP - I'M TALKING HERE !!!"
The MMORPGs more comprehensive AI behaviors can handle alot more variations to interact better, and compensate for Player actions (within reason). Irrelevancies are ignored, Show Stoppers ... which Derail/cause the Scene to stop with appropriate transitioning from the failure.
If the Player does something stupid enough to invalidate the Scene, then it stops and the NPCs walk away or might retry to get the mini-plot back on course (contingencies). If the Player is uncooperative, then the plot is off and the Player doesn't get the Mission ( eventually Players learn to 'play ball' and cooperate appropriately ). Players would eventually learn not to be too disruptive.
One advantage is to be : This MMORPG's AI is to be generalized, and does not have to be hand-built/recrafted for every new Scene. AND is thus more likely ( even though it is alot more complicated ) to be better Tested and Made properly functional. Of course, it does take more CPU power and Memory for such AI, but we have lots of those these days ( A primary reason the AI was so limited in the 'Old Days' ).
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Multi-Pathing Game Plots or Variable-Path :
This might be for the Solo Game REDOs. Mission Plots could have significant variations (Mission 'Arc' branchings would be easy).
Games with more than one way of solving things offer more to the Player -- And so have replay value the company wants to have for the game purchasers to think they got their money's worth ... (( DO THE COMPANIES CARE ABOUT THAT ANY MORE ? )).
But doing this Variable-Story-Pathing does require more complicated scripting of the NPCs to react correctly ( That simple 'AI' logic of "Scream and Run at Player, Firing" is 25 year old gaming ). Maybe someday, more games (and game companies) will have this element to help stretch their ever-dwindling play-thru times.
A key element of the MMORPG would be : generalized logic for NPCs to be able to adapt to the local environment, instead of having to be hand crafted/custom-written for each level ( Note - and that would be for much more than the simplistic "Scream and Rush" NPC behavior most games have now ).
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Mission Design (Need for Sort-of Obvious Clues) :
For this MMORPG game, you don't want details of Missions to become too tedious ( versus the old pixel search mouseover style game mechanism when crude static scenes had to be searched for items to be found which had to be recognized against the background and manually selected ).
The value is in clever/interesting presentation of a mini-story, which can get bogged down in its telling, if the Player is stuck in generic 'collecting' mode ( which they can do in the sandbox part of the game to their hearts-content ). ( Mmmmm, tasty Spider Splicer Organs ... )
You want to keep the 'Mission' moving forward, so various interesting Clues might get 'telegraphed' to the Player ( highlighted after a certain delay, or have a Player's 'Team' Minions point it out ). There should be suggestive clues through interaction with the local environment ( reason why the Missions are choreographed versus the sandbox part of the game ). The process of solving the situation is the emphasis of the Mission gameplay.
The MMORPG Creation Tools would(better) make all this composable for the elements of a Mission. The Creation Community Reviewers can tell a submission's Author to make certain 'Clues' less obscure or less tedious to obtain (or offer additions), when appropriate. Progressive mini-plot schemes can be done where the more you 'solve', the more goodies you can earn.
Things done in a Mission/Quests adds to advancement in secondary Missions/Projects.
Combining activities - through getting more than one thing done ( overlap, which rewards good planning/choices/gambles ... )
Things you discover along the way add-to/adjust the Mission - clues and decisions and exploration.
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Less Dependancy on Audio Diary (Game Mechanism) :
The MMORPG's Mission scenarios can have all kinds/types of clues to tell their story - like more paper messages/documents/witnesses(testimony and question answering), etc... The BioShock games kind-of overdid the use of the Accu-Vox mechanism, and they (the Game Developers) may not have wanted (or even cared) to add a proper document view interface, or any other-than-blatantly-obvious story materials ( we saw some (blurry) newspapers and various signs and scrawlings and those far too neat blackboards ). There is that one BaS situation where the trapped guy ( "Insufficient Postage " - Postage Due ... ) says he is sending AccuVox through the Pneumo to request help - That is pretty ridiculous when a paper note would be more normal/logical. Phones no longer working ? - oh, cut off Cuz Fontaine's is 'sunk' - Then shouldn't the Pneumo be cutoff then also ?? Anyway, the MMORPG can do it better with full range of appropriate props to help with storytelling.
Subtle - can't have subtle ? Well you could have some hints which wouldn't impair the plot, but clever players might spot them (and care/appreciate) -- Its called "story on several levels". The MMORPG can afford to have a wider spectrum. Well crafted Missions can have optional aspects which interested Players can investigate further.
"Question Answering" mentioned above could imply something like what they had in LA Noire, a whole game mechanism where the Player interrogates information sources, and gets different responses depending on questioning tactics and other factors ( like bribes... or threats ).
The Mission's outcome might then be made possible/easier by how good the player gets at the information interview process ( which can include already having sufficient corroborating information to know the right questions to ask ).
Still its would be much like the "LA Noire" game's canned menu option system and dialog trees (as freeform Question & Answers is a bit much - very hard and costly to program and hard for the Player to use). There would be the Templating and Asset Creation mechanisms, allowing incremental improvement through author collaboration ( some people are good at writing believable story dialog ... ). The somewhat subtle facial clues which made that game exceptional would take real skill to create ( like visual recording/mapping the voice actors for animations -- was pretty sophisticated .
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Clever Triggers In 'Choreographed' Scenes :
Advantage of 'one time through' Quest/Missions in closed off (created on-the-fly) bubble scenarios - You can do clever 'choreographed' triggering effects you saw ( more of in BS1 ? ) rather than some much more difficult generalized scripting of behaviors ( which is VERY much harder to get right and to work as intended ). Developing events can be sequenced and effects played, etc ... with the usual terrain laid out to 'lead' the player through the mini-plot. The generalized NPC AI would help fill in when the Player does something unexpected ( as they will ). The scenarios still can do widely varying parameterized details (themes/props/spawns/paths) to mix things up a bit/make scenario more unique.
((( I have mentioned before that alot of this whole pile of stuff ( tools/methodology/reused data) for the MMORPG could also be significantly utilized (as in cutting alot of $$$$ expenses ) to improve/make more effective the production of the companies Solo games. )))
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Idea : Advice To and From Your NPC Team (And Other Avenues) As To What Missions/Activities You Would Prefer At A Particular Time (or In General) :
You set 'Preferences', and suggestions are made ( Missions brought to your attention - filtered ) that should fit the specified profile. Some days you just want 'light'/'quick' adventuring and you would get suggestions leading to locations/missions of that flavor. Other days you want something of greater difficulty (and effort) and possibly higher payoffs. Various 'Roles' the Player may assume (like a Volunteer Constable) open up various common missions which at other times the Player might not want to deal with. Other times the Player may be more in a mood for 'salvaging' or 'repair' activities when less exciting situations are desired. Rapture in the MMORPG is a huge place with things of all sorts going on all the time.
General Player Preferences will hint to your 'Team' what kind of equipment to maintain ( when they do AI activities on automatic - so you don't have to Micro-manage them -- PRIORITIES ). An expansion of this is 'preferred' solutions and tactics to get your 'Team' on-the-same-page about how things should 'go down' when various situations come up.
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Missions(Quests) TYPES :
* Short Missions ( ones you can do if you have 15 minutes to play )
* Long Missions ( ones that turn into an Expedition and might take several playing sessions )
* Progressive (multi part) Missions
* Easy Missions (and Very Easy Missions)
* Hard Missions (and Very Hard Missions)
* Fun/Humorous Missions
* Missions which are Progressive ( increasing difficulty but with greater rewards as you go )
* Missions to earn skills, abilities or 'stuff', or Formulas for Fabrication
* Missions to gain Reputation ( Societal, Official, Prestige, Commercial )
* Missions to Learn the Backstory ( need to be extravaganza so that merely "Looking It Up On Internet" isn't nearly as good ).
* Missions to advance New Rapture
A variety to allow for different/flexible Player styles/intentions,
Some Missions have chance for Player to regroup and retry them when failed.
Many are of limited duration/deadline ( and shouldn't be part of a long list of pending missions )
Mission scenarios shouldn't be a static set which every one of the 100000s Players ALL do exactly the same thing. Have enough re-combinations to not have them repeat very much.
Missions which the Player creates/initiates for OTHER Players ??? ( I need X, so post a Mission for another Player to get it - 'Let Out a Contract' ).
Additional Missions and variations being added as Creators create them (after vetting/publishing of course).
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That Mission Was Fun ... : 
One thing I remember from "Grand Theft Auto" (San Andreas) was a limited 'Save' list, and so not being able to LATER revisit interesting/Fun Missions (which generally were more challenging than most the 'Sand-Box' activities).
In this MMORPG there will be alot (multitudes) more Missions available (one of the issues in "GTA" was there should have been 3 X as many of those), so if alot (As in total number) of them are 'Fun' then there wouldn't be the need to revisit/repeat them as much.
Some Missions based on City Roles are 'repeatables' / routine - though would have changing Randomized details to make each replay somewhat different/surprising (a basic game feature is to give each Player something different than the same 'canned' choreographed/regurgitated 'Quest' played by 100000+ other Players).
Another avenue would be making ordinary 'Sand-Box activities just as interesting/challenging as quests/missions. That can be hard, as choreographed quests can set up very special circumstances and guide the player through carefully crafted (cohesive) situations and explanations/details (more depth).
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Missions/Quests with Clues/Puzzles :
The same way we got combination locked goodies and had to find the combination somewhere -- the same mini-plot device can be used in various quests. Needs the graffiti mechanism to have the 'numbers/word scrawled in blood' type clues.
More puzzle types... ( not too complex/tedious - people will just 'look it up on the Internet' anyway... )
Locks on : ( maybe this time with a more realistic 6 or 7 digit numbers ... )
* Doors,
* Safes,
* Security systems,
* Control Panels
* Comp-u-tor access codes
* Access to equipment like camera views ( Didn't they have remote camera views in the old Duke Nukem ?? )
* Directions to go follow (door #1 or door #2 or door #3)
Mined (explosive) floors with a stepstone pattern (may be a field of Trap Rivets embedded in tiles, but certain ones are dummies)
Lever combination type keys (levers/switches can be a little less 'gianormous' (not huge Frankenstein knife switches))
Different (imaginitive/amusing) hack mechanisms (Player's/Teams's skills/tools can assist in solving )
Physical Keys (objects -- as unusual/bizarre as imagination can allow) -
Biometrics - Handprints, etc..
Quest's locks/lockings get scrambled to avoid the 'look it up on the Internet' method of solving game puzzles, endemic in today's MMORPGs.
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Reuseable Scenes For Mission Scenarios :
Used for generic situations making use of non-customized building blocks. Places where 'the story' is the center of the scenario. Lots of parts of Rapture DID look the same ( were systematically prefabricated on the surface ). Templates allow meaningful randomization of secondary details/props to vary the look ( maybe some Tasty Loot if you get a chance to loot *AFTER* the conversation with the Mission NPC is over ). Use of Self-adapting Assemblage Templates of specific sets of props (appropriately placed) is important to set the desired 'generic' scene.
There can be Points earned by Mission Creators who make use of commonly used Assets ( There are still download delays for new Assets which you (the Player) prefer to be minimized, and many have changeable details/subpart combinations that can make them significantly different looking anyway ).
The cliche 'Tavern' would be a generic small New Rapture Bar ( Is there actually more than one ????? ).
Another is : The Street Corner - "Psssst. Hey Buddy, You wanna buy a map to a Salvageable Bathysphere ??"
And : City Hall Office : "We have Information about where Fontaine's Secret Basement Vault is, and we would like you to investigate ..." ( Remember Renaldo and The Capone's Secret Vault Fiasco ?? )
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Spectrum of Partial Success for Player's Quest/Missions :
Break the Players out of the fossilized concept of a static unitized Quest ( Where they expect to get the +3 Hat of Stultification, or somesuch - the same as 100000 players ahead of them, and can look up the solution online or out of a guide book ).
Goals should be broader, opportunities more varied/randomized (and possibly differentiating by Players own goals AND tuned somewhat to their abilities).
Let THE PLAYER select from several possible sub-goals (choice of paths to the Quest's goal) - their discovering a preferred strategy should be part of the richness of this game mechanism. ( I remember Far Cry and how the Player in many situations had MANY options in how they could approach achieving the mission goals they were give ).
Breaking the overall 'Quest' into separate parts which can be achieved in sequence ( break points if their allotted playing time is of limited duration ).
Quests with escalating difficulties of results, where THE PLAYER may decide when they want to "break off from it"/finish.
Is it a bad thing if the Player gets distracted by something interesting along the way to a Quest ??
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Player Creativity to be Exercised in Creating Missions :
Missions should have multiple ways of solving them ( especially for things with 'riddles' and such )
They (most missions) should not be so narrowly difficult as to be closed to many people. Players should be able to use their cleverness ( or even Brute Force and Endurance ) to overcome many problems. Getting 'stuck' frequently is the sign of a game being too limiting Moronic, when it is a game with Save Points, and the difficult part requires several minutes of tedium to get through ( or a long cutscene which cannot be skipped ) ... FORCED mind-numbing activity before the Hard Part can be attempted, AGAIN and AGAIN.
Conversely, being too easily winnable most of the time is also to be avoided. Partial results would often be another feature of the Missions. Some missions might have limited reattempts when they are 'skill' based. The randomization features would prevent/limit the 'Just Look Up the Solution' problem.
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MMORPG Quest/Mission Scenarios with Multiple Outcomes :
Decisions (Choice) the Player makes ( and their resulting Actions attempted ) can have varying impact on a Mission's outcome. Hey, you could have REAL Moral Choices ... ( Or dilemmas like : Which person to Save - but not both ?? - OR do I risk everything for a bigger reward ? ).
A more complicated idea would be a 'campaign' (sequence of scenarios) where the decisions/actions you take as you work your way through them has effect on the later situations and outcomes. This would be independent to the rest of the game -- apart from some basic reputation-type gains which might be awarded, and direct outcomes like getting injured or losing equipment. Skill advancement is always via standard action experience - get better by doing ... Variable Plot Trees like this aren't horrible to do on a small scale, versus across an entire Solo game ( Too many 'Endings' with custom cutscenes the way they make games now -- but then this MMORPG would have ways to create lots of 'endings', much easier ).
Any 'moral choices' probably won't be about murdering children, and may not cowardly reward all choices nearly equally. But then how is there a 'cost' for doing the 'right thing' ( It is a game after all, and you usually just grind a while longer to make up most of the same advancements/rewards ).
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How Obvious Should Game Quest/Mission Clues Be ? :
Allow less-than-fully-immersed (casual) Players to get their easy goal achievement, and some loot, and head off to their next Quest. Such a Mission solution, and its rewards, might not matter much if they are somewhat fixed/static/non-randomized (being simpler to program/choreograph IF they are static like the typical MMORPG -- Subject to people just looking up their answers/solution on the Internet).
Then there could/might be 'Advanced' Mission aspects : To have more obscure clues leading to additional opportunities, with correspondingly greater efforts and challenge required. These would be randomized/scrambled/optionally present/requiring use of Skills (and cleverness) -- and PREVENTING "Just looked up on Internet" to solve them. The MMORPGs Auto-Generation 'on-the-fly' Scenario Creation Mechanism (SCM) can allow a great range of possibilities ( requiring more creative work/skill of course to create them properly ).
Such 'Extras' (Challenges) would/should probably be fairly quickly known/discernible to NOT be solvable by the Player, or to be Risky, or of too much Difficulty/Challenge. They should generally give the Player One Chance?effort to succeed ( Can't just try over and over again ad nauseum ).
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Quest/Mission Where You Get a Add-on NPC to Go Along With You :
With the planned higher intelligence programmed into NPCs for this game ( needed if your 'Team' NPCs aren't to mess up everything most of the time or you to have to micro-manage them like the old "XCOM" game ), it will be possible for NPCs to be added to your 'Team' temporarily for a Quest/Mission and to interact more closely in the Quest plot. ( Quests can still be tightly Choreographed when needed )
Mission NPCs should do more than 'be rescued' and then lead you thru (and attack) every fricken baddie along a preset path till they reach 'safety', and then suddenly disappear ( a typical lame MMORPG Quest pattern ... ).
Your 'Team' NPCs should also know how to NOT do stupid things that get the temporary quest NPC killed (unless they turn out to be some kind of turncoat or something like that and become the target... ).
Quest NPCs would be 'protected' as is normally done with City Citizen NPCs ( so you cannot go around like in GTA with a chainsaw collecting money ... ). Shooting them in the head to 'steal their stuff' is bad form and various mechanisms, realistic(hopefully) and unrealistic(if needed), would be implemented in the game to prevent it.
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Missions with Quizzes at the End :
Info finding - the Player has to Observe certain things and report back.
Combinatorically randomized 'quiz' parts (and matching Props) so you cannot just "Look It Up On The Internet". Some might be info 'counts' or details you have to get right.
Much easier to do when Missions are given one at a time instead of canned ones the player can stack up and get to at some indeterminate future time.
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Manic Magpie Filler ( Looting/Scrounging ) :
Easy enough to add to any Mission scenario some generic/location-appropriate Loot Piles to investigate and sort through. Instead of only the 'containers', there should be actual visible piles of items jumbled together and obscured/covered-by dirt/crap/water/rubble. Likewise there could be Sub-Missions of "Find N of the X Objects" ( preferably having something to do with the Mission's theme ). Lots of odd items from which the Player has to decide if they are worth keeping (within the game's limited inventory space and encumbrance). Since this MMORPG allows for items to actually be placed on the ground, good stuff might be piled for the return trip, when nothing better might be taking up space (you also don't want to be encumbered if you still have to face the 'baddies'...).
There should be stuff in every corner, possibly well picked over already or sometimes left pristine since Rapture's dark days came ( usually if in a closed off location ). Many goodies should NOT be TOO obscured, so that the Player with experience, can tell whether there is likely to be anything of worth WITHOUT actually starting to dig into the trash ( a tedium limit ). Team NPC's can be counted on to pocket various goodies they come upon ( and an order/directive/goals mechanism would allow the Player to give guidelines to what is preferred to be obtained ). Various mementos of Missions would be a likely thing to include.
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Player Mission Actions - Add some Complexity :
A system with a progressive (increasing difficulty) gamble payout ( like those Las Vegas Slot machines ) where a progression of actions/goals reached ( the Player decides when to go further or stop ) can lead to a much better result, but with the risk of being interrupted/disrupted and losing all gains ( And Player can do further secondary actions/preparations involved to anticipate the increased difficulty - if they intend such ). ( Important that the player knows of the risk ... ).
* Unpredictable results/surprise ( hated by 'Bean Counter' type Players ) can increase Player interest (particularly with fancy optional visuals ???) A gamble/decision point -- With Consequences ( which have to be made obvious much of the time, for Players to make their decision ).
* The Player has the choice to do things simple/basic (with more certainty), or more complicated ( with more risk/unknowns, but potentially better reward ). Creation Standards requiring balancing scenarios between those paths to prevent loopholes/malfunction, which will probably be a chore/difficulty to achieve.
* Ex- The room is filling up rapidly and you can easily grab one thing and get out, or you can try for more loot, but face getting trapped and abandoning all your goodies to get out alive, or injured or whatever.
* You don't get 'do overs' as there are in most MMORPG. Makes the risk more real.
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Competition Quests :
* Something that can be scored ( posted Online so Players can compare themselves to other Players ). The involved quest(s) would have to be easily 'joined' by Players. Possibly some with limited contests with scoring at the end of the submission time-period.
Likewise for Mini-Games - similar 'scoring' (score boards)
* Different levels of difficulty ( recognizing broad category of Player character development ) and fixed play time limit (separate score boards per 'scenario')
* Cant/wont be cheated at ( various encoding tricks that make it not worth the 'cheaters' time. )
The particular Quests should be made so there is no opportunity/incentive for competitive Players to steal in-game opportunities from their Player opponents to assist in 'winning' ( Instancing only ?? )
I suppose you can also have the same kind of Solo 'Achievements' (of all flavors) like we had in the previous Solo games. With a multi-Player game you can have the usual in-game trophies ( or maybe better than 'usual' ) and some Basic recognition in the City Community ( NPC reactions or somesuch )??
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Preventing Mission Solutions/Solvings To Be Compromised Via "Just Look It Up On the Internet" :
The randomizing of details and scrambling of locations, NPC names, loot, opponents, puzzles, props and such will help alot. Using Auto-Generation. The usual "Mission Giver" WONT always be standing there (in the same place) nor offering the same Mission. That makes it hard to initiate any pre-identified 'Good' Mission ( Missions made by a particular author or with particularly good loot ). If there is no Handy Name to reference the Mission by, that also helps prevent Players 'Writing It Up' Online, for other Players then being able to Search and look up info about it ( ven when other randomizations aren't as thorough.
Part of the games mechanism is TO GIVE the Creating Player credit for their work/effort/imagination. So THAT ( just 'look it up' ) static nature needs some way to be blocked from identifying Missions via Author.
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City Mission - Accu-Vox Recovery : 
Players submit 'Found' data items, turning them in for 'Vouchers' for Research time ( for mission/skill advancement ) - including Accu-Vox Audio Diary mechanisms, no matter how garbled or in what condition ( parts useful to repair other machines at worst ). 
And one of the City Missions is to take one of these damaged Accu-Vox machines and to 'recover' any recording content for the City Archives. Players no doubt will find them.
* Cleaning - some of them have been in rather bad environmental conditions for a decade.
* Mechanical/Electrics Repairs to the machine, including replacing 'salvaged' parts
* Removal of Media to a working unit
* Recovering of recorded-over content ( requires some skill and better tools )
Players might prefer to do this fix-up operation BEFORE handing them over to the City, to be able to take advantage of any potentially profitable information on them.
MMORPG could have hundreds of different 'recordings' for Players to 'find' ( and accumulate more as it is basically an audio recording that even a smartphone can generate these days ). Content obviously would be vetted ... Player creativity employed to generate amusing content or filler info for Rapture's Story.
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Note - for Logic's sake I would have the 'Accu-Vox no longer be a 6" X 10" brick-like machine, but some kind of removable media ( like a sleeved magnetic metal disk ) used by the ONE machine a person would have (or even with public recording booths). That way many cheaper recordings of 'thoughts' could be made inexpensively (better than strangely justifying every vagrant in the city somehow having these things), and slipped them into the Pneumo as an alternate to letters ( justifying why we find them everywhere ... ).
A possible In-Game 'personal' voice message to be sent to another player or to be kept.
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Another Mission Variation - Blind Pathfind :
Dark/obscured situation - You hear sound effects that give you clues to which is the right way, but you are in total darkness.
You had basic clues as to which sounds ( previously heard or mentioned in script ) indicate your progress, and then sound effects of what you are feeling your way through (or things run into). Along with some odd indiscernible sounds thrown in.
More fun is lashing out in the dark at something you can hear moving around you ( or something suddenly being detected or biting you ).
Faint streaks of Bioluminescent algae/mold might be seen in places, but in general most everything is totally dark ( and doesn't allow the 'turn up the brightness' on the monitor/screen to avoid the intended situational difficulty ).
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Building the Missionz (The Player Creation Aspect) -- AN EXAMPLE OF A GAME WITH THIS FEATURE :
"Neverwinter Nights" (a computer game) long ago had a Multi-player mode - Player run Servers for upto 64 players simultaneously (but really ran only upto 32 effectively ), and an Editing system (tools) to build level maps (to be on each Server's 'World'). A few Players figured out ( within the abominable limitations and feeble company programming support ) how to "Save" a Player's character state (data) to transfer that Player between associated Servers ( to allow bigger Player run 'Worlds', run with there 'level' sections on separate maps on separate Server machines ).
In Neverwinter Nights, you got an Editor ( with a 'wizard' based interface ) that used and stitched together predefined chunks of terrain from a published set ( They later published additional Player-created terrain 'library' sets ) 
* Allowing free placement of props within that terrain
* Placement of Adversary (NPC) Objects and their Props
* Add some Scripting ( simple slow running code to 'smarten things up' ) to do activations/respawns and various interesting alternate interactive things. 
* Portals could link/jump between a World's submaps. 
* Placed Triggers could activate different things ( various activations and object placements, and shift 'state' variables to be reactive )
* Some tool-created "Dialog Trees" to facilitate semi-intelligent menu type Custom Player interactions with the NPCs. These have logic and scripting embedded within the 'Dialog' tree -- which changed the tree's optional branches, depending on game/char factors. 
* NPC Adversaries use standard behavior logic in the simulation ( Placement is the usual determiner of 'tactics' )
* Uses game pieces which get rewritten/improved by Players, and later was published by the game company to all Players as a general "Server Mod".
In that Long Ago game, you built a World 'map' ( including Solo game campaigns ) and could publish it, so other Players would download and run it on their own Servers ( with required 'installs' of any matching/required 'Mod Libraries' required to be existing on each Player's Client/Server machines ). There was a way for the Player to find the IP Address of such Player-run Servers ( many found on a simple company Forum and game listing App site ), and add them to a Connection list to allow the Player's Client to login and run on that Multi Player Server).
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This Neverwinter Nights Game All Happened 15+ Years Ago.
So how is this different from the idea I have for Player Created Missions on this BioShock MMORPG ?
* Company run Servers for the BioShock MMORPG ( a paid service - that's their reason for it ).
* Actual company support to improve/fix/patch the game mechanisms on a more substantial scale.
* Lots more props ( added to significantly more by the Players ).
* More fluid/flexible 'terrain' creation.
* Alot of attribute/environment based behaviors for the NPCs (much more capable).
* Far better Player-done Behavior scripting and programming of AI logic.
* Tools Tools Tools, and more Tools
* Interface Plugins ( to make add-ons improvements more flexible )
* Online Community as an integral part of the system ( to try to flatten the developers learning curve ).
* Helper 'Team' NPCs ( more options in a world where much of the time you really cannot do group play consistently )
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Stealth Is :
'Stealth' Action Game Type - Have Some MMORPG Mission scenarios - If you don't like them, go in guns blazing (and see what happens), or just skip and find another path. The Mission-Giver (guy) probably will give you a clue it is *this* type of Mission (and difficulty/specialization), so you can make a decision early to take it ( you can't have 45 'missions' stacked up like you do in most MMORPG - and THOSE having no time limit ). 
* Missions which require sneaking about ( Players can decide to skip these Mission if they "aren't into it" - some people find them tedious. ) The MMORPG system has enough resources and adaptability to have this playing-style variant. Server Bubble use helps with keeping other Players from blundering into your 'quiet' situation ...
* Better actions added to the Game like Peeking around corners ( Watch out, Splicers know this trick too) .
* Better Interface Sensor cues ( now that YOU will be paying attention and go slow enough )
* More complicated game mechanics where such details are better simulated ( including proper opponents who react more naturally ). Player Skills to develop ...
* Basic/Intermediary/Advanced difficulties for Missions ( Players get tired of constant 'hard' Failz - So give em a 'booby prize' mode )
* Not a situation to take the (your) usual circus parade of Team NPCs into. ( Specialized gear and skills, 'fewer is better', and 'Need to Know' is just one of those things ... )
* Team NPCs (one anyway) might scout an approach to "whatever" ( as the Mission 'lead-in' ), and stage the further surveillance for YOU. 
Perhaps A Whole MMORPG Sub-game Organized Around 'Stealth'. Basic Stealth Tactics can open additional options/tactics in other 'less-stealthy' play ( and the countermeasures against Splicers (AI) who can use Stealth ). Gives Players incentive to at least TRY IT. Have a 'Role' to give reason to using these tactics, and an 'Arc' of 'Stealth' Missions to undertake. 
Stealth Mission Examples :
* Scout out some area for The City, Survey some location just to see the extent of damage or useful paths or Faction activity.
* Move unobtrusively into the area, observe, get out without any problems ( for 'RCI' - Rapture Central Intelligence ). Perhaps plant a 'bug' ( means of remote observation ) at an important location.
* Rescue someone from 'their folly' out in The Ruins ( dealing with Factions who don't like intruders who do stupid things ).
* Contacts with 'operatives' already embedded ... Secret Recognition Password is "Sinclair Suppositories" ( YOU Try to work THAT phrase 'into a light conversation'. )
* Most dangerous is going up to 'The Surface' to run a 'Interference Play' on various Surface World wankers who would very much like to get their hands on Rapture and its Secrets.
* Contacts with Ryan's Organization on The Surface to fetch yet more of 'something' for some supply emergency.
* Nullification of one Faction 'Leader', who is causing way too much trouble and endangering New Rapture ( and YOU probably really just being 'the diversion' for the actual operation - alot of this Covert shit can be like that ).
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Storytelling Quests :
Choreographed Flashbacks, Check.
Lots of interesting/imaginative Lore related stories to tell, Check.
Creative Players to build them and others interested in seeing them, Check.
Tools to create the Assets (will be there if this MMORPG is to work).
A 'Story' Example would be : An elaboration of the whole 'Life-boat' story dealing with Sinclair and how/why it was built. There is a whole interesting story which we only got hints of (interactions between Ryan and Sinclair and big City doings). Of course, being highly related to existing Canon/Lore, it would have to jibe with the few existing 'facts' and all the newly created ones would have to fit properly into the rest of the City's story. The work would be a collaboration with the many details and an influential subplot that would become new Canon (for later player creations to make use of and be built around). That 'Lifeboat' actually looks like it could have started as a possible replacement for the Lighthouse, so the developed story could encompass many big aspects like that.
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"Quick, the Splicers are coming back, grab some goodies and 'Lets Get The Hell Out of Here' " :
Semi-puzzle time-driven loot sifting Mini-Game ('Digging and Deciding' against the Clock)
Where recognizing the objects is a Skill that is developed (and tests the Player's manual skills with the interface).
Some luck of sorting in turning up a Valuable Object (all '3D' objects in a jumble, and extracting it).
Randomness of the items present there (context appropriate variations), with a mix of useless crap (lots) and a few really nice items. Likely need for Refined object physics.
Risk of getting nothing if the time runs out (and ending is more than pressing a button). Various time limit reasons :
* QUICK - The Splicers are coming !!!
* Room filling with water
* The roof is gonna come down !!!
* Snatch and run ...
Can be integrated into a Mission as the payoff phase, or an incidental looting activity.
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The Outside - the Sea - A Whole New World 'Outside' :
* Missions and Quests - Exploration, Prospecting, Hunting, Salvage, Rescuing disbabled Bathyspheres, Sealife to fight, Enemies ...
* The MMORPGs Sea Terrain is large - encompassing the city area itself (approx 3 miles X 3 Miles) and further out (helps to have that 'auto-generation' to actually create terrain 'on-the-fly' - I anyone actually ever goes out to see much of it ...) Area of 200 x 200 miles could be 'seed mapped' for auto-generation with numerous 'interesting' locations done in more detail - another Task for quests - building a (cliche or otherwise) scene for a Mission/Quest.
* 'Outside' jobs for those with the necessary Tools/Skills :
With no new Maintenance Daddies being created, more 'Outside' Citizen work will be required to keep the City intact.
Work requires use of Diving Suits and/or Submarines and a variety of other specialized tools/facilities.
Players also get to remote location by tram tunnels - Player may want a tram to get their heavy suits from their 'lockup' to airlocks.
Actually a good idea - the Tram tracks would be logical to go into all the maintenance airlocks ( another reason for all those secondary 'basement' tram lines. Ditto for 'freight' elevators to get from Street Level 
* As usual "Player Created Assets" used to help fill 'the Sea' with interesting things to see and do.
* Many industrial/raw material sites outside the City are reachable via long transport 'Tunnels' ( Hope you like long 'Tram' rides - miles long - No underground highways like in " THX113 ".
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Missions At The Surface :
* Some quests/missions deal with things 'On the Surface' ( water, waves, sunshine, storms, rain, boats, etc ... )
* Some dealing with the Lighthouse ( including City effort to eliminate that monstrosity pointing at Rapture )
* Some with Smugglers in boats/subs
* Some might take you back to Surface-dweller inhabited places (really "The Surface' )
Official - Rapture still has connections with Ryan's old Global Organization.
Law enforcement - Constable missions intercepting illegal smugglers
Clandestine as part of quests with shady 'mafia' types ( Hmmmm, actually could have a whole 'underworld' set of quests ... )
Some quests may go as far as 'Land' - quest to intercept a Splicer causing trouble up there
Pirates ...
Remember what I said about making it possible for players to use their imagination to add to the game ...
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City Propaganda Campaign to convince Splicers to be Cured ( and to get Non-Splicers to Liberate themselves - to join the City ) :
* Postings of messages and signs in known Splicer habitations:
** "The Cure can set you Free"
** "Why live like an Animal when you can live like a Human in New Rapture".
** "Hate your deformed face ? We can fix it. Tenenbaum's marvelous CURE !!!"
** "Come to our New City to see for yourself what you are missing."
** "Be Human again. Come in from the damp wet cold"
* Some system for Splicers who are convinced would need to be in place.
** Other Splicers might try to stop them, some splicers might use it as a trap.
** Use of the phones at various spots ( so other splicers cant see the ones who are trying to 'defect' )
** Instructions need to be made clear with safe places ( avoiding trigger-happy City security )
** Another mission for the City - bringing in a defecting Splicer
** Benevolent Groups privately attempt to bring in Splicers from the Ruins (at their own risk).
* Splicer 'Bosses' have spread numerous counter-propaganda to prevent losses of their 'followers' (they tear down any 'Cure' propaganda they find.)
** "The norms only want to kill you !!!"
** "The City wants Splicers to Harvest their Organs"
** "The City is selling Splicers to The Surface for use as Circus Freaks"
** "The City only wants your ADAM"
** "The City wants you as Slaves, and will turn you into mindless Big Daddies (or worse)"
** "People who go into 'The Clinic' NEVER come out again!!" ( Playing on the fears many had of Lamb's activities )
** "Its all a trick by Lamb to get her hooks into you again !!"
** "Sander Cohen will have you !!!" ( and much more demented stuff like this)
* Some of the 'Bosses' declared War on New Rapture to polarize their followers against the 'The Cure'
** "Its them versus us !!"
** "They ain't even human any more."
** "We must fight these Brain Sucking Zombies !!"
* Negotiations with independent enclaves of Non-Splicers (when they are found), who the City will try to 'sell' on the advantages of rejoining their fellows in New Rapture and helping restore the City.
* "Voice of Rapture Radio" ... Splicers DO know how to use radios and likely listen to the entertainment radio broadcasts of New Rapture (the Splicer life can be quite boring). So having regular propaganda messages for all those unfortunates out there telling them there is hope, can be effective.
* Radio and TV broadcasts - some missions for the city includes restoring the Radio links to remote locations ( the cables running to building since radio waves penetrate water so poorly ) and tuning radios in the ruins to the propaganda stations. Same for the (unbroken) TVs that seem to be everywhere.
* The various public announcement systems can likewise be used to try to convince Splicers to join New Rapture. The 'Edge' areas of the City in particular could be used for this ( as few Citizens are there to be bothered by the constant audio bombardment ) and also are controlled enough to keep the hardware from being destroyed by Splicers ( who don't like the message ).
* Splicer run Radio Stations - AM broadcasting isn't that complicated and there was more than enough equipment lying around. Some of the content can be quite bizarre and delusional. Fake Splicer stations with subtle propaganda inserted has been done a few times.
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RATS THE SIZE OF LARGE DOGS !!!! :
Rumors and Missions ... ( It was seen as wise to investigate these rumors by New Rapture's City Hall )
("Arts teh seiz fo glare Gods" ???) Mis-heard words from ADAM-addled brains of Splicers ? ("Themz is Fightin Wordz!!!")
"All them (dead) Cats you saw" ... It was an advantage to have a kitty that kept vermin from nibbling on you while you sleep ( and once in a while they provide dinner for YOU - tasty tasty rats ... ).
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Quest - The Grail -- the Fountain of Youth Plasmid :
* Suchong had already worked on numerous Tonics/Plasmids to restore/renew the human body, but was looking for a unified restorative that would not take large combination of Plasmids to have such an effect ( avoiding the corresponding major genetic scrambling and damage that results ).
* This was also part of the priority research ( ordered by Ryan ) for Plasmids which had minimal negative effects and a Plasmid that would instead repair genetic damage.
* Unfortunately Suchong did not live long enough to find either one ( that altercation with the enraged Big Daddy ).
* New Rapture continues research looking for such an answer which would be far simpler than the existing 'Cure' process. Unfortunately there were very few genetic specialists in Rapture to begin with and fewer who survived the Collapse.
* The City is constantly sending out expeditions in search of research materials from the various genetics labs and even homes of the scientists and technicians. The 'reorganizations' done by various factions and general scavenging have cause much such materials to be dispersed.
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Trade Mission Quests :
* Quest/Mission of a Trade Mission to an independent community outside Rapture (or to its gathering/trade place outside its territory).
* Interesting interactions with the community society ( many varieties out there - little social microcosms )
* Trade items supplied by the City ( and maybe something of your own on the side or info to gather )
* Getting there is half the fun. Many such communities are remote or difficult to get to.
* Possible Faction action to try to seize/coerce "the goods" by one of the aggressive/pirate factions. Security concerns need to be addressed.
* How did Amish farmers get to Rapture ???
* Do they want some cable TV ?? OR for phone lines to connect ( maybe at least a 'Red Phone' link ?? ) Medical care ?? Technical assistance ?? Tobacco ?? ( They probably wont fall for 'shiny beads' ... ).
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A Quest - Player Sent to Investigate a Disturbance in the Minerva's Den Facility :
* Scene at McClendon Robotics warehouse full of activated Robotic Little Sisters, where they all start moving towards you saying "Where is My Daddy", "Are You an Angel, I need to Help You, Angel" etc... ( menacing with syringes ).
* The City wants to investigate using these robots for some security uses ( since they have sensors and are mobile ). Follow up is the player doing some research for city into the mechanism ( something to play with/test for a while ).
* McClendon Robotics may also have had a prototype for a Robotic 'Gentleman' Butler ( which no doubt either flopped utterly or went very very wrong ... )
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Scenario : Maniac Rampages Through New Rapture - News at 11 :
MMORPG Players get to see what it feels like to have a dual Weapon/Plasmid wielding ADAM-soaked monster chasing after them (acting like Jack/Delta/Sigma did). Roleplaying being a typical shooting-gallery-fodder Splicer in those historic events OR as a normal ex-Splicer Players ( who don't have Plasmids ) putting them in the place of all those Rapturians they terrorized at one time as the monster in those other games. The only serious question will be : Can the Players run away fast enough ?
Conversely, the Players could revisit corrected versions of those past adventures, this time with fewer manipulated/contrived/illogical plot distortions/inconsistencies. You get to see what Atlas and his thugs actually did to Rapture - made obvious to you from the start, so that YOU might have a chance to fight against your WYK conditioning or Eleanor's siren call. You would see many Splicer inhabitants fleeing from your destructive path, and others trying to defend their homes from 'the monster'. Ryan rallying his people against the anarchists and murderous rebels, and now you. Sofia Lamb's "killing fields" will stand obvious, making plain what poison her philosophy really was.
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Creativity - To The Cubed Power (and Beyond) ... :
Player created Quests don't actually have to have 'Loot' or particularly 'High' Adventure, just 'fun'. I could imagine one choreographed scene emulating "Singin in the Rain" ( near a big water leak of course ) -- Scene for at least one deranged Splicer or a Big Daddy ( Where do you get an umbrella in Rapture ?? - Actually might be/have been a good market for them post-Kashmir when maintenance became more spotty ) ---- Maybe a ghost play ??? Untold stories of insanity/weirdness/humor for the viewers enjoyment (When it comes down to it, aren't most MMORPG quests some lame story and then just more boring slaughter of 'Orcs' ???) ...
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See Grand Theft ADAM
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Where am I ? :
Quest/Mission : You get kidnapped, and taken in a Sub (blindfolded) to some location (undetermined) 'New Harmony' (or Topeka ??) The *unknown* location allows repeat of quest for many Players without disrupting map growth or the Player retracing and disrupting the Quest scenario for other players. A similar Quest plot could be a 'Gang' down in the extensive/mysterious foundation tunnels somewhere.
The above is trying to escape. A similar one is you wake up in Rapture somewhere and have to get back to 'civilization'. You likely have no resources to start.
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Sinclair 'Knows (Knew) Where All The Bodies Are Buried' ...
Mission to get some critical research information - tracking down Sinclair's secret stash ... But he wasn't one to put all his eggs in one basket, sooo ... Follow a trail through various places in Old Rapture to try to locate data important to New Rapture's future.
Sinclair owned many companies and had a wide range of resources - Thus he probably had some good loot hidden and some interesting 'bolt-holes'.
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LA Noire in Rapture ? :
Investigation Missions. Missions got tiresome in "LA Noire" after a while -- How many Players will pay attention to *Observe* through too much time ???)
First : It has to be something you DON'T "just look up on the internet" to solve ( randomizing without genericising is the goal ). That is added game-making difficulty of randomizations, when a cohesive crime story is to be presented to the Player.
Second : To even get Players to do it just a few times, it has to REWARD them with something they REALLY REALLY WANT (like a Metro Pass to get around faster in the game ). A game design idea I saw years ago said that the game time spent should be rewarded ( compensation for the effort made ), or players will just find something easier/more rewarding to do.
Third : Need a somewhat more versatile 'inspection' and 'looking' interface ( Which IS Hard to Do Well ) The interrogation system requires VERY close attention to 'story'/'plot'/'case' detail. "LA Noire" basically lead you through alot of the evidence, indicating what was important. Then the player had to put the pieces together themselves. 
Fourth : The face reading/voice inflections were important in "La Noire" to tell if suspects/witnesses were telling the truth or lying or uncertain. How to have NPCs acting that good (programmed/scripted) in a more general game may be difficult.
(( Damn!!! This MMORPG seems to be glombing together too many different games - What's next? Will you be able to play 'Bowling' in it too ?? Hmm, "Redneck Rampage" had that ... ))
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One part of LA Noire I found tedious was : The movement mechanics ( Designed to be shared with console systems, and thus was hamstrung with those system's control limitation ).
If things were more fluid and less forced, then poking around for clues might be more fun. In the MMORPG you should be able to toss things about, and turn up unexpected, odd, (and creepy) things. 
Getting stuck on terrain features in the "LA Noire" game's choreographed 'action' scenes likewise was bothersome/distracting.
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Note - The game "L.A. Noire" is described in 'gamemaker terminology' as being : "Roguelike Procedural Sandbox Algorithms".
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Visions of Greatness (Again) :
In Agamemnon Towers West, I think one of my first projects will be getting the elevators working ... 20 stories and having to use the stairs gets old pretty quick -- even the ex-spider-splicers are complaining. Repressurizing the other half of the interior space might be actually the first thing to do ( will need a Diving Suit for that ). Many of those tall building have penthouses, which might make for nice digs for an up and coming 'bigman' in the reborn Rapture. I fix it up and there wont be any rent to pay.
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Shoveling out all the moldy decaying materials that sat in cold sea water for years will take time. Best to just seal off many sections for now ( after a quick survey to spot anything good worth salvaging ) and then let whoever wants to occupy that area clean it out for themselves. The utility shut-offs did work when the building flooded and likely will continue to work -- Safety Doors will be checked for pressure integrity. The transportation ways will be cleared to restore easy access to the building and hopefully the building core is largely intact so that the elevators soon can be made to work again.
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Hercule Poirot Comes to Rapture (Mystery Missions) :
Its been mentioned before : The MMORPGs Build-on-the-Fly game engine combined with a comprehensive Player Created Asset system, could/would be used to make games of any genre ( the game mechanics would be as systematically modular as the rest of it ). A sufficient mass of effort (Company and moreso Players) to do so, plus alot of talent and imagination could result many niche games. Rapture's setting is broad enough to offer a basic structure to build up from ( saving alot of effort reusing its mechanisms/plots/scripts/details ) for a project by a group with a special interest -- ex- Hercule Poirot (the Art Deco detective) mystery scenario set in Golden Age Rapture, concentrating on the mystery plot and less on the fact you are on the side of a underwater volcano in the North Atlantic. It is choreographed with clues you watch/inspect and you answer in the end who you think was the murderer ...
Some main-plot scenarios mentioned previously dealt with some surface doings related to Rapture --- the meeting room of Ryan's still-existing surface organization, for example, or a Player's submarine type mission making a rendezvous with a freight bringing critical materials from the Surface world ( with plot undercurrent of someone pulling strings up there to make that happen ).
Whole sub-plot storylines can be created by those interested, using the tools this game would have, making it possible to happen in the game world.
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What IF Andrew Ryan Had Been a Nazi ( What IF Superman ...https://superheroes.fandom.com/wiki/Uberman ) :
Old SNL skit (or was it the show "Fridays" ?)
Then WW2 would have been won by Germany who would then control the World and Ryan would have no need to built Rapture ( except maybe to have called his giant Death-Ray that ... ).
Begs the question of 'What if Hitler had built 'Rapture' 10 years earlier then Ryan did ???
Hmmmm, sounds like one of those 'Mission' type subplots -- and it turns out to be something absurd that deranged (or very bored) Splicers dreamed up ... ( seems there is alot of those. )
Alternate Universe 'Tear Fun' (Splicer Dream) - maybe "Valhalla" a sister city ???? 
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The Jump Scare :
Now a cliche. Need creativity instead of every other Mission scenario having one of some generic type events.
Need creative variants for the 'Threatened Jump Scare', And the 'Noise in the wall', and the 'blind corner'.
Once the players have their scare, they become wary of that situation/object ( like the Corpse that suddenly comes to life ) for the rest of the game. ( Need only happen a few times to have that effect on the Player ) 
Need the 'Jump Scare' Blooper Reel of all the things that go wrong :Wwhen Splicers mess up their little 'joke' ... Trips and falls, doors closing unexpectedly, forgetting their 'words', the Trap Activation failing with resulting cursing and realizing everyone is now looking at them and bringing up their guns ...
Team NPCs doing a 'double take' ....
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Looters of the Lost Harp :
Unfortrunately, there isn't much mythological archaeology in Rapture ( unless there was hiding Nazis who brought holy/cult objects with them - Which AT LEAST would make for a halfway good Splicer Delusion ).
Ryan and the Templars .. a path going to stoopid places ...
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