I’ve never been a gamer (unless Mario Kart Wii counts), but the idea of “side quests” fascinates me.
In video games, like Legend of Zelda, side quests are small little tasks that NPCs (Non Player Characters) offer you.
Usually it’s something like retrieving their lost amulet or hunting down a dragon. Either way, you don’t have to complete the quest to finish the whole game.
It’s unnecessary, but people take them on for fun.
That’s the video game definition, but “side quest” is also a slang term. And, if you ask me, it’s one of the most life-impactful slang terms of my generation.
Good old Merriam-Webster defines it like this: “A side quest is a secondary pursuit, career, or activity. Side quests may vary from the exceptionally minor (going to the bathroom on the way to get another drink at a bar) to the relatively consequential (a second job, or avocation).”
Side quests isn’t just a slang term. It’s a way of viewing life.
I dub thee, gamified!
Gamification has been around since the 19th century.
Smithsonian defines gamification as: “the act of using game elements to make non-games more enjoyable.”
Our moms just called it “making chores fun.”
Gamifying life is influential because:
- It makes life more fun.
- It engages our minds faster.
- It’s directly against the idea that life is a drag.
Teachers use it in the classroom. Moms use it to get stuff done around the house. But the gamers and slang-users stumbled across something that snatched it out of the productivity tool category and turned it into a worldview.
They gave it words.
Small writerly rabbit trail…
I believe in the power of words.
I’m pretty sure scientists do too…but I think we can all agree that when the language changes, the culture changes.
Instead of using “side quests” as a tool to be more productive, “side quests” are a way of making life fun.
When it’s used, it’s almost like a video game console boots up in your brain. Pieces of the world load and you notice things like the color of the sky and the flowers again.
Instead of being forced to run an errand, you’re choosing to go on a side quest. There’s a sense of adventure and agency in “side quests” that will never fit into the world of “errands.”
Fancy example!
Xavier from Beyond the Mirage (hear me out, Lucy, because I know you’re a Xavier-hater) is actually really good at this.
Side note: I’m breaking the pattern of examples from Star Wars on this blog, hehehehe.
Xavier is the tagalong in Beyond the Mirage. He’s the plus-one of one of the bridesmaids, and he’s got a lot of annoying habits.
One of the most annoying things about him is that he doesn’t actually want to go to the wedding (which is the main character’s whole goal, BTW). Another one is that he’s constantly clicking this pen, almost as a power move.
Is it almost a game to him how many times he can annoy Lauren? Yes.
But he also gamifies life in a more positive light.
The Classic: Race to the Finish Line
When they’re stranded by the side of the highway in chapter five, Xavier starts a race to the nearby Subway. He bolts across the parking lot and calls out that the last one there has to buy lunch!
Even though it didn’t go well for him, the gamification technique was excellent.
It (almost) lightened the mood in an unfortunate situation, and made the trek across the parking lot more fun.
For a character that (some people) love to hate, he’s not all bad.
Am I telling you to take a page from Xavier’s book? No…..I can’t condone harming a book in that way.
But you should totally buy Beyond the Mirage! It’s got a bunch of hijinks, and the FMC is much better than Ray “Skywalker.”
Your side quest (should you choose to accept it)…
Read Beyond the Mirage! It’s available on Amazon, free on Kindle Unlimited, and wherever else books are sold.
Some of my favorite parts of this curated side quest are:
- When the characters drive into a wall of flame.
- Find the missing wedding ring
- Sneaky little plot twist
- When you leave a review on Amazon 😉
Lucy will probably share more about the book below, but thanks for reading!
What if God allowed people to teleport?
Lauren is a quodesher – one of those people who can teleport a whole carful of people across the country.
When California wildfires turn the drive to her sister’s wedding into a mad dash teleportation tour of the country, she’s entrusted with her sister’s wedding ring…and thrust into a responsibility she knows she’s not ready for.
When the ring goes missing, Lauren is forced to make choices that will impact the lives of the people around her forever.
As the leader of this ragtag group of wedding guests, she finds herself in more trouble than she bargained for. And since when did she ask to be haggled about her parents’ death (ancient history) at every move?
Not all is as it seems. And trusting God…might just be a journey.
With the imagination and powerful prose of Nadine Brandes’s Wishtress, this clean YA novel speaks to the journeys we all embark on, and the faith it takes to put the broken pieces back together.
Isn’t Vella great?
Vella Karman is an Ohio-based author, editor, and public speaker, and a lovely friend of mine! She wrote the bestselling new release Beyond the Mirage, and was the managing editor for the Fantastical Summer anthology.
Vella helps Christian girls fill their lives with light by focusing on Jesus. How cool is that?
In her words: Fill your life with LIGHT.
You can find her at vellakarman.com!
Go forth and gamify!
This was such a good reminder for me. Thanks, Vella!
If you’re still here, give a shout in the comments! How do you or don’t you gamify your life?
And Vella, listen. I don’t hate Xavier. I just…relate, ok. I click my pen like a crazy person and I can’t ignore the similarities haha!
Mary Poppins actually nailed this over 60 years ago. Her first task was to teach this lesson: “A spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down.” And, really, the entire film is a series of whacky side quests! If you’ve never seen it, get Lucy to watch it with you — she can testify to its greatness!
“In every job that must be done
There is an element of fun
You find the fun and snap! The job’s a game
And every task you undertake
Becomes a piece of cake
A lark! A spree!
It’s very clear to see
That a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
The medicine go down, the medicine go down
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the medicine go down
In a most delightful way.”
Yes, that’s so true!!
Fun story: when I was five or six, I couldn’t figure out how to snap. When I tried, I couldn’t make any noise. We watched Mary Poppins around that time, and I tried to snap during the scene where they snap to clean up the nursery. For the first time ever, it worked!
Love that!