15 Hidden Video Game Design Secrets That Are Total Genius

4. Skyrim Generates Quests To Make Sure You See The Whole Map

Named 'Radiant Quests', this was a purely genius move on Bethesda's part.

Basically stemming out of a need - or an encouragement on behalf of the art and coding departments - for you to see every last square inch of the monolithic world the team had designed, Bethesda coded Skyrim to scan the game world for locations you're yet to visit, and then present a new quest.

It's why things like random NPCs sprint out the undergrowth to tell you about a kidnapping or a treasure location at random, why a certain book may need retrieving or a rogue vampire needs putting down. The beauty in the design is unlike other developers' procedurally generated structures that build quests from scratch, many of Bethesda's retain authorship and voice acting, with only the destination or item itself changing.

That way, the illusion of handcrafted 'design' is maintained, yet the game can produce what feels like an endless amount of missions, goals and rewards, for as long as you'd like to keep playing.