Side Quests (Slang)

About

Side Quests or Side Missions are optional quests in video games given to the player by NPC characters that often have no effect on the main story of the game, instead offering additional experience, rewards, storylines and ultimately extending the length of the game. Side quests are also typically associated with RPGs, though not exclusive to them. As a slang term, "side quest" is used in an IRL context to similarly refer to tasks that are not necessary to do but are distractions embarked on spontaneously without much planning. While memes about video game side quests appeared online throughout the 2010s, the term was popularized as slang throughout the 2020s as it was referenced in memes, skits and various posts on social media, often being applied to real-world things.

Origin

It is unclear when and where the first meme about side quests was posted. One of the earliest known examples was posted to QuickMeme^[1] on or around November 16th, 2011, and references Skyrim, reading, "spend hours and hours playing, never finish the main quest" (shown below, left).

In 2012, a Too Damn High meme referencing the same Elder Scrolls game was posted to QuickMeme,^[2] which also used the term "side quests" (shown below, right).

A definition for the term "side quested," meaning to become sidetracked or distracted by something one irrationally believes will somehow be beneficial later, was first added to Urban Dictionary^[7] by the user Produent on May 11th, 2011. On November 18th, 2021, Urban Dictionary user king sushii then added the more commonly used definition for "side quest," receiving over 40 upvotes in roughly three years as it became the top-voted definition for the slang term.

Spread

Memes about and referring to embarking on side quests became increasingly popularized throughout the 2010s and 2020s. On February 23rd, 2017, MatPat posted a meme to X^[3] sharing an image of a cat enveloped in a beam of light reading, "If video games have taught me anything, this cat has a side quest for me," garnering over 12,000 likes in seven years (shown below).

On December 16th, 2020, a meme referencing a "to-do list" as "side quests" was posted to the subreddit /r/memes,^[4] garnering over 21,000 upvotes in four years (shown below, left). On January 9th, 2021, another meme was posted to Reddit's /r/memes^[5] using "side quests" in the caption, garnering over 20,000 upvotes in three years (shown below, right).

The use of "side quest" as a slang term referring to IRL distractions became particularly prevalent throughout the 2020s as the concept became more mainstream. For example, on April 18th, 2024, TikToker^[6] @rubyscoobytrash posted a meme using the term in this capacity, garnering over 13 million views in three months (shown below).

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References