Game Journal Entry 6 Tue, Feb 3: Grind or Game?
Background
My first 3D MMORPG, was Asheron’s Call back in 1999. I played for about 2 years. Game play consisted of quests, hunting monsters, and exploring locations. I moved on to Everquest for about 3 months. My EQ play time was short, because it felt the same as AC: cookie cutter quests, killing monsters, and wandering around the country side - on top of its buggy game play. Following that, I tried Anarchy Online, which was different in story and environment, but still had cookie cutter quests and the obligatory killing of monsters.
In 2003, Star Wars Galaxies was released. SWG had tones similar to AC, but offered versatility to players by allowing characters to change jobs. Like AC, you gained XP by using specific skills. The XP gained from that skill use could then buy skill levels in a particular class. You could then choose to remove skill levels and select others to change your character’s build. For about 2 years, I would try nearly every class available to the game. SWG did have its cookie cutter quests and the killing of mobs for XP, but its leveling system offered an alternative game play. Then SWG changed leveling game mechanics and in combat mechanics to mimic the game play of popular MMORPGs, specifically its primary competitor, WoW which was released in 2004.
EverQuest 2 was also released in 2004, and after my 2 years in SWG, I decided give the new version of EQ a try. I was hoping that it fixed many of the flaws found in EQ. I played for about 6 months, before moving on. I tried Final Fantasy XI for one month after seeing that it was the same as EQ/EQ2 and giving it up. I also even tried WoW for about 30 days, but still it felt like other games. But for the rest of the year and into 2005, I gave up MMORPGs and waited for something different.
Finally in 2006, I tried Dungeons and Dragons Online. It was the closest an MMORPG could get to one of my favorite childhood games, D&D. DDO was different because you got XP from quests not monsters. Rewards for playing were still the same as any other MMORPG, but how you played was different. You grouped with others in order to get the quest done. And it was obvious that the most efficient way to get XP was to group with others, like in the table-top game. Combat was also different because it was fast paced and attacks were not cued but rather activated instantly by a mouse click - very similar to an FPS mechanic. Slowly over time DDO changed into a system similar to that of WoW, mostly at the push and prodding of its player base. But instead of removing older game mechanics as in SWG, it added mechanics to its core system.
Back to the Grind
What is grind? Well, grind is basically play gone bad. Grind is a term to describe repetitive play for the purpose of gaining something else other than the experience of play. When play becomes grind, it’s up to developers to create a different kind of play so that users will still remain in the game.
The Flavors of Grind/Play in DDO
Quests - This is the basic unit block of the MMORPG play. Quests in DDO can be repeated. As an act of play, they contain stories centered on your character and her actions. You are on this quest to save the girl, or to recover the relic. Quests are like puzzles because you have to figure out what to do to complete the quest. But even in table-top games quests start following a formula, they blend together, and it begins to feel the same after a while and soon play becomes grind. Only a good story seems to make the quest stand out from others, turning quests into play again.
Killing Monsters - Another basic block of the game play. In DDO, quests and monsters went hand in hand, you couldn’t have an effective quest without monsters. They provide the challenge within the quest. In DDO you couldn’t gain XP from killing monsters (with the exception of boss monsters in the quest). Some quests featured simple quests where you had to kill 200 or more within a given time frame. Killing monsters felt like play when in combination with quests. It felt like play, when you had to plan for tactics among the group players. But since monster types are the same, once you figured out a tactic for that monster type, play became grind. New monster types always created new play for me.
Collectables - Like collecting stamps, except in a fantasy context it was magical herbs or strange artifacts. Collect enough of them you could turn them in for interesting items, but not as good as Quest reward items. This was only play until you turned in the collections. Disappointment made it a grind. I’m not sure what would make this form of grinding play again. Maybe if the items were like real life collecting, where an item has history and imagery. A collectable tends to also hold memory for a person. Where I work there is a signed poster of a famous band, it’s a collectable because it has value both in money and in human memory.
Discovery Locations - in adventure zones, you could wander around the area and discover locations. Typically, discovering an area also lead to killing monsters and discovering new quests. Play took the form of discovery, once everything was discovered it became a grind. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the landscape changed? If the discovery could be endless?
Crafting - this was later introduced in DDO. In DDO, you have to collect items from finishing quests. And to craft your item, you must complete quests to gain access to crafting stations. This wouldn’t be so much of a grind, if you didn’t have to compete the same quests over and over again to get to the items or to the crafting stations. At first it was play, because the quests were new. Crafting for me still remains play, only because I have yet to get all the components to craft. The question is do I want to grind quests in order to craft?
Faction Points - in order to get points in a faction you ran quests. Faction points gave you high rewards in DDO, such as a +2 tome or a chance to build a 32 point character instead of a 22 point one. You also got valuable items, and access to services provided by NPCs. This was only play because of its high value return, but became a grind because it meant playing quests. If you did it right, you could play your quests without having to grind faction.
What’s my Play/Grind?
I still like quests. A good story always gives me entertainment. Learning something new is always a play that I enjoy. Killing monsters for the sake of XP is my grind and will always be my grind. I’ve been doing it to long. Coordinating and cooperating with others towards a goal will be play, only so long as the group is compatible. Even a failed quest is still fun especially when friendship is built around it, because it means people are willing to try it again later. Faction is always a grind, especially when you try to gain faction and nothing else. It means repeating quests even the bad ones until you get your faction. Discovery will always remain a form of play that I love, but the rate at which new content comes out will always be proportionally to its resources. So with age, discovery becomes "just another Sunday drive around the block".
So why play games if it such a grind?
It’s like taking a staycation. Games are simplified alternative reality simulations. They mix elements of entertainment in new and different ways especially when compared to other entertainment mediums. Sometimes games give us opportunities to learn and gain rewards in a safe environment with low investment and low risk, and high returns.
Furthermore, we can never escape grind. We grind in real life many of us call it our job. Chores are the grind we do at home; a honey-do list is the ultimate grind! But like many things we can label grind, another person may call it fun/play/life.
My first 3D MMORPG, was Asheron’s Call back in 1999. I played for about 2 years. Game play consisted of quests, hunting monsters, and exploring locations. I moved on to Everquest for about 3 months. My EQ play time was short, because it felt the same as AC: cookie cutter quests, killing monsters, and wandering around the country side - on top of its buggy game play. Following that, I tried Anarchy Online, which was different in story and environment, but still had cookie cutter quests and the obligatory killing of monsters.
In 2003, Star Wars Galaxies was released. SWG had tones similar to AC, but offered versatility to players by allowing characters to change jobs. Like AC, you gained XP by using specific skills. The XP gained from that skill use could then buy skill levels in a particular class. You could then choose to remove skill levels and select others to change your character’s build. For about 2 years, I would try nearly every class available to the game. SWG did have its cookie cutter quests and the killing of mobs for XP, but its leveling system offered an alternative game play. Then SWG changed leveling game mechanics and in combat mechanics to mimic the game play of popular MMORPGs, specifically its primary competitor, WoW which was released in 2004.
EverQuest 2 was also released in 2004, and after my 2 years in SWG, I decided give the new version of EQ a try. I was hoping that it fixed many of the flaws found in EQ. I played for about 6 months, before moving on. I tried Final Fantasy XI for one month after seeing that it was the same as EQ/EQ2 and giving it up. I also even tried WoW for about 30 days, but still it felt like other games. But for the rest of the year and into 2005, I gave up MMORPGs and waited for something different.
Finally in 2006, I tried Dungeons and Dragons Online. It was the closest an MMORPG could get to one of my favorite childhood games, D&D. DDO was different because you got XP from quests not monsters. Rewards for playing were still the same as any other MMORPG, but how you played was different. You grouped with others in order to get the quest done. And it was obvious that the most efficient way to get XP was to group with others, like in the table-top game. Combat was also different because it was fast paced and attacks were not cued but rather activated instantly by a mouse click - very similar to an FPS mechanic. Slowly over time DDO changed into a system similar to that of WoW, mostly at the push and prodding of its player base. But instead of removing older game mechanics as in SWG, it added mechanics to its core system.
Back to the Grind
What is grind? Well, grind is basically play gone bad. Grind is a term to describe repetitive play for the purpose of gaining something else other than the experience of play. When play becomes grind, it’s up to developers to create a different kind of play so that users will still remain in the game.
The Flavors of Grind/Play in DDO
Quests - This is the basic unit block of the MMORPG play. Quests in DDO can be repeated. As an act of play, they contain stories centered on your character and her actions. You are on this quest to save the girl, or to recover the relic. Quests are like puzzles because you have to figure out what to do to complete the quest. But even in table-top games quests start following a formula, they blend together, and it begins to feel the same after a while and soon play becomes grind. Only a good story seems to make the quest stand out from others, turning quests into play again.
Killing Monsters - Another basic block of the game play. In DDO, quests and monsters went hand in hand, you couldn’t have an effective quest without monsters. They provide the challenge within the quest. In DDO you couldn’t gain XP from killing monsters (with the exception of boss monsters in the quest). Some quests featured simple quests where you had to kill 200 or more within a given time frame. Killing monsters felt like play when in combination with quests. It felt like play, when you had to plan for tactics among the group players. But since monster types are the same, once you figured out a tactic for that monster type, play became grind. New monster types always created new play for me.
Collectables - Like collecting stamps, except in a fantasy context it was magical herbs or strange artifacts. Collect enough of them you could turn them in for interesting items, but not as good as Quest reward items. This was only play until you turned in the collections. Disappointment made it a grind. I’m not sure what would make this form of grinding play again. Maybe if the items were like real life collecting, where an item has history and imagery. A collectable tends to also hold memory for a person. Where I work there is a signed poster of a famous band, it’s a collectable because it has value both in money and in human memory.
Discovery Locations - in adventure zones, you could wander around the area and discover locations. Typically, discovering an area also lead to killing monsters and discovering new quests. Play took the form of discovery, once everything was discovered it became a grind. Wouldn’t it be interesting if the landscape changed? If the discovery could be endless?
Crafting - this was later introduced in DDO. In DDO, you have to collect items from finishing quests. And to craft your item, you must complete quests to gain access to crafting stations. This wouldn’t be so much of a grind, if you didn’t have to compete the same quests over and over again to get to the items or to the crafting stations. At first it was play, because the quests were new. Crafting for me still remains play, only because I have yet to get all the components to craft. The question is do I want to grind quests in order to craft?
Faction Points - in order to get points in a faction you ran quests. Faction points gave you high rewards in DDO, such as a +2 tome or a chance to build a 32 point character instead of a 22 point one. You also got valuable items, and access to services provided by NPCs. This was only play because of its high value return, but became a grind because it meant playing quests. If you did it right, you could play your quests without having to grind faction.
What’s my Play/Grind?
I still like quests. A good story always gives me entertainment. Learning something new is always a play that I enjoy. Killing monsters for the sake of XP is my grind and will always be my grind. I’ve been doing it to long. Coordinating and cooperating with others towards a goal will be play, only so long as the group is compatible. Even a failed quest is still fun especially when friendship is built around it, because it means people are willing to try it again later. Faction is always a grind, especially when you try to gain faction and nothing else. It means repeating quests even the bad ones until you get your faction. Discovery will always remain a form of play that I love, but the rate at which new content comes out will always be proportionally to its resources. So with age, discovery becomes "just another Sunday drive around the block".
So why play games if it such a grind?
It’s like taking a staycation. Games are simplified alternative reality simulations. They mix elements of entertainment in new and different ways especially when compared to other entertainment mediums. Sometimes games give us opportunities to learn and gain rewards in a safe environment with low investment and low risk, and high returns.
Furthermore, we can never escape grind. We grind in real life many of us call it our job. Chores are the grind we do at home; a honey-do list is the ultimate grind! But like many things we can label grind, another person may call it fun/play/life.