grinding posts

There's one constant in nearly every new MMO we play, and for many of us the games we play offline -- gaining levels. And Don't Fear The Mutant recently has set forth a sentiment that we're sure many players have shared -- the absolute, intolerable dread of having to level up again. Of having to go from Level 1 to Level Whatever, quickly at first and then ever so slowly as we creep toward the finish line, a finish that doesn't so much tell us what to do as gives us the option to do what we wanted to in the first place.

Sometimes it's a slog, sometimes it's easy, but all of us have felt the pain before of the fact that the barrier to entry gets higher and higher over time. After all, to pick a random example, the community of City of Heroes is full of characters at Level 50. The majority of the game is played out there. It's difficult to suggest a solution that doesn't require partitioning off the world or vastly shortening the level grind a la Guild Wars, but if you've ever found yourself staring at that bar and dreading even stepping out of town to fill it a bit -- and you certainly have -- you may wish to take a look at the full entry.

Facebook is a haven for simple social games these days -- emphasis on simple. The gameplay frequently consists of nothing more than a few clicks and then waiting for the game to do what it wants to, a type of mechanic once memorably referred to as sandwich gameplay. (There's nothing interesting for the player to do, so you may as well get up and make yourself a sandwich.) And yet games of this breed can acquire more subscribers than World of Warcraft, which is one of those concepts that seems baffling at first, but once you think about it, it's still baffling.

The games are certainly massive, multiplayer, and online. About the only thing we could argue they're not is games, since there's little to no skill involved at the best of times. But they certainly don't seem to have problem bringing in money or subscribers, and they're becoming omnipresent. Do you take part? Do you play one or two because your friends do, or several of them? Do you use them to eat up downtime in your game of choice, or do you play them on their own merits? Or do you dislike them precisely because they're barely-disguised treadmills?

A while ago, Kill Ten Rats advocated a rather interesting approach to solving the problem of any tedious grind: cheat. More viable in a single-player game (but still possible if you're willing to use methods of dubious legality), the reasoning was to cut away the reward portion and see if you were enjoying what you were doing on its own merits. Two follow-up posts have been made since then, further extrapolating the question and getting into the way our brains fire in response to anticipation of reward.

Grind, of course, is both a dirty word and a quintessential part of any current MMO, which means that we generally aim at games with the most enjoyable grind. But are we focusing on an enjoyable grind, or just one that's not too painful as we head toward the end goal? Is the problem with Aion (to pick a game routinely raked over the coals for its grind) the basic structure, or could the grind become irrelevant if it were just a hair more enjoyable? The very structure of MMOs encourages a certain amount of grinding, and it's interesting to take a look at whether we're doing it because the grind is fun, or just because we've tricked ourselves into thinking it's not all that bad.

We aren't always gung-ho about it, but somewhere deep down we realize that MMOs kind of need a certain amount of grind. After all, that's part of what keeps us in the game and playing, and there are some areas where avoiding the grind arguably injures your overall experience. But there are still degrees of grind. Guild Wars, for instance, is notable as being largely free of grinding with a few small exceptions. On the flip side, Aion is almost universally agreed to be a nonstop extravaganza of grinding in one form or another, which has been one of the elements that turns many players off from the game. Both are good games, but they're targeted to people who enjoy differing levels of the age-old pastime of grinding.

Today, we ask our fine readers how much of a tolerance they have for grinding. Are you able to sit at the computer for hours on end, whistling away as you relentlessly kill things without a twinge of regret? Or does the mere thought of repeating something for rewards send you screaming to the hills? What games have struck you as too focused on grind, and which ones seemed too eager to hand out rewards?

The trouble with any long-running game is that it gets top-heavy. This is especially a problem in games such as Final Fantasy XI, where you simply have to group to accomplish most things in the game, but it's really a problem even in the most solo-friendly game with an expansion or two. After all, more often than not there's an ever-raising level cap, gear curve, and expected knowledge about the game, not to mention stretches of previously endgame content that's no longer relevant. When A Casual Stroll to Mordor asks if it's too late to start playing Lord of the Rings Online, the question could be extended to many other games.

Of course, it's probably not exceptionally surprising that the conclusion is "no," duly pointing out that the only time it's technically too late is when the game is shutting down soon. There are also tips about making the areas at lower levels less of a ghost town, which largely boil down to being proactive. People will almost always have alts or restarted characters, and actively trying to get your foot in the door can make up for a lot of inexperience. It's as true in Lord of the Rings Online as it is everywhere: putting forth the effort makes a lot of difference, even if it won't close the expanded level gap by itself.

Believe it or not, grind is an essential part of an MMO and we might be pretty lost without it. Repetitive content is the cornerstone of the MMO genre but it's not all just smacking monsters over the head for hours on end or completing yet another "kill ten rats" quest. The repetitive elements in an MMO give us predictable gameplay in a form we can digest. We don't feel lost when we pick up a quest because it uses similar mechanics to previous quests we've done. From a development standpoint, the amount of time it takes to create new and unique gameplay for an MMO is quite large and it's just not feasible to churn out unique gameplay with every new piece of content. Instead, developers are forced to re-use the same gameplay mechanics over and over again. So if we genuinely appreciate predictable, repetitive gameplay and it's not feasible to do otherwise, why are we always so up-in-arms about the evils of grinding?

In this probative opinion piece, I look at why we need repetitive gameplay in MMOs and the various ways developers disguise grind to keep the game entertaining.
Update: Link to page 2 fixed. Thanks Brian!

43,829 minutes. That's roughly how long Aion's been out in the West. Depending on your tolerance for grinding, it may or may not have felt like that amount of time passed. There's no doubt it's been a busy month full of ups and downs, so we'd like to take an extensive look back at the last 30-days and give our impressions on the game.

Smooth criminal

Aion experienced one of the most technically smooth launches in MMO history, which was the result of hard work, innovative design, tough decision-making, and of course nearly a year between the Eastern and Western releases. Anti-cheat software, GameGuard, was stripped from the client in the 11th hour. This no doubt eliminated most of the open-beta issues that would have sent a lot of potential players packing shortly after release. Players just aren't as forgiving as they used to be.

Aion has officially been out for one full month and NCsoft just released an October community address in response. The notice reads less like a giant pat on the back and more like a checklist of major issues they are working on, which is bound to churn up speculation about how well the title is doing. Oh, we're sure Aion is doing quite well even though we haven't heard the official numbers yet, but developers usually use these opportunities to shout about their accomplishments rather than their shortcomings.

The top three issues mentioned in the letter are experience curves, client performance, and spammers/botters. Most players will agree that it can feel like a part-time job to level your character at times. Some players have had performance issues specifically related to "Cryssystem.dll." And finally, everyone has been forced to /ignore the odd spammer... or fifty. NCsoft is using this opportunity to yet again tell players they are aware of these issues and fixes are on the way.

We're curious how this may relate to differences between eastern and western gaming cultures. Aion has been released for nearly a year in Asia and yet only the outcry from European and North American players against experience grinds and gold spamming specifically seems to be sparking a change.

We spent a lot of time playing Aion last weekend and have another round of quick tips to share with you. Check out last week's list in case you missed it. Enjoy!

1. Cheaply level your craft

This tip assumes you know the basics of crafting. The fastest and cheapest way to raise your crafting skill is to complete work orders given out by your crafting trainer in the Artisan district in your capital city. Crafting costs kinah (money), but there are three important things you should bear in mind to maximize your savings.

First, only grind up your skill on work orders 10-15 levels below your current crafting level. For instance, if your Tailoring is at 40, only do work orders that require a 30 Tailoring until you reach 50 skill points. Each work order will give you around 1-1.5 skill points, will complete more quickly with a higher level of success, and your extra ingredient(s) cost will be lower from the crafting vendor.

Second, only make as many items as needed to complete your work order. Each work order only requires that you create 6 items but the trainer gives you enough basic ingredients for 8. Too many people click "Craft All," which ends up wasting additional resources (i.e., money). Manually type in "6" and then press your craft button.

Whenever a new MMO or expansion is released, whether it's a AAA title or a lesser known game with a tiny population, you can be sure that there will be a group of people racing to reach the maximum level. Some may start out gung-ho and drop out of the race as the levels get a bit slower, but there will always be those that complete the whole journey to the level cap at a blinding pace. Sometimes there is end-game content that they are racing towards, but that certainly isn't the only motivating factor for tearing through the levels. There are those that just enjoy getting it done fast no matter what. Those that don't have the time to play enough to win the initial race may still spend each play-session in a grinding and questing frenzy.

As a contrast, we would also be able to find players that log on too much to be considered casual, yet still haven't got a character at max level in their chosen game. This is the "stop and smell the roses" approach to leveling, with the emphasis on the journey rather than the destination. This type of player will probably take the time to read every word of every quest, engage in activities that aren't related to progression, and just generally move at a far more relaxed pace.

We think there's definitely room for both types of players, and also realize that the player's approach may depend heavily on what a particular game offers. What we'd like to find out from you this morning is how you normally approach the leveling in a new game or expansion. What factors contribute to that approach?

So I learned a few things since last week. One, writing an opinion column on how much I like Final Fantasy XIV can push people into a frothing internet rage, and two, people apparently forgot that I write an opinion column.

Therefore, because my column may induce emotional states similar to some drugs, I've been asked by the FDA to include a legible warning prior to each of my column topics.

The FDA would like me to tell you that reading Anti-Aliased can, in rare cases, cause extreme emotional upset, eye strain, monitor punching syndrome, a feeling of discomfort around Mithra, itchyness, nausea, resurrection sickness, paralysis of the eyelids, and carpal tunnel syndrome. You should stop reading Anti-Aliased and consult with a World of Warcraft priest should you develop any one of these symptoms while reading.

With that legalese out of the way, let's talk about Jade Dynasty -- dubbed by the illustrious James Egan as AFK Dynasty as it's the one MMO where you pay microtransactions to not play it. Yes, you heard me, it's more beneficial to not play Jade Dynasty than it is to play Jade Dynasty. EVE players, there is finally a game that puts your skill training system to shame.

So that's why it's called AFK Dynasty...

When I finally found a new area to level in as my awesome level 30 self, I actually found that the quests had surprisingly become more tedious. Now it was kill 30 of a monster, or collect 10 to 15 of an item that would only drop once every 7 monsters. This is when I began to make crazy use of the invigorate feature, where I'd press the "kill stuff" button and my character would go off killing whatever she pleased.

Was I worried about dying? Pfft, no! Using my wonderous cash shop gold I got a health and mana battery! These two items carried 700,000 HP and 700,000 SP inside of them, and would use enough of their charges to bring my character back up to full HP and SP when I dropped below 10% in a category. I had absolutely nothing to fear now all because my character was basically on a potion IV drip. Everything in my path was easily slaughtered, and I didn't have to be present for any of it.

It scared me.

Is this what an MMO is?

Other games try to hide it with cutscenes, story, diversions, and other tactics. Jade Dynasty is the full, unabashed version of what a MMO is -- grindy grindy grind. But when the game becomes so advanced that it can play itself, then I need to ask an important question What the heck is the point?

"Jade Dynasty is the full, unabashed version of what a MMO is -- grindy grindy grind."

A better designer than I once said, "Making video games for a living comes down to one cold, hard truth -- you're making pushing buttons fun. Your job is making an extremely mundane task into an experience with impact." The fact that a game like Jade Dynasty exists is a scary proposition for our industry as a whole. It means we're walking the path of making timesinks, not games. It's like one of those old addages -- "How can we have fun playing a game when we're not playing the game?"

I sound like a broken record, but this is a very strong reason why I preach about the necessity of storyline and impact in a game. While gameplay is very, very important, any repetitive activity will become boring unless it is spiced up with enough change to keep it engaging. We use to have a strong grasp of making worlds with engaging content. That grasp, however, has diminished since the dawn of the EverQuest and the rise of "kill X to level" quests.

How do I know that we've lost our path regarding storyline? Well because Bioware is touting storyline as a new feature in The Old Republic. When we've gotten to the point that storyline is a "on-the-box" feature for a game, then we've done something horribly wrong in our designing.

Our original designs focused on the adventure in the world, not the quick grind sessions to max level and the repetition of raids. I wish we could re-find those designs.

My final note to you all for this week: if you want to play a game of numbers without playing the game, I have a recommendation for you. It's a "game" that runs on anyone's computer thanks to low graphical requirements and provides all of the same action and features that Jade Dynasty provides. It's called Progress Quest, it's equivolent to Jade Dynasty, and it's 100% free. Try it, you'll love it.

---

Colin Brennan is the weekly writer of Anti-Aliased who is totally level 45 in Jade Dynasty by only playing it for an hour. When he's not writing here for Massively, he's rambling on his personal blog, The Experience Curve. If you want to message him, send him an e-mail at colin.brennan AT weblogsinc DOT com. You can also follow him on Twitter through Massively, or through his personal feed.

Kill Ten Rats just put up an interesting, if not verging on controversial, take on some of the more repetitive and mundane parts of our MMO experiences. The main point of the article looks at MMOs not from the standpoint of a game, but rather that of a hobby.

Ravious, the article's author, defines a hobby element of an MMO as something we may do in our gameplay that's not fun, but aids you having fun in future gameplay. Things like grinding to get that awesome new sword, all the looting you do to make potions for that next big raid, or perhaps just sitting in battlegrounds and getting all the honor points you can take.

Ravious makes one important part at the end of the article -- too much "hobby element" in your game just makes for a sour game. He uses salt for his metaphor in this context. Salt makes food taste better, but too much salt or salting the wrong thing leads to ghastly consequences.