[HEADING=1]Has gaming become a chore?[/HEADING]
[sub]There's a spoilertagged TL;DR at the bottom.[/sub]
Right, this is a subject that has been touched on before by several people/articles and so on, and so forth. But as the search-bar yielded no recent results, I thought it prudent to raise the debate once again as it is highly relevant to all of use that spend time with video-games.
The reason I have for bringing this subject up, is that recently I have found less enjoyment and more "grinding" in several of the games I have played.
Let me give you an example:
World of Warcraft is one of the games belonging to the genre of massively multiplayer online role-playing games, or MMORPG's in short, which have servers constantly running and people constantly playing. Now whatever you might say about World of Warcraft according to your own experiences, you cannot deny that it is very popular and an MMORPG that has found a good way to sell itself and stay fresh. After more than 5 years it still boasts of more than 10+ million active accounts, something not achieved by any game. But, yes, there is a but; when you reach the maximum level the game has to offer, it turns into what some people would call a "grindfest".
Whatever you want to do requires you to spend a significant amount doing it. For example gathering for your professions. You choose certain abilities as a low-level character which can help you gain gear, perks or money later in the game. Let me stress that this is completely normal and is done by indeed most, if not all, MMORPGs. But as WoW has the biggest audience I have chosen to use it as an example.
At level 85 (now the cap), you have got Green and Blue pieces of armour/weapons in your character slots. These are the fourth and third best kinds of gear being Uncommon and Rare respectively. You get this gear by leveling in dungeons or by completing quests, which is fine. But then you reach the level cap, and here starts the grinding to get the Epic gear. You can get it by using your professions, buying it off the auction house, using Justice or Valor points or by participating in guild -or pickupraids where you might get lucky and get it from a boss.
Here's the deal then. Let's say you're a casual player, with little time to play WoW. Regardless, of course, you want to get some good gear in the game so you can have fun with your friends while you are actually online. Without the time to raid on a regular basis, however, you have to either grind materials so you can craft items yourself, grind money so you can buy them from others, or grind Justice/Valor points (heroic dungeons or the occasional rare raid) so you can buy them from an NPC vendor. Regardless, though, you have to spend many hours grinding through the game before you have enough materials, money or points, to fill all your slots with those desirable Epics.
And then, when that is done, you can start doing the achievements in the game, which will gain you titles, points and even; A NEW FLYING MOUNT!
But this is just one example. An example, actually, where the grinding parts of the game are well implemented, that it almost feels natural. WoW is just one game belonging in the RPG genre where we know this may be required, if we want to participate in endgame content, be able to dish out loads of damage and exclaim that "my internet penis is bigger than yours".
Some RPG elements, however, have descended from the RPG heaven many of us love, and implemented themselves into other genres such as; First or Third person shooters, Real-time strategy games, Adventure games etc. whether for good, or bad.
This basically means, that unless you put 100 hours+ into that one certain first-person shooter (again an example), you will never be able to gain that assult rifle that just "kicks ass" or "looks uber pwn". So you grind. You grind through the online multiplayer part to gain;
- Weapons
Armour
Achievements
Titles
Cyber-money
Hats
Tags
Special collectables
Etc.
I'm not saying that I don't enjoy playing World of Warcraft, Call of Duty, Halo, Team Fortress 2, Battlefield Bad Company 2, Left 4 Dead(2), Starcraft II, or many of the single-player games where you can unlock certain stages/bonuses by completing various tasks or finding those hidden secrets. Remember, that even many single-player games, with no multiplayer options, have implemented this system, where you have to complete this, complete that, complete the game 100% or find those hidden secrets on your 54th playthrough. Regardless, of course, many of the games are fun, and the endless hours you play can all be quite enjoyable. But we all know why the options are there. We all know why we love being in the best gear, level 70 in that shooter, be able to show off that special hat that not many have, or unlock that secret extra stage.
It's to feel we get more value for our money, to keep us playing, and to boast that online, I'm equipped with a bigger set of balls than you are. It is to keep us playing, even when we are not enjoying ourselves as much as we ought to.
But in the midst of all this, in that one little instance where you're playing by yourself, but where you are actually a little bit bored, where you are actually not enjoying the game have you never thought to yourself;
[HEADING=2]"God damn, this is pointless."?[/HEADING]
Has gaming become something we now do, not always for fun, but sometimes because we feel compelled and drawn to just get that certain extra something?
Have you never kept playing, not just for the fun of it, but to get that extra little something that is waiting for you, just around the next corner?
I'll leave that up for you to decide.
Basically this long text is suggesting that many games nowadays have implemented pointless features which keeps us playing, even when we think it is not fun, so we can gain the highest levels, new weapons, achievements, titles, tags or hats. And what I want from you, is to know whether you agree and if you have ever felt your time was wasted, even though you gained something from playing?
Has gaming become something we now do, not always for fun, but sometimes because we feel compelled and drawn to just get that certain extra something?
Have you never kept playing, not just for the fun of it, but to get that extra little something that is waiting for you, just around the next corner?
Has gaming become something we now do, not always for fun, but sometimes because we feel compelled and drawn to just get that certain extra something?
Have you never kept playing, not just for the fun of it, but to get that extra little something that is waiting for you, just around the next corner?
