For me grind is when the gameplay loop is motivated by reward not exploration and plays out the same every time.
Good gameplay can come from a feeling of freshness because there are lots of possibilities, because rng or because player options (say, slay the spire), or from lots of genuinely novel content (say, elden ring).
It doesn’t feel like a balancing act at all. I just want more of the latter and less of the former, but maybe some people really do play for repetition?
Some people really do just like the repetition. I have a couple friends that regularly log into multiple games to do their dailies. Like it’s a chore that just has to be done. But like completing chores in real life, it may not feel satisfying in the moment, but there’s a certain kind of satisfaction you get from completing a task, marking it off the to-do list. If that sense of satisfaction can be granted and wrapped in a pretty package with maybe even a reward that will finally net you that thing you’ve been eyeing in the cosmetic shop and saving up your gold to buy.
I don’t get that sort of thing. But I’m also shit at IRL chores.
That’s the whole point of gamification mechanics, there’s a fine line between grind and good gameplay which needs to be masterfully balanced
lol. I hate when companies try to gamify a game.
They don’t need to gamify something that’s already a fun game.
For me grind is when the gameplay loop is motivated by reward not exploration and plays out the same every time.
Good gameplay can come from a feeling of freshness because there are lots of possibilities, because rng or because player options (say, slay the spire), or from lots of genuinely novel content (say, elden ring).
It doesn’t feel like a balancing act at all. I just want more of the latter and less of the former, but maybe some people really do play for repetition?
Some people really do just like the repetition. I have a couple friends that regularly log into multiple games to do their dailies. Like it’s a chore that just has to be done. But like completing chores in real life, it may not feel satisfying in the moment, but there’s a certain kind of satisfaction you get from completing a task, marking it off the to-do list. If that sense of satisfaction can be granted and wrapped in a pretty package with maybe even a reward that will finally net you that thing you’ve been eyeing in the cosmetic shop and saving up your gold to buy.
I don’t get that sort of thing. But I’m also shit at IRL chores.