Welcome to my new series of posts where I talk about random concepts/terms used by RPG fans.
If you follow me for a while you must have read the word Grinding in one of my posts or comments. Role Playing Games, and RPG Elements have become so common that associated terms became common knowledge to gamers.
In video gaming, grinding is performing repetitive tasks for gameplay advantage. Many video games use different tactics to implement, or reduce the amount of grinding in play.
-- Wikipedia
Grind/Grinding is fan-based term the gaming fandom use for fighting weaker enemies over and over to gain levels and make playable characters stronger. It's more obvious in games with EXP system where every battle gives the player a set amount of points.
Mainline Dragon Quest games, require significant time of grinding.
Grinding is a time consuming chore (more so in MMO scene where levels are far apart.) It's also and easy way to have a Skinner box type gameplay, which can be seen as a downside for traditional RPGs. Skilled players might be able to avoid grinding by relying on their skill & knowledge.
Most RPGs require grinding to reach the maximum obtainable levels/stats. While some require a lot of grinding or strategy to be able to fight a strong boss, the final boss and especially a super optional boss.
Traceable, Repeatable & Guaranteed
While grinding is a chore, it's still appealing to many players due to the nature of the gameplay systems that require it. People love to see numbers go up, and RPG elements make the process repeatable, traceable and guaranteed.
If you battle the same monster you could always get the same amount of EXP, that guarantee makes grinding less frustrating even appealing to many people. Done right, a game based on grinding can be fun & rewarding. (I'm looking at you Disgaea.)
Disgaea 1PC - I wonder how many hours took them to reach this level.
Anti-Grinding
Some games do that by removing the EXP system which makes grinding unnecessary, some make the gameplay linear with less room to backtrack, while others make the fights less dependable on character strength and more on the players skill.
Chrono Cross leveling system is my favorite anti-grinding ever.
Some games like World of Warcraft, introduced a system that makes player gain EXP for the time they spend out of the game, making grinding for levels (but not farming) less appealing.
Conclusion
Grinding as a concept s closely related to farming in which the player does the same to gain items/money instead of levels. Some people use these two words interchangeably because in many games, items & levels are obtained by the same actions.
If it was required to progress in a game, grinding is a cheap way to make it longer. It can also be used as psychological weapon against the players. But when it's for a goal the player sets for themselves, it can be a good thing even though most of time it isn't.
Overall, I'm indifferent to grinding. Some games like Disgaea will make me happily spend hours on it, but not 'endlessly' like the people the game was designed for. Other games might make me avoid or not complete them when they depend on the grind too much. I won't mind, even enjoy grinding for 10 hours overall in 60 hours game.
So what do you think?
RPG Concepts Series:
Episode 2: Enemy Encounters