Today, while search through the forum, looking for help with an issue I am having with Particle System in Unity, I came across a Kickstart promotional post for Indie game called Zeal. What caught my eye is the developer’s bold claim to be an Action RPG that is grind free. In this day of grind fest game like Assassin Creed Odyssey and Battlefront II, there is great appeal in a “Grind Free” game. However, a game like that just cannot exist.
In competitive gaming, grinding is unavoidable. Aside from the story, grind is the driver of the game. Game presents the player with set of challenges; player overcomes those challenges and is rewarded with some item or enhancement and new set of challenges. The problem comes when balance of challenge to reward is disproportionate in either direction. If the game rewards player too frequently or the challenge is too easy, players will become bored and quit. When challenges become too difficult or rewards are not equal to challenge, the game becomes a time sink and players tend to rage quit. An old USA TV show, Leverage, did an excellent episode on purpose of balance game and game theory called “The Gold Job”.
No matter what game you play, from card to video game, grinding will always occur. What differs is the type of grind the player will experience. As Video game developer, we have two types of grind to choose from, Level up or Get Good. The biggest responsibility we have is to balance the grind, make it enjoyable as possible and not a pointless chore.
