This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Niz (talk | contribs) at 22:14, 15 November 2005 (→See also: *Progress Quest). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 22:14, 15 November 2005 by Niz (talk | contribs) (→See also: *Progress Quest)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff) | It has been suggested that Level treadmill be merged into this article. (Discuss) |
Grinding, in the computer gaming sense, is a pejorative term used to describe the process of engaging in repetitive and/or non-entertaining gameplay (More often than not, battles in RPGS) in order to gain access to other features within the game. The most common usage is in the context of MMORPGs, in which it is often necessary for a character to repeatedly kill monsters, using basically the same strategy over and over again, in order to advance their character level to be able to access newer content. Grinding can also appear in other games in which features can be unlocked.
Synonyms for grinding include treadmilling and pushing the bar (a reference to Skinner Boxes in which animals, having learned that pushing a bar will sometimes produce a treat, will devote time to pushing the bar over and over again).
Used as a noun, a grind (or a treadmill) is a designed-in game aspect which requires the player to engage in grinding. The idea of having a designed-in game aspect which requires a player to not be entertained for a period of time seems contradictory to good sense, but has been justified in several different ways. The most common of these is that requiring a player to spend long periods of time to gain game power ensures a level playing field: a players will not have an advantage from the very start as a result of having better aim, faster reactions, or better tactical knowledge. If they did, then via the Pareto principle the top players in these fields would quickly dominate the entire game. Although the Pareto principle will still apply to the amount of time spent grinding, at least every player will have the potential to reach the top 20%. This was explored further in Raph Koster's presentation Small Worlds.