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Hartman: Questing's just another word for "grind"
Filed under: World of Warcraft, Fantasy, EverQuest, EverQuest II, Game mechanics, Leveling, Quests, PvE, Opinion
Bright Hub's Michael Hartman has abone to pick with quest-heavy games like WoWand EQII. He takes an extensive look at how quest-based advancement replaced the original Diku/EQ-style monster-killing grind, but finds a whole new set of problems with the new method.

Hartman's main beef with the quest-based model is it's detrimental to grouping. "Forced grouping is bad, but anti-grouping is even worse," he says. "If people would LIKE to group with people, but the game discourages it, that is an absolutely terrible condition."

He also goes into other issues, like the reality of killing a supposedly unique foe, only to have it respawn for the next adventurer to take down; the lack of engaging story lines in most quests; and the fact most UIs assemble quest objectives like long to-do lists, making games that demand a lot of your time seem even more like a job. It's a thorough read for those interested in a contrary opinion of the way game design is moving.

Hartman: Questing's just another word for "grind" originally appeared on Massively on Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

 

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Author: Joe Blancato
Category: eqeqiieverquesteverquest-iigrindopinionworld-of-warcraftwow
Publish Date: Mon, 23 Mar 2009 13:00:00 EST
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