[MUD-Dev] Removing the almighty experience point...

[Morgan Dodge]

Matt Mihaly wrote:
> Sean Kelly wrote:
>> "Matt Mihaly" <matt at ironrealms.com>  wrote:
>>> Bloo wrote:

>> Perhaps because EQ represents the best option available?

> So what makes it the best option available then? EQ = grind. There's
> not much else there. If the grind isn't what these people want, why
> are they in one of the most grindy of all the MMOs? I see a lot of
> people here starting with the conclusion that the "grind is bad" and
> then coming up with all sorts of weak arguments to support that. I'd
> suggest just looking at the evidence first, which is pretty
> clear-cut, and then drawing your conclusions: Many, many players
> enjoy the grind.

I am certainly no expert; I am however someone who did the EQ grinds
to 65 and then the AA's and then the trials. I wasn't so much into
the grinds as I was aware of the investment that was required to do
and obtain the things I wanted.

I think it is important to remember that for immersion to take place
we need to identify. What is one of the easiest things for all of us
to identify with? Well how about the time investment to obtain what
we want and need, i.e. go to work and get paid. This isn't to say
that the game is emulating work; it is however tapping into our
instincts. It is our desire to survive, succeed and to obtain
greatness. These are tremendous things for the developer to tap
into. It is this ability to get us to our primal state without fear
of real failure that creates the addiction. The need to get that
last 1/4 bubble of exp before you log becomes so real, so important
that the process becomes easily identifiable with the experience
point only.

It is however not so much the experience that is driving the player
as the light at the end of the tunnel. The rewards of hard work
waiting to reaped. It is also what can keep the player hooked as
they tend to realize the investment they would be losing if they
moved on.

So in the end I guess I do enjoy it, as I find satisfaction in
accomplishment regardless of the task.
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