"Grind" is Nonsense
Online communities tend to degenerate into effete self-congratulatory circle jerks about three minutes after conception. Really, all communities tend to do this shortly after conception; it's sort of what a community is. And while I would give the reward for biggest, most effete, self-congratulatory circle-jerk to the Penny-Arcade forums I think that the cesspool of jackassery one finds in Kotaku comment threads would come in a very close second.
In this thread about the evolution of World of Warcraft a brief conversation is maintained about grinding and whether or not World of Warcraft is a grind:
"Wow isn't a grind unless your rare/gold farming. You see, a Grind is a game like L2 or EQOA where you log on, form a group, pull the same camp for 4 hours to gain 1/10th a level, then log off, repeat each day without change. Wow doesn't play like that." - mrantimatter
"It does, however, play like 'kill guy A 50 times to get strong enough to kill guy B' etc. It's just that as you progress, it gets more complicated, because you have to either kill guy A more times (a lot more), or juggle your different buffs, debuffs, or whatnot. So, the same basic premise of 'kill the guy' just takes longer, and more key strokes. Combine that with infinity, and...well, it is all one big grind, really. Repetitive, tedious, and frustrating at times." - diablodevil2
In my attempt to discern who is correct, mrantimatter or diablodevil2, I consulted the wikipedia entry for grinding and discovered that 1) there is a wikipedia entry for "grinding" and 2) "grinding" is a nonsense term.
Here is the definition of "grinding" provided by wikipedia:
"Grinding is a term used in computer gaming to describe the process of engaging in repetitive and/or non-entertaining gameplay in order to gain access to other features within the game...To Grind means to do one task the most efficient way possible in a repetitious manner."
The problem is that this definition does not mean anything; it is a faux definition for a vapid term. All games are grinds; gaming itself is a grind. Tetris is a grind. Chess is a grind. God of War is a grind. Hell, life is a grind. Working, writing papers, bathing, eating, these are all activities to which the label "grinding" could be applied.
At the most basic level all video games involve a repetitive user input of data for the purpose of achieving some goal; all human activities can be explained and minimized down to a level of repetition towards some end. Whether or not we focus upon the repetition is a question of whether or not we're enjoying ourselves; whether or not we're having fun.
That is why the term "grinding" is nonsense. Grinding, repetition towards some end, is not unique to any given thing; World of Warcraft is really no more of a grind than Tetris or monogamous sex. When one employs the term "grind" as a form of criticism this does not indicate that the thing is uniquely repetitive but rather that the thing is less enjoyably repetitive for that particular individual.
And "enjoyable" is subjective.
9 comments:
Grinding as a term to repetitively do something has been around a lot longer than gaming. In sports such as Golf and Bowling, in which one does not directly compete with an opponent, grinding often takes place.
Since bowling is my area of expertise, I will use it as an example. If a bowler does not have a line on the lane or pattern he is bowling on that will allow him or her to put up some big numbers and make a big move on the field, then they will grind (which normally means find a line that won't leave you any spares you can't make) until they can move pairs or make the next cut with a fresh pattern.
Grinding, to me, means spending time doing something you don't want to do, so that later down the road you can do something you do want to do.
"Grinding, to me, means spending time doing something you don't want to do, so that later down the road you can do something you do want to do."
That only happens if a person wants to do something other than what they're doing. It's subjective.
I want my Rogue to be level 50 so I can learn new alchemy skills. My Rogue is currently 46. Getting from 46 to 50 is a grind. If my goal was not to reach level 50 but rather my goal was to simply play the game? Leveling would not be a grind.
It is subjective.
That is why a thing cannot be said to be a grind and why "grind" is nonsense. The thing is not a grind; grinding is not a component of the thing.
"Grind" only occurs in one's perception of the thing as it relates to one's desires.
If we only want to do what we're doing then nothing would ever be a grind.
I think Aristotle said something like that...but he was talking about leisure and being content.
I agree that "Grinding" is subjective, but I wouldn't say that the term is useless, only that it can't be applied authoritatively to anything.
If one is grinding, like, with a grindstone, then one is likely walking around in a circle pushing a big rock around because he wants grain, and not because he likes pushing rocks, and having a word like that is useful to people who feel like they're doing that in a video game or other non-agricultural contexts.
So words cannot be defined subjectively, unless they already exist in your lexicon? I don't understand your reasoning. Is fun nonsense? Is bright nonsense? Is enjoyment nonsense, how about misery?
Your basis for claiming the term to be nonsense to me is nonsensical.
"So words cannot be defined subjectively, unless they already exist in your lexicon? I don't understand your reasoning. Is fun nonsense? Is bright nonsense? Is enjoyment nonsense, how about misery?"
Not "words" but rather this particular word. Part of it is what ma17 said, "it can't be applied authoritatively to anything".
"Grind" is entirely dependent on a person's attitude towards a given activity. Granted, fun also depends on one's attitude towards a given thing. But "fun" as a word an idea is recognized to be personal and subjective.
If you read through wikipedia's grind page the examples of grinds are MMOs and RPGs. The examples I've found from Kotaku focus on MMOs and RPGs.
That is what makes the term nonsense.
The idea of repetition towards some end is not unique to RPGs or MMOs. But "grinding" when discussed in a gaming context is implicitly RPG or MMO related; it focuses on leveling or increasing skills.
But "grinding", the repetition of a task for some end goal, is not unique to MMOs or RPGs. Any activity can be a "grind" if one's attitude is such that the activity is done not for the sake of itself but rather for some end. Pac-Man can be a grind if one's attitude allows it.
But the colloquial use of "grind" in gaming discussions ignores this. Rather than recognizing that "grind" is personal and subjective the term is used authoritatively as a definite label.
Within the context of gaming the definition of grind has been skewed to relate only to MMOs and RPGs when, really, any game can be a grind. Since the word itself is flawed by its being skewed it is nonsense.
Terms have to have an origin, plain and simple. They don't just one day appear and we start using them. The reason grind is normally related to MMOs and RPGs is because it has become a buzz word in the internet scene (forums, blogs, chats, etc). The activities that most net geeks partake in that would include grinding and have a large enough user base would be those very same genres.
Words have to enter the lexicon some way or another. I doubt grinding would have made the American lexicon due to competitive bowling, considering its rather sparse popularity or any other competitive sport for that matter. True competitors in sports especially after the age of 21 are few and far between, so the lingo from said pockets of society are not going to spread far. MMOs and RPGs however are common across at least a recognizable percentage, and therefore is an opening for said lingo to enter the lexicon.
The issue you take is not with the word itself but with your referential documentation's association of the word. The word is not nonsense, wikipedia may not completely define the word in the broadest strokes, but it defines it the way their user base sees it.
But the user base is incorrect.
It would in no way be difficult to remove "grind" from the MMO/RPG-centric description and rather describe it accurately. Sure, they can use examples from MMOs or RPGs, but they could also use examples from Loco Roco or Mario Cart or Mario Party.
If we like the word "grind" and think it behooves the conversation about games then the word needs to be defined and understood to apply to the entirety of games (as it rightly does) and not cram the word into one subsection of gaming.
Grind can also mean to unlock, apparently as one does the same thing over and over again.
As an aside, I would like to commend Rogue Galaxy for their battle system, not because it's particularly interesting or fun in and of itself, but because battling yields so many different rewards that it rarely, to me, felt like grinding. While battling it's possible to: level up, level up weapons (which can then be combined to make new weapons), farm for items required for unlocking skills, catch new bugs, and strengthen existing bugs. So you can do at least five different things just by running around fighting monsters, and I appreciate that.
I will agree with that. In WoW by running instances one can gain experience, gain reputation, gain items, gain money, and level up weapon skills. All of that utility seems to make the activity itself more enjoyable.
I was trying to level my fishing skill in WoW the other night. It was entirely not fun. Because I was just fishing for the sake of leveling my fishing skill.
Yet two weekends ago when I participated in the fishing tournament? It was awesome and fun.
It's as if one's attitude towards a thing greatly influences how one perceives a thing.
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