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Author Topic: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games  (Read 16864 times)

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Offline Balton

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The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« on: February 16, 2011, 06:14:10 am »
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500 words, Topic: "the inevitable rise of greed and grind in online games"
Take your time.

Disclaimer: English is not my native language. Also, this sacred scripture is probably more than 500 words. Frankly, I could care less for requirements, as my tested typing speed is over 200 words a minute.

First, I’ll start off with an explanation for why I have decided to write this awe-inspiring tome of knowledge. I realized that chadz has made a request to hear my heavenly subjective opinion, and in return is willing to make changes to the game, as informed by a Godly being such as myself. Everyone reading this should envy me, for they do not possess a means to manipulate this grand opportunity.

Now, on to the main topic: why c-rpg is so fucked up, how it has been ruined, and why it is too late (minus a sliver of hope that continues to faintly glow in a pit of unending despair) to undo the erroneous judgments which have occurred in the past. Also, a little disclaimer note should be added, and this point-in-time seems best. The Oracle of Delphi was considered to be able to communicate with the Gods, and thus had the ability to make divine judgment. Her place of residence was examined by French archaeologists, and they found her source of inspiration. She acquired her foresight via inhalation of fumes produced by natural chemical reactions in her lair. Basically, before she gave people advice, she would get so high that standing became difficult. I have adopted her methods for the purpose of this essay, although my drugs are not nearly as powerful. And so it begins…

chadz, you have fucked your game up. It all started on January 11th, when the retirement system was re-introduced without a set minimum time similar to what was seen in the previous system. There are currently people who are higher than gen 20, and retire every two days. They wear fully heirloomed gear, which gives them a major advantage over the other players. Of course, you implanted this system to reward time investment into your mod, because, this way, the more you play the greater advantage you gain over everyone else. These players wish to gain such an advantage for various reasons. Generally, the cause is not greed, but rather, an inferiority complex. People seek to gain unfair advantages over those who are better than them, which will in turn allow them to win. This is not what the game should be based on. Not having a life shouldn’t give people an unfair advantage over those who have superior skill. Thus, you should (although you probably won’t, as you are too lazy, lazy chadz!) remove the system which handicaps everyone who refuse to spend all their time playing the game.  I understand you are trying to mine a player base, but you really need to come up with a different method.

I also understand a different reason of why players would try to handicap (relatively) those around them. Such a reason is the only acceptable & morally just one. It is the fact that their opponents have an unfair advantage that they received on an inert basis. What could such an advantage possibly be, you might ask… Well, you see, the advantage is simple: it’s a ping difference. Clearly, a player with a lower ping has an advantage over a player with a higher ping. So, to conclude this point: Give heirlooms based on ping rather than time invested into the game. But in what manner could such a system possibly be implanted, you might ask. Well, you see, myself being a jack-of-all-trades, as well as a genius, I have already come up with the answer to your woes (now you may sleep soundly at night). The solution would be to apply heirloom bonuses on items at a tick which would occur once every x amount of seconds. X is a specified range of numbers, one of the numbers in this range will be chosen at random, and will define what the timer is for the next heirloom tick. The range of x could be anything, but the range 1-60 seems like a solid base to start with. Anyway, this bores me, I am sure you can figure out the rest without me holding your hand.

About a ladder system, your game desperately needs one. People are bored of your game and fuck around a lot. This means: Lamers, Tkers, Afkers, God-Knows-What else. An individual ladder system which is based on win ratio would greatly help reduce the number of these scum, whom are being encountered surprisingly often.

Now, amalgamate all of the ideas I have so gracefully blessed you with, chadz. Do not allow these words of wisdom to fall upon deaf ears, for it is your duty as a donkey (and a human being) to implant these magnificent suggestions into the game. If you do as I have said, fortune will fall upon you & your family, and your game shall bloom into a magnificent flower of prosperity. I have done my part. You, in return, must not disappoint the Gods.

To sum it all up: High gens with no life have a monopoly on c-rpg, the game is fucked.
Wherever I tread, only chaos & destruction follow.

Offline EyeBeat

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #1 on: February 16, 2011, 07:22:22 am »
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TL;DR

Did he apologise?
« Last Edit: February 16, 2011, 07:23:53 am by EyeBeatWomen »
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Being a smallish community doesn't entitle you to act more like a dick than other communities.

Offline Matey

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #2 on: February 16, 2011, 08:02:11 am »
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your punctuation, spelling and grammar is acceptable, however you completely missed the point.

F.
Try again.

Offline Balton

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #3 on: February 16, 2011, 08:14:40 am »
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TL;DR

Did he apologise?

Why don't you read it for yourself and find out, you lazy fuck. It was written to aware the community of the flaws in the game design, not to suck someone's dick.

your punctuation, spelling and grammar is acceptable, however you completely missed the point.

F.
Try again.

Is acceptable?
Is?

You really shouldn't comment on someone's English capabilities when you lack any trace of them yourself.
Wherever I tread, only chaos & destruction follow.

Offline Mouse

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #4 on: February 16, 2011, 08:33:41 am »
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Any game with a grind is a game for scrubs. You know it to be true.

Offline Balton

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #5 on: February 16, 2011, 08:51:14 am »
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Any game with a grind is a game for scrubs. You know it to be true.

I agree, which is why we should just start with level 30 characters (and be locked at that level). The incentive to win should be based on ladder rankings, rather than being able to use items. If chadz really wants to, he can just make it so high tier gear is only available to high ranked players.
Wherever I tread, only chaos & destruction follow.

Offline Fluffy_Muffin

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #6 on: February 16, 2011, 09:01:49 am »
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People with skill can still beat the higher gens with less skill, they are not invincible.

Higher gens with high skill, well... thats another story. But i think the system overall is ok, maybe it would be a good idea that after the 10th generation you get 1 heirloom per 2 generations and the xp bonus is lowered to 5%
Defy me, and you will know what it is to stand against a god.

Offline Babelfish

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #7 on: February 16, 2011, 09:10:57 am »
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Good length, but lacks structure and meaning. The disorganized nature of your essay also makes it hard to read and understand, maybe you had some good points in there, but they wont reach the reader.

The introduction bit makes you come off as a fifth-grader, remove that and replace it with some proper text.
 You only mentioned greed once(!) in the entire text


F
« Last Edit: February 16, 2011, 09:20:02 am by Babelfish »

Offline Z_E_N

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2011, 09:18:30 am »
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Disclaimer: Frankly, I could care less for requirements, as my tested typing speed is over 200 words a minute.


You should shoot for the world record, considering that

The fastest typing speed ever, 216 words per minute, was achieved by Stella Pajunas-Garnand from Chicago in 1946 in one minute on an IBM electric.

Offline Balton

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2011, 09:20:09 am »
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People with skill can still beat the higher gens with less skill, they are not invincible.

Higher gens with high skill, well... thats another story. But i think the system overall is ok, maybe it would be a good idea that after the 10th generation you get 1 heirloom per 2 generations and the xp bonus is lowered to 5%

The consensus is clear: the current system is faulty, and changes need to made.

Good length, but lacks structure and meaning. The disorganized nature of your essay also makes it hard to read and understand, maybe you had some good points in there, but they wont reach the reader.

The introduction bit makes you come off as a fifth-grader, remove that and replace it with some proper text.
 You only mentioned greed once(!) in the entire text, and the grind part  of your subject is ignored throughout the text.


F


That's okay, my writing was never meant to be understood by those possessing below-average intelligence. Go stuff shapes into a box, toddler.

You should shoot for the world record, considering that

The fastest typing speed ever, 216 words per minute, was achieved by Stella Pajunas-Garnand from Chicago in 1946 in one minute on an IBM electric.

I am sure I could break various world records in a wide assortment of subjects, but I do not wish to participate in competitions that do not spark my interests.
Wherever I tread, only chaos & destruction follow.

Offline Babelfish

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #10 on: February 16, 2011, 09:23:10 am »
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Write a proper text before you claim other people have below average intelligence.  :rolleyes:

Offline Matey

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #11 on: February 16, 2011, 09:24:57 am »
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bwahaha i had a grammar derp. thats ok though. i only put in effort on writing when its for university.

Offline Casimir

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #12 on: February 16, 2011, 09:28:25 am »
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All in all you failed to answer the question given. You have no supporting evidence and lack any sign of balance in your argument. You should have focused on whether or not grinde and greed are inevitible rather than writting an extended disvussion on the issue surrounding retirementd.

Bearing that in mind what you have written offers some interesting opinions and ideas.
Turtles

Offline BD_Guard_Bane

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #13 on: February 16, 2011, 09:55:29 am »
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Hmm.

1) You deliberately avoided the set topic - your essay doesn't address it at all.

2) Suggestions belong in the suggestion section.

3) In places the deliberate arrogance (though it has been funny before) wears thin, and as a result the essay is overly self concious, and in some places feels forced.

4) Considering the disclaimer, I think it was very well written.

5) The references to Delphic oracles are not referenced at all. In addition, your link between supposed Divine Inspiration and this essay is rather undermined by your claim that the Oracle was merely high on drugs, not divinely inspired - what does this say about your essay?!

6) No bibliography (there is plenty of secondary reading you could have done for this topic, as listed in your cRPG Course Introduction for Peasants booklet).

To conclude, I would say that you show some promise as a student. Just remember, young Balton, that while your attitude may impress your friends in the playground, this is a serious subject and we would appreciate it if you took it more seriously.
Academic hoops may be tiresome at times, but they are there for a reason - we can't assess you if you refuse to write to a proper standard. You've done good work before, don't throw it all away now!

Final score: 2. It was going to be a 1, but the board decided to be lenient, considering that previous posts of yours have sometimes made me laugh.

I defended the village and all I got was this stupid title.

Offline BlameMeForTheNoise

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Re: The Inevitable Rise of Greed and Grind in Online Games
« Reply #14 on: February 16, 2011, 10:41:56 am »
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I have to agree with the retirement topic. I simply have to. I got the impression that chadz wanted to reduce heirlooms and make them more rare and an accomplishment...
But there are indeed some of the high-tier players that have such a high generation number that they are able to retire every 4-6 days, if not more often...
This effectively results in some players having a distinct advantage over others. They are able to stack up on heirlooms. Which is going against the intentions in the first place.

Using Vargas's toolkit: http://infinitum.dyndns.org/crpg/calc.htm
a Generation 15-Player with a given multiplyer of 2.5 (average) needs 30 hours to retire. 74 hours for a Generation 1-Player...  That, of course, is just a rough approximation.
So in the same time the high-tier-player gets 2.5 times the heirlooms of a lowest-tier-player. Not to speak of the additional Generation-Bonus, which lets him retire even faster.

So in a course of say 300 hours, relatively against each others, the curve of xp of high-tier to low-tier is exponential. The gap between the two gets even bigger and bigger.


BUT nevertheless this is a broken/unbalaced game-mechanic (we are in a beta arent we?). It happens because of the unfinished/not finally balanced product. And it happens to everyone.
Your multiboxing only happened to you. Out of your own "malicious" intent.
So your point is right but should have been in the suggestions-corner.

Your essay should have been an apology about multiboxing. It should have shown that you would not exploit again. Which it did not.
The essay fails.
« Last Edit: February 16, 2011, 10:43:46 am by BlameMeForTheNoise »