I have read the first article, and I agree with some of your points. Games like PAYDAY, Battlefield, Killing Floor are just a treadmill for experience - you have no choices to distinguish your character from others that have played the game, other than what "skills" to grind first. I wouldn't really consider these RPGs - but like MCA - I appreciate the nod towards the genre. While games like Diablo, Borderlands and various MMOs are a little more complex - since there are many builds to be had - grinding is the point of those games. Hack 'n slash RPGs were never about giving your character personality - It's about being the baddest son of a bitch on the battlefield. If you don't like that type of game, cool, but those games are focused on competitiveness generally.
It's unfair, in my opinion, to disregard the leveling system in games like Deus Ex: HR and Fallout 3 in a similar fashion. You are building a personality for your character throughout the game. If you don't have the tools available to talk your way out of a situation because you didn't "grind" enough experience, it still affects your character on more than a statistical level. I wouldn't label the BIS games as "grinds", although they all contained random encounters that dealt with none of the story elements in the game. I preferred those games as they were - much of the experience came from completing objectives but you could still go grind some XP if that was what you preferred.
This said, I'll read your second article tomorrow. I do think Deus Ex: HR would've been better off without the individual enemy XP grinding, especially when it favored the incapacitation of enemies with much more substantial character building rewards as opposed to a pure stealth approach or murderous rampages.
You can't really get rid of "grinds" effectively in RPGs. Like MCA has stated, the player likes to be rewarded. The trick is to try to reward all types of players by creating unique and fun objectives for the different personalities players will want their characters to have.
It's unfair, in my opinion, to disregard the leveling system in games like Deus Ex: HR and Fallout 3 in a similar fashion. You are building a personality for your character throughout the game. If you don't have the tools available to talk your way out of a situation because you didn't "grind" enough experience, it still affects your character on more than a statistical level. I wouldn't label the BIS games as "grinds", although they all contained random encounters that dealt with none of the story elements in the game. I preferred those games as they were - much of the experience came from completing objectives but you could still go grind some XP if that was what you preferred.
This said, I'll read your second article tomorrow. I do think Deus Ex: HR would've been better off without the individual enemy XP grinding, especially when it favored the incapacitation of enemies with much more substantial character building rewards as opposed to a pure stealth approach or murderous rampages.
You can't really get rid of "grinds" effectively in RPGs. Like MCA has stated, the player likes to be rewarded. The trick is to try to reward all types of players by creating unique and fun objectives for the different personalities players will want their characters to have.
One time however I spent 2-3 hours non-lethally cleaning a big area, only for the last guy to see one of the bodies somehow, and in turn the rest, waking all his friends up. After having to replay this section I decided to make sure for it to never happen again. One bullet of fully upgraded pistol was enough for everybody, and since I was taking everybody out HtH I had like 400 ammo at the time
