The Grind (2)

Let's refocus a bit. When people talk about grind, it's actually a shortcut for referring to the constant leveling loop, present in most MMO or Japanese RPGs, in action RPGs, in virtually anything where your progress is measured by numbers that increase little by little. You do repetitive actions to improve your character stats. To get better.

Wait. Performing repetitive actions to get better? That sounds an awful lot like training. I can spend hours hitting a ball against a wall by myself to improve my squash skills. Pianists perform endless boring exercises to strengthen their fingers or polish their technique. Speakers perform exercises in front of the mirror. Starcraft players have even created training maps just to work on the precision and dexterity required by the game.
However, none of this is ever referred to as grinding.

Why is that so? What is the difference between training and grinding?

When you grind, you don't learn anything. Your character improves, but you, as a person, do not evolve. The moment you're finally able to perform a music piece that seemed out of reach a year before is exhilarating. Nothing beats the feeling of improving, and seeing the results of your training.

However, both are a manifestation of the same thing: dedication. The will to get better, and the ability to pour efforts into that.
Casual sportsmen / musicians / <insert your passion> don't do this kind of boring exercises. They just want to enjoy their hobby. In the exact same way that someone who is not invested in the game will not enjoy the grinding time. For people who do undertake the grind, it becomes a measure of their progress, and each additional level or piece of item becomes a badge of honor (which is also why the "pay-to-win" games are shunned by those very hardcore players, since the grind can be eased with money).

And it teaches something valuable: patience, and dedication. In real life, not all tasks will be interesting, or as fulfilling as beating the final boss of your favorite game. People who have embraced the grind... Is it just me, or is this starting to sound like some kind of religion? Anyway... People who have embraced the grind instinctively try to optimize all the repetitive tasks they have at hand, or find a way to remove them entirely. When I have some boring stuff to do that I can't automate, I have got into the habit of decomposing it into smaller tasks, doing them in the proper order, and measuring my progress against those. I don't think about it anymore, and it helps keep the boredom out of it, thus finishing earlier.

I don't think that grinding should be part of every game. But players have "endured" it for a long time in many of the most popular games ever for a reason. It gives them the opportunity to be among the best, without being limited by their reflexes or real-world abilities. With enough dedication, they can climb to the top.

But maybe it does not need to be as "boring" as it is today. Maybe we can work to make it appear as a reward rather than an imposed step before the interesting part. It won't be easy, but at least it's worth a try :)