Hartman: Questing's just another word for "grind"

Bright Hub's Michael Hartman has a bone to pick with quest-heavy games like WoW and EQII. He takes an extensive look at how quest-based advancement replaced the original Diku/EQ-style monster-killing grind, but finds a whole new set of problems with the new method.

Hartman's main beef with the quest-based model is it's detrimental to grouping. "Forced grouping is bad, but anti-grouping is even worse," he says. "If people would LIKE to group with people, but the game discourages it, that is an absolutely terrible condition."

He also goes into other issues, like the reality of killing a supposedly unique foe, only to have it respawn for the next adventurer to take down; the lack of engaging story lines in most quests; and the fact most UIs assemble quest objectives like long to-do lists, making games that demand a lot of your time seem even more like a job. It's a thorough read for those interested in a contrary opinion of the way game design is moving.