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Comment by johnnyanmac | Hacker News Reader

well that read got more and more bizarre the farther I got in. Started with a simple allusion to "hype" culture, advertised Schrier's new (at the time) book about the devs trying to live up to that hype, and then somewhere we took a left turn into corporatism and how entertainment is just a "work simulator". Then by the ending 10% we go to the typical preaching to the audience about better work conditions.

It ends up feeling like 3 different stories stitched together instead of one solid thesis. I don't know what to make of it. Things only got worse in the 3 years, so all it seemed t provide was nice platitudes to hope for.

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Yes. The two books by Schreier: "Blood, Sweat, and Pixels", and the sequel, "Press Reset". Both are worth reading, and better than this article.

The article author touches on the gamification of work, but doesn't get very far with it. Games as a "work simulator", or "grinding games", have been around for years, but they're less popular than they used to be. There are many of them, though, from "Modern Farming" to "Lawnmower Simulator".

Yes, there really is a lawnmower simulator game. It's a total grind. You work for a lawn-mowing business. You have to walk the lawn before mowing and pick up rocks, to avoid damaging the mower. Then you mow, not missing any spots or damaging flowerbeds. Then you get paid. Then you may be able to buy a better mower.[1]

Now get back to work.

[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anIUhgxk-B8

Are they less popular? Or is every game just a version of a grind simulator?

Achievements and badges, I believe, are ruining games. The focus isn't on the actual gameplay, but on completion. It's a job.

Here's my hot take: souls games have taken this to the extreme.

The boss battles require you to try over and over and over to learn the specific move sequence to beat them. The games require a nearly specific progression of both in game and out of game skills and muscle memory.

That's not entertainment, it's studying!!!

One of the great lessons of game design is that learning is fun.

So games that require thought are more engaging and fun. There is a threshold where it isn’t fun, but that’s different from person to person. Lots of people like the souls games, myself included.

Try asking yourself, what isn’t a grind in my favorite game? Chances are that requires thought.

>what isn’t a grind in my favorite game?

My all time favorite electronic games are (a) Descent [1995] and (b) Hillsfar [1989]. There is no grinding in those games, at all.

>So games that require thought are more engaging and fun.

It's not thinking, though. That's my whole point. It's memorization at best (souls games), and mindless point a to point b clicking at worst (Robocop Rogue City is the most recent example I can think of here). They're not puzzles, they're not thinking, they're just little achievement drips.

I agree that learning is fun. The Dr. Brain and Gizmos and Gadgets were FANTASTIC back in the day.

I would argue that games today don't really require a lot of learning. They're intentionally made so you feel a sense of accomplishment for just following the series of clicks.

Maybe I'm just old and jaded. Who knows.

Also, somebody needs to remake the Dr. Brain games. I just realized I need that in my life today.

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