Timesink
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A timesink is a term used to describe activities that consume significant time. A variant of this term is "time drain." Although it is unknown when the term was coined, it makes an analogy with heat sink.[1]
In massively multiplayer online role-playing games, players may use the term disparagingly to describe a simplistic and time-consuming aspect of gameplay, possibly designed to keep players playing longer. Use of timesink to slow down progress of player can be purposefuly designed into a game, to help regenerate resources or monsters in the game world.
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[edit] Reactions
Boring and lengthy parts of gameplay are merely an annoyance when found in most games, but in MMORPGs where players are paying for the time to play, they become controversial. Game designers must be prudent in balancing efforts to produce both involving gameplay and the length of content that players expect.
[edit] Examples
- Fights where the player presses the same attack-button repeatedly.
- Watching automated fights (could be 30 minutes or more in case of Boss monster/mob).
- Quests requiring players to run a long distance.
- Resource or Item collecting. (such as asteroid mining in space-themed MMORPGs).
- Not very fast support from dungeon masters or GM.
- Paying for time spent in MMORPG by real money which implicates need of spending vast amount of time in its virtual world.
- Trying to reach the next level, which for later levels may take many hours of in game fighting.
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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