Greetings, all, and welcome to another installment of an ongoing discussion of RPG terminology. The first installment of this series largely had to do with the progression of story in the genre, but eventually lead into a discussion of the nature of quest and character progression. This lead to two definitions, which I'll reiterate so that we can use them moving forward. I'll do this for all the terminology I coin in each subsequent article, so that we have a little glossary of terms before each discussion: Organic grinding-  the experience (EXP) the game developers force you to accrue because of thoughtful game design. Artificial grinding-  the experience accrued for no other reason than to lighten the burden on the player or subvert the difficulty spikes.

The Computer Role Playing Game is, for fans of fantasy, science fiction, stat crunching, or character building, an interactive love letter. It allows them not just to experience a lush setting and cast of characters, but to interact with the game world and sometimes alter or discover the plot in their own way. It enables them to choose from a variety of classes, stats, and party members to create devastating combinations that will ensure their victory- a victory that they would want to see. This genre has had different phases with different popular franchises, and new names emerge as the industry progresses and changes. But there are plenty of mediocre and downright bad entries, as well. I'll cite some of them soon, but I'd like to discuss a difficult trapping of these types of games.