Notice the similarity? This picture depicts a little stuffed animal my son made for me when he was younger. With each punch, spell, or otherwise attack I felt like I was ripping apart something quite dear to me. Could you eradicate the sweet gift of a young child, lovingly made by his own hands? I am not sure I could ever log back into Wakfu without coming to tears.

Besides that, bunny punching should never be a thing! Never.

Because of the beautiful world of Atreia, I got my start at Massively.com. When I took over the Wings Over Atreia column I had the opportunity to share my love of a game with others and a larger scale then ever before; it opened me up to a larger gaming community, and my favorite part of gaming is the community! From there I branched out into more games, livestreaming, and ultimately made it right here, Looking for Shinies with all of you.

So here’s to you, Aion! Happy fifth anniversary. And thank you so much for the amazing gift you gave me. May this next year be your best one yet.

I know, I shouldn’t really be surprised by anything in the gaming world now, but this one still had me scratching my head and arching one brow higher than the other. Let me set the stage. After starting and playing LEGO Minifigures Online (plug for really fun little smash-em up game here!), I referred to it as a kids game. For such, someone literally accused me of being ageist and went on a bit of a rant calling me out on my erroneous world-views. Um, but that’s exactly what it is. Why would it be even remotely insulting to call something what it is?

Labels are not evil; they exist to bring order to things. Can labels be misused? Certainly. But that doesn’t make the mere existence of them bad. We label games as multi-player and single-player so people know what type of gameplay to expect. We label games Rated M to show that they are not appropriate for younger ages. Conversely, we also label kids games as kids games so parents and kids know that such games are appropriate for the youngest of gamers. Does this mean adults can’t play? Heck no! I dove right into LEGO Minifigures Online as soon as those beta doors opened. I’ve also hopped in and played Pirate101 and Wizard 101. Does that mean someone who plays a kids game is an immature twit that can’t handle a real game? Um, no. I’d certainly like to think I do not fit any of those labels! When labels are simply a designation that provides some quick accurate info at a glance, it is a good thing. And necessary.

Yes, LEGO Minifigures Online is a kids game. And it appeals to all the fun-loving, LEGO-addicted teens and adults of the world as well. So jump right in and have some fun with it, no matter what your age! And I won’t think any less of you when you do. In fact, I’ll be right in there smashing and building away as well.

You see, there is absolutely no reason that every game should cater to every person. Heck, one game should not even cater to every person! There are those that think WildStar is the greatest thing since sliced bread. Good for them! It just does not appeal to me. I don’t like the graphics (the colors drive me crazy), I do not like the combat, and I do not find the quests compelling. As far as I know, the only thing I actively dislike is the stupid voice that treats you like you are three years old whenever you level. That seriously, seriously annoys me. it bothers me almost as much as do people who continue to rip on others and put them down for liking something different. (Guess what? It’s really a good, good thing that we aren’t all like you Mr. InsultyPants.)

When it comes down to it, there are just other games out there that tickle my gaming bone much better. They appeal to things that interest me (I am screaming Tokyo and The Secret World here as loud as I can). And if you know me already, you know that I am not your typical personality. So, taking into account people are different, it makes sense they like different things, no? And that’s good!  Ultimately that means that more gaming devs will make a living off of their products because we aren’t all identical lemmings leaping off the same launch cliff.

Now, having said all that, I am going to play the game a bit. For one, friends and viewers — you guys — are there. So I’ll hang out with you a bit before you all out-level me and move on to the stuff of endgame. Two, as a certified (certifiable?) housing enthusiast/nut, I owe it to myself to experience the system in WildStar. There are some unique things that need to be checked out. As such, I will be slowly making my way up that leveling ladder to the ripe old rung of 14. I know, sounds like it isn’t a big deal to any, but when you don’t really enjoy playing much it is difficult!  Once I get the abode, I’ll invite you all over for my housewarming farewell party.

If you’ve spent any time around the gaming scene (and if you are here, the chances are pretty high that you have), then you are undoubtedly familiar with the infamous carrot. You know, that prize that most modern MMOs dangle in front of you to entice you to continue playing the game. Levels, gear, whatever — you can see the prize, but you gotta work your arse off to have any hope of reaching it. Thanks to the proliferation of themeparks, Chasing the Carrot is possibly the most prevalent feature in any MMO.

But I’m here to tell you — shinies are much better than carrots!

While I am not about to say that having and striving for goals is bad, there reaches at point when many players get tired of the rat race in games. You grind for your ultimate rewards in life, then you come home and grind for your ultimate reward in game. Play becomes work, and it’s not uncommon for players to come to resent, even loathe, that carrot even as they are working toward it.  Or, of course, give up altogether and go do something else.

It’s not even that players are teased mercilessly with the prizes that are simply unattainable. Unlike the caricature of the carrot always remaining just outside of reach, I believe many games do reward players with their carrot after a point. The problem is, players rarely get to munch on the sweet goodness of their treasure before a new, tastier one is dangled out in front.  At this point, players toss aside the one they finally nabbed and start the race for the next one, the unsatisfied hunger driving them on to the bigger, juicer carrot in their sights!  As much as you crave that thrilling feeling of accomplishment from finally snatching up that carrot, it’s fleeting; the rush is gone as soon as you set your eyes on your next carrot.  There is always another carrot to chase… except when there isn’t.

Herein lies the problem.   When games use the carrots feature as a form of development, carrots are the expectation!   Devs painted themselves into a corner, forced to continue to dangle new prizes out in front of players or lose their audience.  Without new prizes to strive for, those who have been trained to always seek out the next big reward start looking elsewhere for their fix.

Let’s contrast that with a shiny. A shiny isn’t a constant tease; by its very nature a shiny is a random reward. A shiny could be a hidden treasure, a collectable item, an amazing view in a hard-to-reach place, or an achievement. Whatever it is, it’s above all a surprise that pops up unexpectedly offering a rush without the wearing down of constant grind. Always striving for something more is exhausting, but an unexpected thrill is invigorating.  (Not to mention also addicting!)

Focusing on developing a game with shinies, therefore, prolongs a game’s lifespan.  With shinies, players can play the game for the games sake and be randomly rewarded along the way.   And once addicted to the thrill of shiny discoveries, they’ll play more just waiting for that next one to crop up; you never know when or where the next reward will come, so you want to keep going. Not because you have to, but because you want to.

In carrot-tease land, folks can’t just enjoy what is happening in the here and now — to find joy in the journey.  It’s always, “I’ll be happy when…” You know what?  Happiness never comes in that scenario because the “when I” always changes to the new carrot!  Conversely, shinies specifically draw attention to the immediate part of the journey.  There’s no destination to chase, just something to experience right now.

My opinion:  I think folks could find a lot more contentment and fun in games if they focused on shinies instead of carrots.  Except, of course, for those people wired to carrot hunt.  Me?  I prefer the journey to the destination, and I revel in those little surprises that pop up.  So bring on the shinies!