Mundane Tasks in Video Gaming... SO MUCH FUN!!

[Specter Von Baren]

Organizing my attache case in Resident Evil 4.

With each new herb or granede I had to dive into my case to make sure it was properly placed.

I do the exact same thing. Making it so everything is just so was a tiny pleasure for me too.

Another mundane task I enjoy is mining for gems in Rune Factory 3. I just seem to have this real love for shiny rocks and so going out and smashing some boulders to get some is a thing I find rather relaxing.

 

[Vern5]

I'm intrigued by this.

Do those who enjoy doing mundane things in video games also do mundane things in real life (work, chores etc.)?

The reason I ask is because I absolutely despise doing mundane things in games (nothing against those who enjoy it though), and the main reason for this is because enough of my time is spent doing other mundane things in real life, so I just want to play games to have fun.

No. If I had half the work ethic in real life that I do in video games, I'd be a billionaire.

Of course, even "mundane tasks" in games tend to be tethered to a pretty tight reward feedback system.

And I cannot believe this thread made it over a page without someone mentioning The Sims.

I think the problem with using The Sims as an example is that it is a game that is designed around mundane tasks. Most of the other posted examples are mundane activities that the players have found in games that included them as a weird side-dish. For example: playing Skyrim so you can read every book in the game or chop firewood for a living (surprisingly rewarding when you've chopped enough firewood to afford your first suit of armor).

There's something enjoyable about playing a game in a way that is contrary to its established tone. Like stopping for pedestrians and obeying the traffic laws in GTA.

 

[The_Echo]

snip snip

Yeah, I did my first playthrough on Standard, and did a lot of the Spirit grinding on that file. So my Proud file isn't quite the same level, and nowhere near the same number of abilities (though I did make sure to get the important ones).

I don't know if you know, though, but 100% is actually impossible if you're including the Trophy list. The one that involves placing Portals doesn't work on non-Japanese copies.

 

[shrekfan246]

I don't know if you know, though, but 100% is actually impossible if you're including the Trophy list. The one that involves placing Portals doesn't work on non-Japanese copies.

Really?

...

Well that's a weight off of my mind.

A little obnoxious, but since I wasn't really planning on playing through Critical mode in the first place that just makes my decision a little easier.

 

[Frezzato]

The most fun I ever had in Skyrim was arranging my collection of Lich masks on a shelf.

Also, collecting books that I thought my character would keep.

I like to spend ridiculous amounts of time organising every item on the shelves of my house in Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Every item just has to line up perfectly.

Did you guys play with mods on PC? I recall the physics engine in every Bethesda game after Morrowind handling objects with the same level of care as one would if a Huntsman spider woke you from a light sleep by crawling across your face.

 

[Hectix777]

The entireity of every harvest moon game. Because all it is is running a little farm and strting a life, including the dull little mundane chores. It somehow made hard ass farm work, fun!

 

[ShinyCharizard]

The most fun I ever had in Skyrim was arranging my collection of Lich masks on a shelf.

Also, collecting books that I thought my character would keep.

I like to spend ridiculous amounts of time organising every item on the shelves of my house in Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Every item just has to line up perfectly.

Did you guys play with mods on PC? I recall the physics engine in every Bethesda game after Morrowind handling objects with the same level of care as one would if a Huntsman spider woke you from a light sleep by crawling across your face.

Spent most of my time in Fallout 3 playing the Xbox 360 version so I couldn't mod it. I did however mod the hell out of Morrowind.

Also that has happened to me before lol. Fuck Huntsmans.

 

[Frezzato]

Spent most of my time in Fallout 3 playing the Xbox 360 version so I couldn't mod it. I did however mod the hell out of Morrowind.

Welp. I just tried Fallout 3 again and I still handle objects with all the reverence of an angry gorilla. You must have the patience of a saint.

Also that has happened to me before lol. Fuck Huntsmans.

...and balls of steel.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Simply walking from one place to another in Elder Scrolls or Fallout.
I don't know if that really counts as mundane since discovery is one of the main points of those games but honestly, those stretches where you find absolutely nothing is just so peaceful to me.

 

[Terry Diamantis]

Cookie Clicker! All the fun of clicking on a giant cookie and that's about all.

 

[Zhukov]

The most fun I ever had in Skyrim was arranging my collection of Lich masks on a shelf.

Also, collecting books that I thought my character would keep.

I like to spend ridiculous amounts of time organising every item on the shelves of my house in Fallout 3 and New Vegas. Every item just has to line up perfectly.

Did you guys play with mods on PC? I recall the physics engine in every Bethesda game after Morrowind handling objects with the same level of care as one would if a Huntsman spider woke you from a light sleep by crawling across your face.

No, no mods.

Hey, I never said it was easy. Those lich masks were acting like they were in a fucking pinball machine. I'd pick one up, painstakingly turn it around to the correct orientation, then drop it on the shelf from two inches up. Whereupon it would land like a fucking meteor, knock some of the others masks off the shelf, cause the rest to vibrate into oblivion, flip over and finally land on the floor face down.

Lastly, we do not discuss the Morning Huntsman Incident of 2001 outside of designated spider story swapping zones.

 

[Roxas1359]

I don't know if you know, though, but 100% is actually impossible if you're including the Trophy list. The one that involves placing Portals doesn't work on non-Japanese copies.

Really?

...

Well that's a weight off of my mind.

A little obnoxious, but since I wasn't really planning on playing through Critical mode in the first place that just makes my decision a little easier.

Makes life easier for me as well for when I eventually get to doing the Let's Play of Dream Drop Distance. And with the current rate at which I'm going with the Kingdom Hearts series for LPs I'll get to that game...in 5 years or so. XD
Now off to record more Re: CoM on Proud Mode...T^T

 

[MysticSlayer]

Probably the most fun I had in The Witcher was playing dice poker.

In Lord of the Rings Online I remember spending an insane amount of time farming and fishing. While this was partly to make myself the best there was in my fellowship, I enjoyed it somehow.

Also, Mass Effect 2's planet scanning was completely mundane, not to mention pointless after a certain point, and that point is only easier to reach if you've beaten the game once and get bonus resources at the start. Still, even after I had bought everything in the game and was sitting on 100,000+ of every resource, I still found an odd enjoyment in scanning planets for even more resources.

 

[Ikasury]

I like grinding in SMT games . No idea why . I could grind from hours in SMT:Nocturne without getting bored .

definitely... i remember doing P3 and being like 'WOO!! *runs around poking shadows* this is retardedly fun *runs up next floor when death shows up* aww... shiny white gate? NOOOOO... WHY? EVERYONE'S TIRED NOW!! now i must do plot T.T' and the amala dungeon in Nocturne was so much fun... or really any part of Nocturne... but DDS was still my fave... how many demons can my crew 'eat'

 

[Ikasury]

Probably the most fun I had in The Witcher was playing dice poker.

In Lord of the Rings Online I remember spending an insane amount of time farming and fishing. While this was partly to make myself the best there was in my fellowship, I enjoyed it somehow.

Also, Mass Effect 2's planet scanning was completely mundane, not to mention pointless after a certain point, and that point is only easier to reach if you've beaten the game once and get bonus resources at the start. Still, even after I had bought everything in the game and was sitting on 100,000+ of every resource, I still found an odd enjoyment in scanning planets for even more resources.

ugh, i know... i was the same with ME2's scanning... i've no idea why... it was weirdly 'fun' just buzzing around and finding that random spike of Eezo and jumping up and down going 'WOOO!' even though i had enough stock piled for my own personal armada XD

and god yes the dice poker in Witcher... once i figured that out... it was like me and anything else fallout/elder scrolls... 'there's a plot? but i'm gambling?!'

 

[Ikasury]

I'm intrigued by this.

Do those who enjoy doing mundane things in video games also do mundane things in real life (work, chores etc.)?

The reason I ask is because I absolutely despise doing mundane things in games (nothing against those who enjoy it though), and the main reason for this is because enough of my time is spent doing other mundane things in real life, so I just want to play games to have fun.

No. If I had half the work ethic in real life that I do in video games, I'd be a billionaire.

Of course, even "mundane tasks" in games tend to be tethered to a pretty tight reward feedback system.

And I cannot believe this thread made it over a page without someone mentioning The Sims. It's only the best selling PC franchise of all time, and it's a game in which you can happily spend time cleaning the goddam toilet. I defy anyone to find a game that celebrates the mundane more expertly than The Sims.

XD well, sir, i suppose you are right there about the Sims thing but i also think most of us just file that away as 'obvious'... so 'obvious' that we don't even think about it XD

i remember watching my husband playing sims as he was just watching them watch tv... its strangely addictive =.= especially with mods so that what they're watching is things they shouldn't be watching in a childrens game XD or just letting it run and see what they do Sims = epitome of 'mundane tasks'

 

[DarklordKyo]

When I first got Mana Khemia, I spent an abnormal amount of time experimenting to discover new alchemy recipes. Granted, it's tied to the leveling system (fill slots in a character's growth book by creating stuff, use experience gained through battles to power up said slots & gain the stat boosts gained through the slots), but it just felt satisfying to learn a mysterious new recipe by deviating from the established formula.

 

[FPLOON]

JRPG level grinding... From Kingdom Hearts to Tales of to Persona, you wonder why I take three times as long to beat any JRPG without the "I have to level grind"-kind of reason... If a target is in view, then I will beat the crap out of it before it realize that my play-style is like I'm a psychopath with a taste for blood experience points... *licks lips* Yeah, that's it... *shiftyeyes*

Also, gambling in Pokemon... specifically in Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald... "Get chance and luck!"

 

[PFCboom]

Traveling the length and breadth of the entirety of the World of Warcraft to explore every corner of every region. WAY more fun than it should've been. For that matter, a bunch of the achievements in WoW are based on silly, somewhat pointless activities that are still lots of fun to get.

Inventory organization. Special mention goes to Titan's Quest, Resident Evil 4 and Deus Ex: Human Revolution. I liked moving my stuff around over and over to cram more and more stuff into my packs until I very literally had no more space.