Grinding, Whittling and Puttering
The Design in Repetition

In the daily work of engaging with games, one comes across Grinding, Whittling and Puttering. But what in the world are those? And do they impact the game design? Read on!

By Pruthvi Das

ACHIEVING THE GOAL WITH many efforts: "GRINDING

Grinding is about investing significant effort to achieve a single pivotal goal. Insiders know the term: they know that grinding is the constant repetition of an action to reap bounties. For example, for the sake of cosplay. MMO games, i.e. multiplayer games, are designed for grinding, for example. Although grinding has a split reputation among designers, it is, in the end, exactly what makes it fun.

The question is, why is it divided? Well, some argue that such games are not designed intuitively, not engaging the players adequately. Others see such systems as a good way to keep players engaged and instill a sense of familiarity. This suits people because they tend to retreat into their comfort zones.

MEDITATIVE AND TRANCE-LIKE: "WHITTLING"

Achieving Zen-like states. This is what whittling is all about. Technically, it's a process to which one pays no special attention. Nor does one fixate on a goal. Well, then why does one do it? There's no reason, it's just fun. Who doesn't like to reminisce about a game phase that they enjoyed playing over and over again? Because this experience simply gave pleasure. The process can be well compared with meditative and aimless wood carving. One does it and feels good.
 

© Insomniac Games
The best example for this would be the driving activity in Grand Theft Auto V. Or the web-slinging activity in Spider-Man (2018). None of them have any specific goals in the end, but from performing those actions, you receive a strange sense of satisfaction that enhances your experience with the game itself.

If you find yourself doing something that puts you in a slight state of trance, then the thing you’re doing is essentially whittling.

STRUCTURED REACH TO THE GOAL: "PUTTERING"

Puttering is focussed on a structured approach; the steps you take in achieving the goal you’re focussed on would potentially act as a collective achievement — or an aggregate — that drives other goals forward as well. This game-play design allows the player to set their own pace for achieving those goals. Some games even allow the player to choose their own goals.

Most survival games have collection/crafting systems in place. Let’s take the instance of The Forest. If you wanted to make a hunting shelter, you will need seven wooden sticks, six rocks, and seven wooden logs. In the game, chopping down a tree accelerates the progress of more than a single goal — the logs and the sticks — through just one activity alone. This is classic puttering.

The other trait when it comes to puttering design is that the goals are clearly shown to you at all times, keeping you constantly informed of what you must do. Since whittling design has no end goal, it neither bothers you about your objectives nor taps you on the shoulder about it.

IS PUTTERING = GRINDING?

No! Grinding locks you in a loop where you perform an action meticulously to achieve a single goal. You are neither allowed to set a pace to achieve said goal nor are you allowed to achieve it anytime you’d like. 

Puttering offers two things: a sense of freedom to the player and multiple goals. Although a large number of tasks can be repetitive, it does not invade the player’s sense of time and space; players may choose to complete them anytime and anywhere, with the added incentive of being kept on the screen as a reminder.

BOTTOM LINE FOR THE GAME DESIGN

By establishing the differences this way in the games one makes, one would dictate how the players feel about their overall experience. Just keep in mind that:

• A completely grinding game will keep you occupied but it may instill tediousness from achieving just a single goal.
• A purely puttering game will keep your mind goal-oriented, but the number of things to do may or may not overwhelm you.
• A whittling game feels great to play through, but it may lack direction.