From the earliest days of M.M.O.'s, players have been willing to trade their hard-earned legal tender — dollars, euros, yen, pounds sterling — for the fruits of other players' grinding.
And that's before we even consider the often surprisingly nuanced and robust in-game economies of these worlds, which typically have players grinding away to earn virtual currency to "spend" on items sold by merchants within the digital realm.
But why is a highly paid pro football player grinding through problems in the math study room?
Still effective, however, is the spooky, naturalistic sound design: as in Bryan Bertino's "Strangers," an old record player grinding to life delivers a jolt of eerie normalcy.
In the last song he comes across an old hurdy-gurdy player, grinding away at his instrument without anyone listening, and considers joining forces with him.When Schubert was working on "Winterreise", he sang it to a group of friends and accompanied himself on a small piano.
As in real life, mistakes have consequences: If the player grinds a rail at 100 mph, the resulting damage will affect the car's performance.
Some top players just grind out wins, playing better than their opponents.
The Pistons made their reputation with players who grind it out defensively and are not flashy.
On top of all the new quests and zones, Blizzard has loaded Pandaria with new activities for players to grind away at.
Statistics-driven games, such as the widely acclaimed Infinity Blade, ask players to "grind," repeating the same battles over and over at ever-increasing levels of difficulty, like weightlifters working out at a gym.
