Ever since the old-school days of pen & paper role playing
games, when players had no other choice other than to hunker around a table
with dice in one hand and a soft drink in the other, vertical progression has
been a staple of the RPG formula. This concept transferred over well to the
digital/online space when massively multiplayer games such as Ultima Online and
Everquest started showing up in the mid to late 90’s. But now that we’ve officially
entered the 21st century, is giving players a giant mountain of
vertical progression to climb really the best way to hold their interest?
