[Participating in the Nexon PEAK Post Challenge][Game Genre Showdown][Creative Writing]

Out of all the keywords in the PEAK Challenge!
I ended up writing this post under the keyword [Game Genre Showdown]!

※This post is going to include quite a lot of very personal opinions!

Right now, I’m a player who’s really enjoying ‘Maple Raising’!

Honestly, I wasn’t someone who liked ‘idle’ games!
But after coming across gameplay videos on YouTube,

I noticed some parts that felt ‘different from other idle games,’

and even though it was still idle, I found myself thinking, ‘Should I give it a try anyway?’

So I started playing out of curiosity and a bit of motivation 😊

Here’s why I usually don’t prefer the ‘idle game genre’!

They don’t really require any special strategy or active input from the player,
and if you invest enough time or paid currency, anyone can keep growing more or less endlessly.
But beyond simple interactions like leveling up, there often isn’t a clear goal,
and for some players that can make the whole thing feel like a waste of time—which is exactly how I felt too.

If you stop and think about it, were there really no other kinds of games besides the mass-produced idle titles on mobile..?

Even before that, there were already ‘simulation or farm/FARM’ games with idle elements!!

But what set them apart from the clicker-style idle games being mass-produced on mobile was this!

• Unlike simpler idle games, they had systems that could be a bit more complex.

• They gave players goals and objectives, and reaching them came with rewards and a sense of accomplishment.

• They also had elements that built user communities, like guilds or clubs, where lots of players could communicate and enjoy the game together.

Δ So then, what genre is ‘Maple Raising’ really?!

: Officially, it’s < mobile, idle RPG> !

But did you know that even within ‘idle games,’

there are several different subcategories like these?!

• Incremental games
  : Combine click/tap income with idle income, then automate through upgrades

• Idle RPGs
  : Progress through chapters/stages, with time chests and currency accelerating growth

• Collection-based idle
  : Collection structures involving hero grades/races/classes/attributes, summons, cubes, pity systems, etc.

• Quest-based idle
  : A structure where you push through quests to gain growth currency and momentum for progression

• Short repeated battles
  : Each round is short, and the accumulation of weapons/growth elements creates immersion

I actually didn’t know this either, but I found out while looking things up for this post😉

If I were to list my personal impressions..!

First, it seems to take the worldbuilding built around the ‘MapleStory IP as an MMORPG,’
along with its various classes, skills, monsters, boss items, enhancement systems, and so on,
and reorganize those systems to fit the idle RPG genre.

Also, when you look at the typical traits of an idle RPG,
it has progression through chapters and stages, plus rewards and growth through quest progression,
and the further you go, the more interconnected the systems and quests become

It also has challenge-focused chapter battles and boss fights through short combat play,
along with ranking and reward systems built around <short repeated battles>
made up of various kinds of content such as PVP.

There’s resource gain through auto-hunting and offline rewards,
plus collection-based idle elements like collecting and enhancing class cards, weapons, and relics

There are attendance check-ins, seasonal event content, and PVP,
a chat system and guild system that let you communicate with other players,
and even guild-based buffs, resource gain, or strategic planning for growth

Maybe that’s why the way its idle-game features were designed to work together as smoothly as possible
felt like the part that really set it apart from older, more stale idle and mobile games.

Maybe that’s why..?
[To me, ‘Maple Raising’]
feels less like an idle RPG and more like a strategic game where ‘thinking through combinations and analysis really matters.’

At first, it started with just 1 character.

Before the refund, I raised 6 characters across 5 accounts.. then 8 characters.
Right now, I’m actually raising 11 characters across 5 accounts.

People ask why I raise so many.
I think every character has different traits, strengths, and weaknesses.

But after seeing people get into
little arguments and emotional back-and-forths
over which class is stronger or not, I started to have my own questions and wanted to experience the differences for myself.

And that’s how it became… 11 characters… hehe;

To be honest, my combat power isn’t all that high.

Even if I spend money, the gacha still screws me over..

So even when I want to raise my combat power, it just doesn’t go up.

Even after the refund, I’m still just a light spender who doesn’t spend big…

and even my boyfriend, who probably seems like he spends quite a lot,

finds my character a bit puzzling…

Anyway, putting the side talk aside..!

I’ve enjoyed PC online games ever since I was 7, when MapleStory CBT first began,

so I’m someone who lived through an era when all kinds of genres were thriving…!

I preferred MMORPGs and <game genres where you can communicate with other users and share strategies>!

At the same time, I also enjoy playing at my own pace and following my own flow without feeling tied down!

Because that’s my play style, I may be a bit far from top-ranked players,

but I think I’ve always been someone who spends lightly and enjoys games at a comfortable level, ever since I was young!

Besides MMORPGs, the game genres I like are also

things like ‘Rummikub,’ ‘Qplay,’ ‘Sichuan,’ ‘Tetris,’ and ‘Civilization’—
games with strategy, puzzle, and arcade-like elements that require thought!

Personally, when ‘Qplay’ disappeared, I was pretty disappointed ㅠㅠ!

But recently, I saw that ‘Crazy Arcade’,

which I’d consider one of Nexon’s 대표 character IPs in the arcade genre,

announced the end of its service…!

I remember back then enjoying all sorts of different games, rotating from one to another.

But these days, it seems like people mostly just play one or two games,

and changes like that probably do have something to do

with less-played games disappearing ㅠㅠ

As genres keep diversifying and changing,

there’s also this other side where nostalgic games disappear,

and in a way, that feels really bittersweet 😂

So, coming back to this post’s theme, [Game Genre Showdown], and summing it up..!
My personal preference is…
<MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games) and strategy/puzzle>!
And maybe it’s exactly because this game seems to mix in a little of those elements
that I ended up getting so drawn into ‘Maple Raising’ ㅎㅎ

To everyone who read my post, thank you so much,

and I hope you have a great day!