Regarding fun vs. not-fun gameplay elements, there's a lot of flexibility here. Sure, chopping down a tree may not be particularly fun. But if as the game prog

Regarding fun vs. not-fun gameplay elements, there's a lot of flexibility here. Sure, chopping down a tree may not be particularly fun. But if as the game progresses you can work to build/unlock better and better tools for doing it, you can see and feel the satisfaction that your hard work has provided - making this task easier allowing you to more quickly go on to greater things. If time is limited in the game, that's another layer. The activity hasn't gotten any more fun in itself, but it makes other things more fun. (the gear progression) I think it's also OK for a game to have some activities that aren't as fun, if they are needed for a system that is very fun. I'd rather have a game that's focusing on what it does well than try to make every single activity good. Sure, Skyrim's lockpicking is pretty dull. But if time was invested there instead of into the core loop of explore->kill->retrieve, I'm not sure it would be a better game.