"To do" list driven gaming

For a game about a NEET (someone not in employment, education, or training), Rosy Rupeeland is a weirdly "to do" list driven game.

In part the game plays like creating and working through a series of "To do" items because of its "everything-costs-and gives-rupees" mechanic. So to progress through certain events or to activate certain plot points you need to fork over the right amount (or more) to the character (or characters) involved. To have enough to manage this, you, in turn have to actually have those rupees handy, and to earn rupees you'll inevitably turn to one or two tried and tested methods.

What works well about the game's rupee-based everything is that whenever you come into an area for the first time there are a number of things to do to boost your rupee stash substantially. There will usually be a quest or two (or three), new items that let you create pricier soups/juices/medicines/etc, or one-time item drops involving a few precious stones/gems. Plus, if an area has a dungeon, its payout will more than likely equal or just squeak past what you need to open up the next area.

Nonetheless, each time I sit down to play this game I find myself creating a mental to do list. "Explore the new area," "map all the landmarks," "get ingredients needed to finish sidequests," "complete sidequests," "prep for dungeon," "face dungeon," etc. It sounds like the standard, basic outline for playing through most adventure games, but I'm much more aware of myself doing it as I play Rosy Rupeeland than I would be if I was playing through anything else.

The conclusion that I draw from all of this is that in Rosy Rupeeland the steps between plot points are much clearer because their parameters are so well defined.

Instead of simply being (to take an example from the mask trading sidequest in Ocarina of Time) "take the "Keaton Mask" to the soldier at the Death Mountain gate and then return the profit to me," Rosy Rupeeland would have you pay an exact price (or more) for the mask (that you guess at, or use a guide to find out), force you to pay/accept a set amount (or more/less) from the guard upon delivery (guessing or using a guide again), and then require the same upon announcing the completion of the job to the Happy Mask Salesman. Because your objectives are clearly delineated along the lines of rupees, "to do" lists seem naturally to spring up.