When my friends first got me to try 7Seas fishing, I started with the demo rod - I know enough about RL fishing to know that it's not really my thing. Still, it seemed kind of fun and sociable in SL, so after my 5 casts, I splurged on a Casual rod. Got a few fish (was VERY impressed by how well made they were, considering they are sort of Free!) then noticed my friends were having fun with levelling-up, so I ditched the Casual rod and got a Pro rod...
At that point, Level 5 seemed like a huge challenge, but it was a goal to strive for. Then after that, I wanted to catch all the SURs, and that seemed like a good difficult task. By the time I got all the SURs, I was doing pretty good with the levels, and suddenly the mythical Level 40 no longer seemed like an insurmountable challenge suitable only for those extremely dedicated and skilled individuals (like the ones who tackle Everest or the Iditarod)...
Now that I'm here though... I am wondering what's next? I look at the Hall of Fame and see people going higher and higher in XP, and I am wondering, what motivates / drives people to keep at it?
There've been some suggestions like badges etc, and personally I'd be pleased if there were some new challenges, like eg. every 50,000 points is a new 'bonus level', or star, or letter or something. 40, 40A, 40B, 40C; or 40, 40 Bronze, 40 Silver, 40 Gold, 40 Diamond; that sort of thing. I get that the levels are coded into the rods themselves, and it wouldn't be fair to suddenly make the levels go up to 100 etc, but having some kind of new goals above and beyond 50,000XP would be cool, I think.
Cheers!
-Atashi