Achievements, Numbers and Skill

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Achievements, Numbers and Skill; An article
Tweet Topic Started: Aug 20 2010, 12:39 AM (512 Views)
SuperShadowgal	Aug 20 2010, 12:39 AM Post #1
The Female Ultimate Life Form! Posts: 3,112 Group: E Rank Legend Member #59 Joined: April 29, 2006	This is a discussion based on a an article in Game Informer Issue 209. This is not my work, but I may toss in some 2 cents if this discussion kicks off. Originally written by: Matt Helgeson Quote: My Gamerscore is 1,650, and I've Never Felt Better "A few months ago, my original Xbox 360 bit the dust, finally succumbing to the dreaded red ring of death. I decided to upgrade to the supposedly better-engineered Elite model. While I was unboxing the new system, I did something the most 360 gamers would find unthinkable. Instead of importing my old Gamertag and Xbox Live account, I got a new 12-month subscription card, booted up the system, and started over from scratch. In a moment, all my gaming from the last few years was gone, along with my Gamerscore and all of my achievements. My motivation for starting fresh was growing dissatisfaction with the endless race to collect achievement points. Achievements have never done much for me, other than occasionally spoil a crucial plot point of a game when I've looked into the list of unaccomplished challenges. I've never been a completist. Once I've finished the game's main storyline I rarely, if ever, tackle the remaining challenges to unlock alternate costumes or collectibles. A dizzying number of amazing games are released each year -- more than anyone can play. I'd rather move on to the next adventure. More importantly, I don't care to measure myself against other gamers. It's a meaningless metric. The leaderboards tout Live users with Gamerscores exceeding 650,000. Compared to that, what does it matter if you have 50,000 or even 200,000 points? More importantly, I expect that many gamers garner those megascores by cheating or farming terrible games that are over generous with achievements. So, congratulations? I don't believe someone is a better gamer than someone else just because of some number. Anyone who plays games is a gamer -- be that game Oblivious or Farmville. Games are entertainment, and I don't need to have my free time graded against others. I had a great time playing Red Dead Redmption; I don't feel bad because I didn't shoot some arbitrary number of rabbits or unlock a fancy suit for John Marston. I got what I needed out of the experience - fun. Once it's over, I'm out. Nobody awards me points for watching the DVD extra features or the director's commentary track on a movie I rented, so why should my gaming choices be any different? As life becomes busier by the day [life happens], chasing achievements seems like a poor investment of time -- especially to prop up a numerical score that would never be impressive anyway. The more life online becomes an endless competition - how many Facebook friends do you have? How many Twitter followers? What's your Gamerscore? -- the more inclined I am to withdraw I'd rather just play the games I want to play for as long as they hold my interest. I'm not against achievements. Millions of gamers love them, and I'm all for anything that makes people's gaming experience more fun. But for me, the time spent trying to chase them doesn't usually add to my game enjoyment or a game. Getting 100 points for completing a boss battle that I was going to finish regardless isn't really an "Achievement" so much as a meaningless pat on the head. If the goal is interesting or enjoyable, chances are I'm going to want to tackle it. If not, no amount of padding to my Gamerscore is enough to make it worthwhile. If developers want me to complete their extra challenges, make them an interesting, integral part of the experience. I was draw to the hidden "The Truth" glyphs and the assassin's tomb challenges in Assassin's Creed II. Finding them was a joy, because every bit of enigmatic video footage found drew me deeper into the complex web of intrigue Ubisoft Montreal created between the Templars and Assassins. Each tomb I found delivered fun, fast platforming to the already excellent mix of open-world exploration and combat. They were a welcome change of pace and something I looked forward to finding. I don't care how many points I got for completing them -- or if I got any points at all. To me, gaming is about becoming engrossed in a virtual world and an epic adventure. The little bubbles that pop up onscreen and inform me I've been awarded points only serve to break that illusion. A high Gamerscore doesn't make me a gamer. If I want competition, I can go online and test my skills against others, or better yet, play with friends in any number of amazing co-op games. So go ahead and make fun of my Gamerscore. I'm done with it." So, what are your thoughts in general about achievements and points? Do they add to games or are they distracting from the experience? Have people become addicted to achievements, perks, and gaining vanity points or does it add a layer of competition? Have you had experience with people frowning upon your lack of achievements or the related or have you seen people on gaming forums who do this? Discuss.
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Cat	Aug 20 2010, 12:53 AM Post #2
Your fate is mine to decide. Posts: 1,270 Group: A Rank Hero Member #10,657 Joined: January 3, 2010 Steam ID: The_Cats_Right_Paw	I've never been a huge fan of achievements. It's a waste of time and people make a huge fuss out of it. I play games to be entertained, not to show off how much of moron I am by showing people how much of my life I've wasted. My brain is going into shut down mode, so I might get on later and add more.



Kitm	Aug 20 2010, 01:00 AM Post #3
Lava Reef Act 1 Posts: 2,977 Group: =SB= Governors Member #1,073 Joined: May 18, 2007 Gender: Male Country: Canada Game Currently Playing: Destiny	Eh, I really could care less. To me, it's really less about THAT they're implemented, but HOW they're implemented. If I can beat a game and see a trophy or achievement with a fun goal, sure, I'll boot the game up in my spare time and give it a try. If it's something tedious, chances are I'll just say "f**k it" and not bother. I don't really care what the number represents, or how mine stacks up to other players. Leave that to the whiny, uber-competitive online players. I just see trophies/achievements as a way to extend the life of a game, so I hate the ones that are tacked on as a cheap gimmick. That's my take for now.



Nail Strafer	Aug 20 2010, 06:38 AM Post #4
Flying Battery Act 2 Posts: 1,218 Group: A Rank Hero Member #8,106 Joined: May 5, 2008	After you play a game for a while, you tend to settle into a rut and only play one specific way. You use only one set of strategies, you only use certain weapons and characters, you only use certain moves, etc. I do it all the time. There's nothing all that bad about it, but if you don't try new things, you tend to lose interest in the game faster. Achievements, when used properly, are a marvelous way to get the player to break out of this rut and look at the game in fresh new ways. Ideally, achievements should be the kinds of challenges a friend would dare you to do if he was watching you play. For example...beating the game with only one weapon (Dead Space's achievement where you finish the game with just the plasma cutter). Or perhaps defeating an enemy in an unusual way (like the Resident Evil 5 achievement where you must kill an enemy with a rotten egg). These achievements present challenges the player probably wouldn't consider on his own, they're interesting to do, and they get the player to break out of his comfort zone a bit. They extend the game's life. Valve's Orange Box and Left 4 Dead games also present excellent examples of achievements done right. It's too bad most games don't use achievements this way though. With a lot of my games, you get achievements mostly for doing things you were going to do anyway (like beat the final boss). These types of achievements do have their place though. It'd feel odd to get no achievement for finishing a game on the hardest difficulty. However, I think they should take a backseat to cool and unusual challenges that get players to experiment and look at the game in new ways. They really do make games feel fresh again. Edited by Nail Strafer, Aug 20 2010, 06:38 AM.



King of Kings	Aug 20 2010, 07:09 AM Post #5
Sandopolis Act 1 Posts: 1,548 Group: S Rank Hero Member #1,500 Joined: June 26, 2007	The Orange Box uses achivements the best way. I usually try to get all the achievements in a game, but in the Orange Box they make it a real challenge to do that. Call of Duty for example doesn't have the most original achivements. They usually involve beating the game, then beating it again on Veteran difficulty. I found Fallout 3 used achivements quite well too. It involved a good mix of completing quests achivements and doing other odd things like putting a frag grenade into the pocket of a citizen. I think achivements are a good idea as long as they're not outrageous things that are just stupid to attempt.



Neo Metallix	Aug 20 2010, 07:48 AM Post #6
~Doomsday Overlord~ Posts: 15,568 Group: =SB= Emperor Member #1 Joined: April 8, 2006 Gender: Male Country: United States of America Playstation Network ID: Doc_Of_D Game Currently Playing: Tales of Xillia	Chibi Taros (Cat) Aug 20 2010, 12:53 AM I've never been a huge fan of achievements. It's a waste of time and people make a huge fuss out of it. I play games to be entertained, not to show off how much of moron I am by showing people how much of my life I've wasted. My brain is going into shut down mode, so I might get on later and add more. Achievements have pretty much always been in games, it's just now they don't unlock anything and are there solely for bragging rights. In past generations there were achievement-like goals that would unlock cool new features in games.
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Cat	Aug 20 2010, 08:18 AM Post #7
Your fate is mine to decide. Posts: 1,270 Group: A Rank Hero Member #10,657 Joined: January 3, 2010 Steam ID: The_Cats_Right_Paw	Neo Metallix Aug 20 2010, 07:48 AM Chibi Taros (Cat) Aug 20 2010, 12:53 AM I've never been a huge fan of achievements. It's a waste of time and people make a huge fuss out of it. I play games to be entertained, not to show off how much of moron I am by showing people how much of my life I've wasted. My brain is going into shut down mode, so I might get on later and add more. Achievements have pretty much always been in games, it's just now they don't unlock anything and are there solely for bragging rights. In past generations there were achievement-like goals that would unlock cool new features in games. I barely remember those days. The thing that slightly dissapoints me is that my favorite game, Fallout 3, has a quite a bit of achievment, but most of these are just "finish this mission" and that's pretty much it. On the other hand, there are a few requires you to be at a certain karma level in order to get it. Only 9 if I remember correctly. This does provide you with something different though. Now, if you want to get all the achievements, or trophies if you're playing on the PS3 like me, you have to play through using a different strategy in order to get that karma level. It makes you try something different, and for this, I approve.



Lord DragonFlame	Aug 20 2010, 09:07 AM Post #8
Christmas is back again Posts: 17,411 Group: Former Monarchs Member #348 Joined: December 9, 2006 Gender: Male Steam ID: Warzak85DF	Both Nail and Metallix takes out two valid points here. First of all. About the difference in certain achievements, like Forca 3. You race to reach level 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5. I mean that's nothing special. However complete a race without any assistance on at the hardest difficulty. (From Forza 2 that is.) That was a tough challenge. Anyway the differences are many. And heh! Indeed. Achievements have always been around. Unlocking characters etc. Just been in a different way, that it doesn't give the total outcome of points to the player. Anyway I must agree, I'm no addict, but I like to see my score increase. Guess I'm one of those Achievement-whores. Yet I don't care about the dozens of people who have their scores way up there.
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