The Achievement system on XBox 360 was an evolution, allowing players bragging rights for their efforts in gaming overall. People want recognition for their gaming, for this reason Sony followed Microsoft’s lead with the Trophy system, even Quake Live has an achievement system; Rewards (hereafter all systems are referred to as Rewards.)
There was a time that I was happy with my save file, knowing that the info of my efforts were contained therein. But today I need to have the Reward for ‘Story Complete’ and ‘All Jumps Completed’. Almost like monetary compensation for employment, games need to give something other than the enjoyment of a hard days work, back.
The Beatles- A Hard Day’s Night
The additional level of addiction, needing that next Reward to beat your friend’s number of Rewards adds longevity to most games. But the Reward system is open to exploitation. The first time I was witness to Achievements all I could see was an arbitrary number. Most gamers have no hope of getting to the top of the heap on merit. You would need to hardcore games you’d otherwise have no intention of playing.
Rewards systems are exploited by friends that spend hours in a game simply killing each other to attain a single Reward. Games like Terminator Salvation offer a completely unbalanced level of Rewards compared to other games, giving you a massive level of Reward for a far less amount of effort. Developers do this because Rewards are a draw for a high number of gamers and it will help revenue, particularly through rentals.
Dolla Dolla Bills Yo
I prefer a good single player experience, but having Rewards pop up only takes me out of the experience, straight away I need to know why and out of the game I come. Recently, David Cage expressed his apprehension toward Trophies in Heavy Rain for this reason. The image and sound of a Reward will take you out of the experience. There should be an option to switch off Reward notification.
Some games give you a Reward for beating a boss or a stage, these are the most pointless Rewards because you’re going to do this anyway. The best Rewards are those that are attained by tackling a game or sequence differently, such as dealing with an enemy silently rather than brashly. However, the worst Rewards are those for tackling a level in a way that is totally out of character, for example searching for the passports in The Bourne Conspiracy. These Rewards would require you to use a guide or walkthrough.
GTA IV – Pigeons
When you’re playing a game not because it’s enjoyable but because you need the Reward, are you not wasting your time?
Rewards certainly haven’t ruined gaming, but without set rules for Reward implementation, developers and gamers have exploited it to the extent of it verging on bankruptcy. There needs to be more regulation, that way we can enjoy a game and be rewarded for that enjoyment rather than for the time we put into doing things that we’d otherwise not.
I’d rather be using that time to play a different game, maximising my unique game experiences.
——— You have earned a Reward: Read To The End Of An Article. Earned by reading a headline and not jumping to conclusions.
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title image compiled from 2 Google images by: A Broke Gamer
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exactly….you definitely beat me to the punch on the trophy/achievement article because I absolutely am annoyed by this aspect of gaming…
I liked it better when someone said they accomplished something meticulous in a game and I would just say “no you didn’t …prove it” and I win…
now this person has a friggin trophy/achievement to show for his/her victory in his pissing contest…
I honestly think the PS3 wouldn’t have added this feature if the 360 didn’t have it and all the 360 owners wouldn’t be talking about this useless feature nonstop…
someone said to me on my PSN friends list “you have a lot of trophies?…my response was “really?”..
I seriously didn’t know…
also…great article…and what’s with this Beatles frenzy I’ve seen going on?….does this all have to do with Michael Jackson’s death and their songs are now available to the masses?…
honestly, achievements are huge in my book. Gone are the days of putting countless hours to get that top score, and nothing to show for it. I’m not even an achievement whore, but just the fact that i get credit to my friends if i spend the extra time finishing a side mission of bonus objective makes all the difference.
Games these days are just so enormous, and complex, that it only makes sense to give the player some sort of acknowledgment for their time spent in it. i.e. fallout 3… I’ll even put extra time in a game, just to get an achievement, so my friends, when comparing theirs to mine, will go… whoa, you got THAT?!? or “wtf, you completed skydive on veteran in cod4?” . .
it’s the same concept of old arcades showing leaderboards at the end of games. It’s fun to compare yourself to others.
rock on achievements, rock on
to me achievements are like the free t-shirt you get when you sign up for some bullshit…
until you get something out of it, they are worthless to me…
to each his own, I guess and if you find it a way to get your money’s worth….then so be it..
I actually have something to say about both sides of this arguement:
Achievements are negative: Achievements have ruined certain aspects of gaming to me. I remember the old days where I my goal was to beat the game, and then actually go get anything I felt like afterwords without something as a reward. Games like Diddy Kong Racing for N64 and God of War were games I played simply for fun and still ended up doing everything in it. Now A lot of games tend to not be fun for me anymore because I have no reward in points (I have become an “chieve” addict). The most recent game that came to mind was Wario Land: Shake It: I felt no inspiration to finish the game (along with the fact I had too high of expectations for it). However, finding a game that I want to finish completely regardless of achievements has made some games bigger gems to me. Games like Mario Galaxy and Mass Effect I’ve enjoyed without even thinking about achievements.
Achievements are positive: I have become addicted to achievements. I enjoy having a system of points that can let you compare games with your friends, either for bragging rights or to get together online and help each other out. But back to bragging rights; there are those certain achievements that to have them, makes you feel AWESOME. My favorite example is the Mile High Achievement in COD4. I had the Achievement
before all of my friends and held that title for a solid year, and I loved to brag about it. Achievements also give gamers the chance to play games they would otherwise not consider. One of my favorite game franchises has ended up being the LEGO games. The mix of puzzles and LEGO nostalgia has made me obsessed over these games.
All in all I think Achievements are a great addition to gaming. However I think it can get RIDICULOUS when that’s all a gamer focuses on. For example, the worst thing I had ever heard come out of any gamers mouth was, word for word: “How are the achievements in Bioshock? I was thinking about borrowing it from Matt and plowing through it over the weekend.” BLASPHEMY! Games like Bioshock are being “plowed through” to simply get points, not to enjoy some of the most immersing titles ever made. Some people these days.
Thanks for your comment, Forthwin.
You’ve done a better job of getting my point across than I did!
Welcome to the site!!!
No problem, ever since Roger directed me to Gamingvice I’ve felt comfortable getting my opinion out for people to see.