Achievements

[I20I3]

I think of it both as good and bad.

The good being its kinda like a "enhanced high score system" thats a take from early games, where it was implied you were saving the world but really the larger number was what you were shooting for

The bad being that rather than add in more game, they say oh well there's more because you can play it again and again to get things you missed. This feels just a bit to much like grinding on a somewhat large scale. If you want me to play it again, make it good enough that i want to, dont make it feel like i missed something the first time.

 

[Anton P. Nym]

I like Achievements, myself. When done well, they're fun to get in their own right and they're often either suggesting oddball ways of playing (traffic coning zombies in Dead Rising, anyone?) I wouldn't have thought of myself or rewarding good use of skills in-game (30 perfect Active Reloads in Gears of War 2) that I'd like to "show off" anyway.

There are badly-designed Achievements (Gears 1 was notorious for the "weapon kills" grind-fests) but that doesn't mean we shouldn't have the good ones.

-- Steve

 

[DangerChimp]

Love them both, though my PS3 trophies are a pretty small bunch (Burnout Paradise, Dead Space and Prince of Persia so far) because I just got the console a few months back and neither Fifa 09 nor MGS4 nor Saint's Row 2 had trophies.

My achievements are more than 14,000 now and I love that little sound they make when they unlock. Delightful. I have many times gone back to a game just to steal a few extra points.
My fiancee even unlocked one in GTA IV and a bunch in her favorite Feeding Frenzy 1 and 2, and there were high-fives all around when it happened!

 

[Clemenstation]

When done well, they're fun to get in their own right and they're often either suggesting oddball ways of playing (traffic coning zombies in Dead Rising, anyone?) I wouldn't have thought of myself

Most definitely agree. Fable II did this well. If you don't care about Achievements you can play any which way, but if you're chasing Achievements you're driven to try out some of the weirder stuff in the game (dressing like a goth, getting mad wives, etc). Achievements are the worst, conversely, when they require you to do something terribly tedious - like find 200 pigeons in Liberty City.

 

[Matthicus]

I really like achievements. What I don't like is what they can do to people. My friend must have played that extra CoD4 mission for like ten hours straight to get the "Mile High" achievement. He was scary into it. When he wasn't swearing at the TV, he was swearing at the computer for not helping him find a way to beat it.

It may seem childish, but it's not confined to games. If you follow sports or watch game shows, it's the same sort of thing. We like to compete and we like to have something to show off when we win.

You're totally right. Everyone loves a gold star.

 

[SirSchmoopy]

They make me play games longer then I normally would. I don't collect the points for any other reason then to simply do it.

For the people who hate seeing a game at 85% completion rate, achievements are a gift from the gods in gaming.

 

[Zeldadudes]

I made a little thread about how they ruined my gaming a while ago.

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.78522

Luckily i am cured now and i am enjoying the ranking system on Halo 3, even if it does annoy me.
But still i am looking for a way to prove myself etc hence the ranking system.

 

[geldonyetich]

I think the reason why achievements have caught on so well is because they really add to whatever game they're associated with. Would it be nice if there were some in-game rewards for gaining achievements? Sure, and sometimes there is - for example, "free" skills in Mass Effect unlocked for using them enough. However, it's up to the individual developer if they want to go out of their way to do that.

 

[jboking]

I mainly think that it's interesting at how Sony decided to emulate the Achievements on the 360, but the amount of people accusing Sony of copying was relatively small compared to the Microsoft hate from other camps (like the Sony fanboys) when the NXE was announced, or the similarities between Vista and Mac OSX.

The reason the amount of people accusing sony of copying microsoft was fairly small is because the idea of rewarding a gamer wih a useless "point" has been around a lot longer than the 360 has. Ratchet and Clank for example, I didnt know spyro 2 had achievements but apperently it did. I guarantee the group calling foul on Vista was much more than sony fanboys. I wasn't aware of any hatred circling about the NXE, didnt seem like that big of a deal.

No no, I realize that the points system has existed longer than Xbox's Achievements system, but I was more referring to the universal points system (Gamerpoints).

And I may have mispoken, or maybe I spoke too soon, about the Sony fanboys, but I had a specific video in mind that I had found on GameTrailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/278937.html

I still dont see making them universal as anything that wouldn't have happened without microsofts existance.

There are always going to be guys that make videos like that, but you have to realize it was CBS News that did the bit about vista and mac osx, not that fanboy. However, I just want to point out that there are fanboys for both consoles and how much hate you see for one particular system usually depends on where you are on the internet. for example, the escapist is very ps3 and pc based, so you shouldn't expect to see much bashing of those two things, unless something got really fed up(which with sony, does occasionally happen). I think i may have lost my point but whatever.

ON TOPIC. I like trophies and achievements because they give me something to shoot for and serve as proof that I did something exceptional. However, I'm sick of getting acheivements just for finishing part of the story mode, i didnt really do anything awesome to get it.

I don't think there was anything I really disagreed w/ in that statement. But I will say Microsoft did achievements first, and when I say that I mean that it doesn't really matter whether they would've existed as they do now w/ or w/o MS, what matters is that they were the first to implement them. Similar to the avatars/Miis. They probably would've come along at one point or another, but Nintendo did them first and Microsoft followed suit, essentially copying them.

EDIT: I do realize that it was CBS that broadcast that clip, but it was used as fuel for the flame by the fanboy. So I'm not arguing w/ you there, just making my logic clear.

The problem is, by that logic, microsoft is the biggest copier of them all. It makes it to where microsoft copied the entire idea of gaming from sony who copied it from sega, who copied it from nintendo, who copied it from the atari, etc. They're coping the copy of a copy of a copy.

The only unique innovation of this generation was motion sensing. I will admit sony just blatantly copied that and then did nothing with it.

 

[CoverYourHead]

I like achievements, I hate my ridiculously high gamer-score reminding me how little a life I have.

 

[joystickjunki3]

I mainly think that it's interesting at how Sony decided to emulate the Achievements on the 360, but the amount of people accusing Sony of copying was relatively small compared to the Microsoft hate from other camps (like the Sony fanboys) when the NXE was announced, or the similarities between Vista and Mac OSX.

The reason the amount of people accusing sony of copying microsoft was fairly small is because the idea of rewarding a gamer wih a useless "point" has been around a lot longer than the 360 has. Ratchet and Clank for example, I didnt know spyro 2 had achievements but apperently it did. I guarantee the group calling foul on Vista was much more than sony fanboys. I wasn't aware of any hatred circling about the NXE, didnt seem like that big of a deal.

No no, I realize that the points system has existed longer than Xbox's Achievements system, but I was more referring to the universal points system (Gamerpoints).

And I may have mispoken, or maybe I spoke too soon, about the Sony fanboys, but I had a specific video in mind that I had found on GameTrailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/278937.html

I still dont see making them universal as anything that wouldn't have happened without microsofts existance.

There are always going to be guys that make videos like that, but you have to realize it was CBS News that did the bit about vista and mac osx, not that fanboy. However, I just want to point out that there are fanboys for both consoles and how much hate you see for one particular system usually depends on where you are on the internet. for example, the escapist is very ps3 and pc based, so you shouldn't expect to see much bashing of those two things, unless something got really fed up(which with sony, does occasionally happen). I think i may have lost my point but whatever.

ON TOPIC. I like trophies and achievements because they give me something to shoot for and serve as proof that I did something exceptional. However, I'm sick of getting acheivements just for finishing part of the story mode, i didnt really do anything awesome to get it.

I don't think there was anything I really disagreed w/ in that statement. But I will say Microsoft did achievements first, and when I say that I mean that it doesn't really matter whether they would've existed as they do now w/ or w/o MS, what matters is that they were the first to implement them. Similar to the avatars/Miis. They probably would've come along at one point or another, but Nintendo did them first and Microsoft followed suit, essentially copying them.

EDIT: I do realize that it was CBS that broadcast that clip, but it was used as fuel for the flame by the fanboy. So I'm not arguing w/ you there, just making my logic clear.

The problem is, by that logic, microsoft is the biggest copier of them all. It makes it to where microsoft copied the entire idea of gaming from sony who copied it from sega, who copied it from nintendo, who copied it from the atari, etc. They're coping the copy of a copy of a copy.

The only unique innovation of this generation was motion sensing. I will admit sony just blatantly copied that and then did nothing with it.

Very true, but as I said before in my first post on this thread, I don't mind companies emulating a good idea. It allows for the perfection of existing products, as well as new innovations.

 

[BallPtPenTheif]

I just dislike the lack of creativity in the creation of these achievements. Most are either earned via standard progression of the game or through some insane repititious volume of points or objects.

Achievements, if done well, have the potential of expanding the players view of the game experience as well as rewarding them for increasing their personal skill level. CoD4 for example, you know that everybody has used every single weapon in that game due to their solid leveling/ internal achievement system.

 

[jboking]

I mainly think that it's interesting at how Sony decided to emulate the Achievements on the 360, but the amount of people accusing Sony of copying was relatively small compared to the Microsoft hate from other camps (like the Sony fanboys) when the NXE was announced, or the similarities between Vista and Mac OSX.

The reason the amount of people accusing sony of copying microsoft was fairly small is because the idea of rewarding a gamer wih a useless "point" has been around a lot longer than the 360 has. Ratchet and Clank for example, I didnt know spyro 2 had achievements but apperently it did. I guarantee the group calling foul on Vista was much more than sony fanboys. I wasn't aware of any hatred circling about the NXE, didnt seem like that big of a deal.

No no, I realize that the points system has existed longer than Xbox's Achievements system, but I was more referring to the universal points system (Gamerpoints).

And I may have mispoken, or maybe I spoke too soon, about the Sony fanboys, but I had a specific video in mind that I had found on GameTrailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/278937.html

I still dont see making them universal as anything that wouldn't have happened without microsofts existance.

There are always going to be guys that make videos like that, but you have to realize it was CBS News that did the bit about vista and mac osx, not that fanboy. However, I just want to point out that there are fanboys for both consoles and how much hate you see for one particular system usually depends on where you are on the internet. for example, the escapist is very ps3 and pc based, so you shouldn't expect to see much bashing of those two things, unless something got really fed up(which with sony, does occasionally happen). I think i may have lost my point but whatever.

ON TOPIC. I like trophies and achievements because they give me something to shoot for and serve as proof that I did something exceptional. However, I'm sick of getting acheivements just for finishing part of the story mode, i didnt really do anything awesome to get it.

I don't think there was anything I really disagreed w/ in that statement. But I will say Microsoft did achievements first, and when I say that I mean that it doesn't really matter whether they would've existed as they do now w/ or w/o MS, what matters is that they were the first to implement them. Similar to the avatars/Miis. They probably would've come along at one point or another, but Nintendo did them first and Microsoft followed suit, essentially copying them.

EDIT: I do realize that it was CBS that broadcast that clip, but it was used as fuel for the flame by the fanboy. So I'm not arguing w/ you there, just making my logic clear.

The problem is, by that logic, microsoft is the biggest copier of them all. It makes it to where microsoft copied the entire idea of gaming from sony who copied it from sega, who copied it from nintendo, who copied it from the atari, etc. They're coping the copy of a copy of a copy.

The only unique innovation of this generation was motion sensing. I will admit sony just blatantly copied that and then did nothing with it.

Very true, but as I said before in my first post on this thread, I don't mind companies emulating a good idea. It allows for the perfection of existing products, as well as new innovations.

So then you can admit that microsoft copied the idea from games like R&C and spyro 2 and therefore copied the idea's that were developed on the system of the company that you claim copied them?
You know what, we need to end this, its getting the board off topic so this is my last response.

 

[joystickjunki3]

I mainly think that it's interesting at how Sony decided to emulate the Achievements on the 360, but the amount of people accusing Sony of copying was relatively small compared to the Microsoft hate from other camps (like the Sony fanboys) when the NXE was announced, or the similarities between Vista and Mac OSX.

The reason the amount of people accusing sony of copying microsoft was fairly small is because the idea of rewarding a gamer wih a useless "point" has been around a lot longer than the 360 has. Ratchet and Clank for example, I didnt know spyro 2 had achievements but apperently it did. I guarantee the group calling foul on Vista was much more than sony fanboys. I wasn't aware of any hatred circling about the NXE, didnt seem like that big of a deal.

No no, I realize that the points system has existed longer than Xbox's Achievements system, but I was more referring to the universal points system (Gamerpoints).

And I may have mispoken, or maybe I spoke too soon, about the Sony fanboys, but I had a specific video in mind that I had found on GameTrailers: http://www.gametrailers.com/player/usermovies/278937.html

I still dont see making them universal as anything that wouldn't have happened without microsofts existance.

There are always going to be guys that make videos like that, but you have to realize it was CBS News that did the bit about vista and mac osx, not that fanboy. However, I just want to point out that there are fanboys for both consoles and how much hate you see for one particular system usually depends on where you are on the internet. for example, the escapist is very ps3 and pc based, so you shouldn't expect to see much bashing of those two things, unless something got really fed up(which with sony, does occasionally happen). I think i may have lost my point but whatever.

ON TOPIC. I like trophies and achievements because they give me something to shoot for and serve as proof that I did something exceptional. However, I'm sick of getting acheivements just for finishing part of the story mode, i didnt really do anything awesome to get it.

I don't think there was anything I really disagreed w/ in that statement. But I will say Microsoft did achievements first, and when I say that I mean that it doesn't really matter whether they would've existed as they do now w/ or w/o MS, what matters is that they were the first to implement them. Similar to the avatars/Miis. They probably would've come along at one point or another, but Nintendo did them first and Microsoft followed suit, essentially copying them.

EDIT: I do realize that it was CBS that broadcast that clip, but it was used as fuel for the flame by the fanboy. So I'm not arguing w/ you there, just making my logic clear.

The problem is, by that logic, microsoft is the biggest copier of them all. It makes it to where microsoft copied the entire idea of gaming from sony who copied it from sega, who copied it from nintendo, who copied it from the atari, etc. They're coping the copy of a copy of a copy.

The only unique innovation of this generation was motion sensing. I will admit sony just blatantly copied that and then did nothing with it.

Very true, but as I said before in my first post on this thread, I don't mind companies emulating a good idea. It allows for the perfection of existing products, as well as new innovations.

So then you can admit that microsoft copied the idea from games like R&C and spyro 2 and therefore copied the idea's that were developed on the system of the company that you claim copied them?
You know what, we need to end this, its getting the board off topic so this is my last response.

I can respect that, so this will also be my last response on this thread. (I guess I'm copying you )

I never denied that Microsoft copied the idea, they simply implemented on a larger, slightly different, scale.

 

[Grand_Poohbah]

Achievements are great. It give you that extra little thing to shoot for once you're done with the main game.

Gives me a reason for that second playthrough.

 

[Psyco Slim]

i cant stand when they are tied to the games progress i think they should be extra stuf that requires skill to "achieve" i mean completing a mordern game is not really hard (for the most part what with all the interest in the *sigh* casual market)

i agree 100%

 

[Clemenstation]

I actually don't mind achievements for game progress, as long as they aren't too heavily weighted. That way you actually get something (... well, you get gamer cred points, I guess) for completing a game even if you don't feel like doing all the subquests or ridiculously complex tasks.

Although, on the other hand, if all achievements were 'skill' based there would probably be fewer total achievement goals and it might be more worthwhile to hunt down 200 pigeons in Liberty City if they were worth 200 or 300 gamerscore instead of a pittance.

 

[Diesel8590]

I don't mind the Achievements, it's something fun to go after while playing the game.

 

[Lukeydoodly]

Achievements are great. It give you that extra little thing to shoot for once you're done with the main game.

Indeed.

Theres just something pleasing about seeing 1000/1000.

 

[TheTygerfire]

Achievements are great. It give you that extra little thing to shoot for once you're done with the main game.

Indeed.

Theres just something pleasing about seeing 1000/1000.

No offense but DAAAAAAAMN you have a lot of free time.

Only time I've ever broken 500 was in Saints Row, and those Ach. are some of the easiest GP in the whole 360 library.