Are you an Achievement Whore?

[Fumofu]

I used to be an achievement whore, but that was when I couldn't afford to buy games on a regular basis and getting all the achievements was an effective way to increase a game's lifespan for me (I was also the type to complete everything in an RPG, I remember going out of my way to open every single chest in Dragon Quest VIII). Once I was able to buy a game after beating my current one to my satisfaction then I stopped caring as much. I still try and do some hard ones for a fun challenge and to try to compete with my friends (which became impossible once I got a PS3 and stopped buying as many games for my XBox 360)

Though I don't think I try that hard to get achievements anymore, I still feel a great deal of satisfaction when I do get one and that little notification pops up. The nicest ones are the ones you get for beating a game on its hardest difficulty mainly to show as proof to people who don't believe you did it (which is why I'm upset that there are no trophies for MGS4 and I have to show my friends the save file that I got the Big Boss medal in to prove it).

 

[BlackEagle95]

If I see an opportunity to grab one(Xbox and TF2), I go for it. With gusto. I don't really think about them until I get bored and go looking, and i won't go completely out of the way for it. I never really set out to get them, and usually couldn't care less. I wouldn't call myself a whore.....I just like the shiny.

 

[nik3daz]

I would like to say no but my Kongregate account begs to differ.

If anything, whoring for achievements has expanded my experiences in gaming since they often take me where I wouldn't go otherwise. Of course, the flip side is spending a couple of hours on a crappy game because you're "almost there"

 

[Smeggs]

I like to have an objective. If there's more shit to do, and I really like the game, yeah, I'll go for the 'chievos. Never feel obligated, though.

EDIT:

If I like the game enough I'll do it as an afterward. I'm not going to ruin my first playthrough of a game by restarting a level for two hours to, "Drop onto an Elite from a fatal height and assassinate him to save yourself."

*Note, that achievement took me nearly two hours for some reason.

I KNOW!!!!! if i wasn't such a dirty whore i would have been able to just leave it, but no, i had to get that damn achievement didnt i!

Ah, how B.net exploded on that one.
Turned out the damn thing was glitched. Took me hours as well.

Mine wasn't glitched, it's just that whenever I'd hit the Elite it would register as only a punch instead of an assassination and kill it, or I'd miss and die. It's always the ones that seem so simple at the time...

I don't go for the really hard or online crap unless it's easy, otherwise that's just something where I'll get it if I'm lucky but I'm not going to slave away to get it. Like hitting someone in Halo3 with a Mongoose on Lone Wolves. "Okay." *Next match on Boundless, rammed someone with a Mongoose and killed them*

2 for 1: "Kill two enemies with the same laser shot in a ranked free-for-all." Steppin' Razor: "Get a Triple Kill with the Energy Sword in a Ranked Free-for-all match."

It was hard enough even getting the sword in Lone Wolves, and 2 for 1 was just ridiculous, but eventually I got them randomly while playing not even trying to get them.

 

[TheBestPieEver]

Yes, I totally am, I do not sell a game befor getting as many achievements as I can. But for some reason I don't like trophies.

 

[samgdawg]

Not really. If I see an achievement looks plausible to do I will set as something to do while playing. I am only focusing on Skyrim because it's achievments all seem plausible and most fit with the characters I use.

 

[LobsterFeng]

If the trophy is showing how you beat the game on the hardest difficulty, then it's kind of nice to have proof that you did even if you're the only one that cares, so I usually go for those.

If it's something trivial like get a headshot with a pistol while jumping off a cliff or something then I'll only go for it if I'm really bored.

 

[HyperCubed4]

They're absolutely useless. I'm so used to getting them randomly now, I can actually PICTURE playing a Wii game with achievements/trophies. It's sickening. I loathe them. They do absolutely nothing. I'm playing Skyward Sword right now and I can just imagine scenarios where a message would pop up, saying "ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED! Stinger: Catch 100 Deku Hornets"

They're horrible. I don't play games to play games. I play them to be engrossed in a story or because the gameplay is awesome. In a perfect world, it would be both. But no. Trophies and Achievements remind me that I'm not part of this awesome universe where I'm hacking people in half with a chainsaw attached to my gun or blasting people off rooftops with lightning powers, but that I'm playing a game. Story is very important to me when playing a game and trophies/achievements ruin that for me. Puzzle games obviously don't have a story a lot of the time, but it's still the same case. It makes me feel like I'm playing games to get some high score to impress people, not just because I'm playing the game because it's fun.

I didn't get to the bottom of the Pit Of 100 Trials in Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door just to DIE against that boss because I thought I was going to get a nice little image, saying "GOOD JOB, BUDDY! YOU DID IT! SHOW YOUR FRIENDS!" No. I did it for my own self satisfaction. I died. But regardless, I felt a little satisfied.

I could go on, but I'm just going to say that I really, really dislike Achievements/Trophies.

 

[Trippy Turtle]

I used to be until I changed gamertag and lost all my GS.

 

[O maestre]

as much as i hate to admit it, microsoft had the right idea with achievement points. for example assassins creed is a game i really like and once i ran out of stuff to do, it seemed natural to start chasing achievements. it does add some sort of longevity.

although it must be said i would only play for the achievements if the game is something i really enjoyed and couldn't get any more novelty out of. achievements are well suited for linear games like assassins creed.

one critique though is that the more often than not lack of creativity in regards to achieving the point somewhats stunts their value. like when you are awarded points for simply starting the game, if you guys can digg what im saying?

 

[KILRbuny]

i really enjoy trophies. even though they're not real, they're some sort of recognition and a bit of a bragging right with your friends. most of all though, some of them are really good conversation starters. like "hey did you get the *insert trophy name here*? i had such a hard time with it!" most recently for me i was chatting with a coworker when resistance 3 was brought up, which i recently went out of my way to get the platinum trophy on. the simple fact that we had one difficult trophy to talk about was enough to get us rolling and now we're pretty close friends. thanks trophies!

as for achievements, i don't like them as much because the sound it makes just doesn't sound as good to me.

 

[The .50 Caliber Cow]

Did I get a trinket for watching a cutscene? Weird.

*tosses trophy into junk drawer 'achievement' show room*

...

Honestly I don't care one way or the other.

[sub][sub]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9iIgQN5uZE&feature=related]Moo![/url][/sub][/sub]

 

[Anti Nudist Cupcake]

No, achievements are just that for a video game. An "achievement", a term used to make you feel special when you've completed a task. I'm not so low a person in life that I will slave hours into a game just so that it can fool me into believing i'm talented or special. I see what you are trying to do video game industry, you are trying to play on a person's self worth and self esteem to get them addicted to what is actually a shitty game, i'm looking at YOU world of warcraft.

But to those of you who only hunt for achievements to prove you've mastered the game, carry on.

 

[chaosyoshimage]

They're fun to do sometimes, but I don't obsesses over them. Except during that Steam sale, that nearly drove me mad...

 

[Et3rnalLegend64]

If they are in the realm of possibility, I take it as a challenge. I eventually try to beat games on the highest difficulty offered anyway. Achievements like that just act as proof that I did. I don't care about inflating my number. I care more about the actual act.

The more out of the way ones I may or may not do depending on how inane they are. I don't think I'll bother carrying the garden gnome from Half Life 2 Episode (?) to the end of the game. I absolutely oppose the Mass Effect ones where you have to carry the same squadmate for 80% of the game. It limits my options for a stupid reason.
I think the Assassin's Creed collection achievements are fine (flags/feathers). I think the "Hide 5 bodies in the same haybale" ones are stupid, but I'll do them since they're there.

I despise ones that go "Achievement Unlocked: Completed the Tutorial." Those are so empty, like beating a newbie at BlazBlue when I have almost 3000 games as Lambda. I won't get a game just because it has easy Achievements. Even though I can likely 1CC Deathsmiles if I turn all the stages down to Level 1, it doesn't prove anything since a lot of people can do that. Granted, no one will even see that I never bothered to turn it down, but I care enough. I'm probably being too serious, but I enjoy a good challenge and gaming is a pastime anyway.

 

[default]

I have NEVER EVER given half a fuck about Achievements, Trophies, Badges or whatever else you want to throw at me. They are pointless wastes of time. If they gave you a cool new sword or helmet or gun attachment for completing them, then yeah for sure I would do them! But no, I have never felt the need to enlarge and stroke my digital penis.

 

[Daniel_Rosamilia]

Rarely, I'll start achievement whoring, but only if the game's really good fun, like Fallout NV, Skyrim or Saints Row 3.
I've recently re-started Bioshock just to get all the achievements I missed, like the audio-log and weapon upgrade achievements.

 

[RedLister]

Got 49/50 achievements on saints row 3 on 1st playthough last being the upload ur char then going into a slight sulk because i needed xbox gold to do so....Have to enjoy the game though to do so. I don't buy a game which i dont like just cos the 1000achivement points are easy to get. Really depends on the game im playing.

 

[Kyr Knightbane]

With me it's not so much that i want the Trophies or the added Gamerscore, I go for the challenges that are hidden in some games that unlock weapons, bonus money or experience, or simply to try and bolster my own skill at the game i'm playing, like in R6V2, complete a match using only the pistol, or playing Assassins Creed and try and use wall assassinations only, something that allows me to make my own fun with the game.
If it has a Trophy or Achievement counterpart, then i simply shrug, plus i play PC games more than console ones, and whenever the little box pops up saying i got an Achievement or Trophy, it feels like a tacked on useless minigame where the points don't matter. It's like Whose Line is It Anyways, without the funny, or the audience.

Thats my 2 cents worth anyways

 

[Nimcha]

No. Of course every sense of accomplishment one can get from a videogame is artificial but an 'achievement' doubly so. It's too much for me.