Question of the Day, Feb. 22, 2010
- Thread starter Susan Arendt
- Start date
Recommended Videos
I generally collect them, but I usually do it more if there's a reward for it or if they're fun to complete .ie beating Halo 3 on Legendary to get the armor or going through MW2's winter base without firing a shot for the experience.Susan Arendt said:
Just doing them for the point of saying I got them makes me feel like a jerk
Achievements, when done properly, can greatly expand a game's replay value. i will often find myself bored by long load times, so i'll browse through the achivements i haven't, uh, achieved, and think "oh yeah, that was a really fun game!"
I do care about achievements, they are fun to get, and they make me do something interesting, like getting callsigns in MW2 or trophies overall rather than the same tired thing. Sure it's pre-planned, but I can come with stuff just as easily and chuckle to myself alone with nothing to show for piling bodies and setting them all on fire in Bioshock.
I, like many others, use them simply to highlight areas of a game which I may have missed. For example, I may play a RPG a certain way, and if there is an achievement/trophy/badge for playing a different way, I may give that style a chance to see if it's fun...most times it is 
I'll play a game whether it has achievements/badges/rewards or not. If the game has those things, it's an added bonus. I like it when they do because then it feels like your effort is noticed/worth something, but it's fun to play a game just for the sake of it.
Well most of them come at points where you have already completed something mandatory in game, so I guess it's added incentive.
The Orange Box on 360 is sort of redundant, but it does make people who find achivement score important to grind throughout the entire Half-Life series to get a Gamerscore around 600G which is an average from any game you play through fully.
It's incentive. You want it, you get it and be happy for it. You don't want it, then you are probably more serene than most people who get angry if they mess up getting the achivement they're working for.
Long story short, I don't mind. It's nice sometimes.
The Orange Box on 360 is sort of redundant, but it does make people who find achivement score important to grind throughout the entire Half-Life series to get a Gamerscore around 600G which is an average from any game you play through fully.
It's incentive. You want it, you get it and be happy for it. You don't want it, then you are probably more serene than most people who get angry if they mess up getting the achivement they're working for.
Long story short, I don't mind. It's nice sometimes.
I enjoy achievements, but only when they add something to the game or are ridiculous (see: fun). For instance, getting "My Brother is an Italian Plumber" in Borderlands is fantastic just because it's hilarious watching your friends trying to jump on a skag to death.
As a member of Kongregate, I have to say achievements are great, but they're not things I'll hound after for hours because they have some big point number. I voted yes, but if an achievement is too difficult for casual play, or slightly-harder-than-casual, I won't bother.
I somewhat dislike pointless grinding to get ridiculously difficult achievements, so I treat them as a mild reward for what I would do anyways. I don't go out of the way to get them.
I found the tasks you are required to perform for getting Ultima Weapons in FFX and Kingdom Hearts irritating though, even though they had a very tangible benefit. Achievements do nothing though, apart from being interesting, and potentially a source of pride.
Replay value isn't achieved through offering minor, pointless incentives. Replay value is achieved through having a varied, complex storyline which you can alter each play-through. Either that or just having the game be ridiculously fun. Best yet: both.
(Doesn't mean I don't like getting achievements though.)
I found the tasks you are required to perform for getting Ultima Weapons in FFX and Kingdom Hearts irritating though, even though they had a very tangible benefit. Achievements do nothing though, apart from being interesting, and potentially a source of pride.
Replay value isn't achieved through offering minor, pointless incentives. Replay value is achieved through having a varied, complex storyline which you can alter each play-through. Either that or just having the game be ridiculously fun. Best yet: both.
(Doesn't mean I don't like getting achievements though.)
sure getting some achievements can be fun but i won't play differently for it
(for example DoW2 has an achievement for killing a boss with just the force commander unit)
(for example DoW2 has an achievement for killing a boss with just the force commander unit)
As long as they don't unlock content that matters, like weapons or something, they're fine.
If spending hours upon hours is required to unlock a weapon that actually improves your ability to kill other players, it really cheapens the game play and only rewards those who either cheat or have the time to spend.
But, when in Rome...
Yes I used those special servers to unlock all my weapons in TF2, then reset my stats and played normally again. Yes I have a halo because I wasn't involved in whatever that stupid thing was that Valve considered cheating. No I do not yet have any other hats in the game because I simply don't play enough, nor do I care because they don't actually affect the game play. A level playing field is all that I care about.
If spending hours upon hours is required to unlock a weapon that actually improves your ability to kill other players, it really cheapens the game play and only rewards those who either cheat or have the time to spend.
But, when in Rome...
Yes I used those special servers to unlock all my weapons in TF2, then reset my stats and played normally again. Yes I have a halo because I wasn't involved in whatever that stupid thing was that Valve considered cheating. No I do not yet have any other hats in the game because I simply don't play enough, nor do I care because they don't actually affect the game play. A level playing field is all that I care about.