How Achievements Have Affected My Gaming
Friday, October 15, 2010 at 1:22PM How Achievements Affected My Gaming
Ever feel you've changed as a gamer since the Xbox 360 came out? I remember getting cheats out of magazines and inputting the code into my GameShark then telling my friends about it. Now that felt like an achievement. When I beat a game, I never had to show proof to my pals that I actually beat it 
because they just took my word for it as I did with them. The online achievement system has changed the way I game over the past few years in good ways and as well as some "unhealthy gaming" ways.
When I got a new game as a kid (let's say for example Donkey Kong Country for the SNES) I had a goal - a driving passion to beat that game and play it again and again. Why doesn't this generation of games make me feel the same way? Is it the length of the gameplay, the complexity of of the story line, or possibly the free roam capability? The older games have warp secrets to get to the next level or world so you didn't have to plow through all those levels. This generation of games usually just give you the same option to play whichever part you wish to ... but it just isn't the same.
Here's the difference between earning PS3 vs 360 goals. Paying for online makes you feel more worth your time to show it off because you not only paid for the game itself, you get to flaunt it over XBL. With me, I feel as if the PS3's trophy system is too layered meaning 4 different types of trophies you can get for one goal?
Wait, what?
Yay I beat a boss but since I didn't do it flawless I only get a silver trophy not a gold. Dude, Sony, I don't care weather I get a different type of trophy for beating the boss because I put in time to beat it and that's all I really want people to know. Ever hear "man I totally beat that boss in Demon's Souls last night and got gold for it." no you hear "man it felt great working my thumbs off to beat that final fight last night." When I get a new 360 game the first thing I do before starting the game is read through all the achievements so I know what to look for in the game. To be honest I have no idea where the list of Trophies are located on the PS3.
I hate to say this but I do in fact judge a game by how easy or fun the achievements are to work for. If I beat a game and only got 100 gamer points for it, I feel ripped off. Some of them out there give out way to many for multiplayer. It should be evened out. Games such as Bioshock, Darksiders, and Fable 2 were extremely satisfying playing through them working for the achievements I feel great getting for collectables and level completion. Steady drips of gamer point crack keep gamers coming back for more.
PC games are now getting in with the achievements scene. I played CS for 6+ years and Valve recently added achievements. If they tracked the kills, headshots, bomb defuses, and time played would I want that back then? I used to be a heavy WoW player for a few years and when achievements were implemented in a new expansion I thought genius! Kind of makes you wonder why Microsoft didn't trademark the name and own it, forcing everyone else to come up with their own version.
Achievements have tattooed a spot into my gaming brain. If I put time into a game I might as well have something to show for it. Thanks Microsoft!
Other 
Reader Comments (10)
Definitely have changed how I play... I especially love the clever named ones. It just adds a new dimension to the game. Agree with feeling ripped off from scrooge-like games that're so stingy =P
I feel the same way but the part where you kind of turned 360 fan girl is dumb. It's easier to look at the game trophies than achievements because the trophy list option is right above the game disk on the xmb and on the 360 you have to navigate a bit to find them.
I completely agree with you. I've been a PS3 freak for years, but two years ago I got the xbox360, basically to play the exclusive games, but keeping the PS3 as my main machine. Time has changed my point of view. Achievements were something new and added new goals to games. Then I subscribed to xboxLive and found a new community and new friends (All of them great game lovers, people who's been playing video-games for 20 years, like me). And into the community you get a status trough achievements. Sometimes it's like a competition to get them sooner than your friends, but most of the time we're helping each other to unlock them. Strengthening our friendship. Actually I don't want to play a game without achievements. Trophies are a poor copy. The last time I played a game on the PS3 ( FF XIII), I was on xboxLive into a party with my friends. Playstation 3 not only lacks achievements, it lacks a true community. In PS3 you play ALONE. In 360 you play with friends.
Nice web. I hope someday we'll play together on xboxLive.
Very good post, Lauren. Achievementes/ trophies whatever you want to call them have definitely implanted themselves deeply into the gaming community. They feed off of our competitiveness. I hate when a friend has more achievements than me, and I'll go out of my way to beat them in gamerscore or get achievements that they don't have. It's fun though, and adds a whole meta game to our regular gaming routines.
I hate to sound so negative, but I think achievements are part of the reason some games make you pay for DLC. lets take dead rising for example: rather than reward you with new items/costumes, they reward you with achievements and make you pay for the latter. it makes me very sad face when games do that =(
but I favor achievements so long as they allow me access to what the game has in store for me :D
Lauren, este será tu primer comentario en Español, pero no te preocupes este me servirá para recordar mis años pasados.
Recuerdo mi primera vez cuando jugaba con el Atari, por supuesto este era de un buen amigo ya que en esa época eran demasiado costosos y escasos acá en mi país Ecuador, pero el hecho de compartir cada tarde con mis amigos y que esta consola tenga la magia de unir a todos los amigos y compartir y disfrutar esos momentos, que por supuesto nos llevaba a comunicarnos y enraizar más esa amistad que después de 28 años siguen tan fuertes como en aquellos tiempos.
Por lo tanto creo que no debemos satanizar los juegos, creo que debemos ver el lado positivo de los mismos. Es más el desarrollo tecnológico nos hará vibrar más en cada momento.
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