Game Achievements - do you care?

[maflynn]

As the title and poll state, do you like, or care about achievements? I accidently hit the ~ key while playing Starfield and was presented with a warning that achievements would be disabled if I entered certain codes. I truly did hit the console key by accident, but it got me thinking - I don't care about achievements, Its not like those little trophies that pop up do anything

 

[Spaceboi Scaphandre]

Achievements are important. Ever since their inception during the Xbox 360 they invented a new way to play games. Achievements get people to give new modes a try, it gives people a goal to strive for when they completed the game to give it more replayability. It gives you an excuse to try new games because they got a easy set of achievements to do to add to your collection.

It's why Trophy Hunting is a big thing on the PlayStation side. I can't imagine a world where achievements ceased to be because of the additional fun they offer. Just ask major PlayStation channel MysticRyan and his big collection of Platinum Trophies.

But you can't just have achievements. If you implement achievements it needs to be a major feature, not tacked on like Apple Game Center ones are. You need a way to brag about your achievements, a profile score that goes up the more achievements you do. Just simply having achievements doesn't make them enticing. For PlayStation it's Platinum Trophies, a special trophy you get for getting all the trophies a game has to offer. For Xbox it's your gamerscore. For Steam it's a completionism marketing as well as a rare achievement marker, and the achievement showcase on your profile

 

[Mackilroy]

I don’t care either way. They’re a nice-to-have, but not a must-have for me.

 

[Huntn]

As the title and poll state, do you like, or care about achievements? I accidently hit the ~ key while playing Starfield and was presented with a warning that achievements would be disabled if I entered certain codes. I truly did hit the console key by accident, but it got me thinking - I don't care about achievements, Its not like those little trophies that pop up do anything

Those as far as I know are strictly personal goals. As I guess they could be faked, but don’t ask me how, I can’t see a game developer giving recognition for them. 🤔

 

[bousozoku]

I see a few games where they just add achievements because they're expected to have them, and the achievements are meaningless.

On the other hand, I see that I accomplished something totally weird and wonderful that I didn't expect would happen, but the developers did.

 

[Huntn]

I see a few games where they just add achievements because they're expected to have them, and the achievements are meaningless.

On the other hand, I see that I accomplished something totally weird and wonderful that I didn't expect would happen, but the developers did.

What?

 

[maflynn]

Achievements are important.

Why?

It gives you an excuse to try new games because they got a easy set of achievements to do to add to your collection.

I'm gonna be honest, I've never heard anyone wanting to buy a game, simply because the achievements are easy.

It's why Trophy Hunting is a big thing on the PlayStation side.

I'll grant you that - I have heard of people trying to get trophies but I guess the way I play games it has zero impact, or bearing.

EDIT: I just want to say I'm not anti-trophies and my game play/preference is not other people's preference. I started this thread simply because I came to the conclusion that I don't care if I "cheated" and lost out on trophies. Now I didn't cheat but the warning wasn't going an incentive to avoid the console.

 

[Huntn]

Achievements are important. Ever since their inception during the Xbox 360 they invented a new way to play games. Achievements get people to give new modes a try, it gives people a goal to strive for when they completed the game to give it more replayability. It gives you an excuse to try new games because they got a easy set of achievements to do to add to your collection.

It's why Trophy Hunting is a big thing on the PlayStation side. I can't imagine a world where achievements ceased to be because of the additional fun they offer. Just ask major PlayStation channel MysticRyan and his big collection of Platinum Trophies.

But you can't just have achievements. If you implement achievements it needs to be a major feature, not tacked on like Apple Game Center ones are. You need a way to brag about your achievements, a profile score that goes up the more achievements you do. Just simply having achievements doesn't make them enticing. For PlayStation it's Platinum Trophies, a special trophy you get for getting all the trophies a game has to offer. For Xbox it's your gamerscore. For Steam it's a completionism marketing as well as a rare achievement marker, and the achievement showcase on your profile

So you’re saying that that achievements are a means of establishing a foundation for bragging rights, if there is a way to track those. My guess is that competition play is where it’s at: $, sponsorship, or official recognition, would trump any achievement status. 🤔

 

[Chuckeee]

Brings back memories of trying to figure out how to get that last point (to reach 350 points) when playing Adventure on the computer lab’s time shared main frame.

 

[Chipper121]

the most important thing is to enjoy the process

 

[dmr727]

I'm a solitary gamer - nobody else sees anything about how I play or what I do. But the achievements aren't worthless to me either, as they give me ideas about what can be accomplished in a game that I might not have thought of before. For example Skyrim has an achievement for escaping from jail. I tend to only roll 'good' characters, but this achievement prodded me to try a little wrong and see how the whole criminal/jail mechanic in the game worked.

 

[maflynn]

I'm a solitary gamer - nobody else sees anything about how I play or what I do. But the achievements aren't worthless to me either, as they give me ideas about what can be accomplished in a game that I might not have thought of before.

I too am a solitary player, and in all honesty, that's an interesting perspective in the use of trophies.

the most important thing is to enjoy the process

That's the bottom line and I'm not trying to rain on someone's parade. It all boils down to whether you enjoy that aspect.

 

[salamanderjuice]

Achievements are important. Ever since their inception during the Xbox 360 they invented a new way to play games. Achievements get people to give new modes a try, it gives people a goal to strive for when they completed the game to give it more replayability. It gives you an excuse to try new games because they got a easy set of achievements to do to add to your collection.

It's why Trophy Hunting is a big thing on the PlayStation side. I can't imagine a world where achievements ceased to be because of the additional fun they offer. Just ask major PlayStation channel MysticRyan and his big collection of Platinum Trophies.

But you can't just have achievements. If you implement achievements it needs to be a major feature, not tacked on like Apple Game Center ones are. You need a way to brag about your achievements, a profile score that goes up the more achievements you do. Just simply having achievements doesn't make them enticing. For PlayStation it's Platinum Trophies, a special trophy you get for getting all the trophies a game has to offer. For Xbox it's your gamerscore. For Steam it's a completionism marketing as well as a rare achievement marker, and the achievement showcase on your profile

This reminded me of the time Sony stupidly added trophies to PS2 games on PS4 to please the "No Platinum, No Buy" crowd and so doubled the price of PS2 classics on PS4 vs. PS3 with no cross buy. And we saw a fraction of titles released too.

I don't care about achievements/trophies.

 

[MRMSFC]

Maybe this is an extremely cynical take, but I think achievements are just pointless in single player games, and manipulative in multiplayer games.

In the era before the social aspect of games was emphasized you were rewarded with unlockables for completing certain tasks, instead of a pop up and badge on your profile.

In the modern era of dlc, cosmetic shops, etc, there’s no point to free unlockables when a company can charge for them.

In the case of single player games this renders the extra effort pointless unless you’re showing off a badge to your online friends.
In the case of multiplayer games it just baits you into grinding more, trying to lure you into various cash shops.

On top of all that, I swear most achievements are pointless stuff like “complete chapter 1”. It just feels like a checklist rather than a challenge.

 

[Huntn]

I'm a solitary gamer - nobody else sees anything about how I play or what I do. But the achievements aren't worthless to me either, as they give me ideas about what can be accomplished in a game that I might not have thought of before. For example Skyrim has an achievement for escaping from jail. I tend to only roll 'good' characters, but this achievement prodded me to try a little wrong and see how the whole criminal/jail mechanic in the game worked.

How do you manage to escape from jail?

Both solitary and multiplayer can be good for me. It depends. i have enjoyed coop on private servers, and PVP in some formats, but for RPGs, it’s very unlikely I’ll ever jump into a mmo again. I don’t like theme parks. I want my world to be untarnished by tourists.

 

[dmr727]

How do you manage to escape from jail?

It's not very exciting - you'll have one lockpick if you find yourself in jail, so you need to be able to pick the lock in one try. Then avoid being detected by guards as you grab your stuff and leave. I suppose another choice is to kill the guards, but I've never played that sort of character.