[PATV] Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 2, Ep. 4: Achievements

Dog

[PATV] Tuesday, August 30, 2011 - Extra Credits Season 2, Ep. 4: Achievements

This week, by special request, we finally get around to talking about achievements.

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brunoais

I liked those achivements during the episode. I just LOLed every time one came.

betrayerkol

Deus Ex HD remake... oh man, you horrible people. I never realized how much I wanted that before.

NearSighted240891

I always thought the point of "unavoidable" achievements was to make it so that you can't earn them if you turn on cheats. So, for instance, if someone has all of Portal's unavoidable achievements except for "Partygoer," then it's most likely he or she had to turn on noclip to beat Test Chamber 19, and so everyone will know and it will be an incentive to not cheat...

lordhoban

The way achievements are handled has gotten ridiculous and granted, this is mostly due to the mean nothing achievements that game developers insult their players with.. console games and steam appear to be really bad at this... for me, I just want to play the game. I really don't care about some stupid little 'achievement' which does nothing for gameplay. Now, if unlocking an achievement gave you a +1 to a skill or some kind of in game benefit, sure. Otherwise, just keep them out of my games. The game itself and playing it should be reward enough, if the game is built correctly.

Mogg

Achievements are annoying when they pop up in a game that drips with immersion.
Honestly, they aren't needed. If you want a challenge, make one for yourself. If there are secrets, its easier to say "you have multiple of ways to complete Y situation" and a game should be built to have those options doable and not impossible or too vague to ever consider. There are no achievements in the Thief series... you can be a murderous bastard, a pacifist or a blend of the two. Want a hard game - try not killing anyone or limit yourself further and see how few guards/people you must knock unconscious to finish a level.
Are people that unimaginative that they can't challenge themselves with game they love?

littlefaith

I am surprised that no one made a comment here saying that they enjoy achievements. I am going to again point out that the viewpoints expressed in this episode are extremely biased towards the young male competitive/maturity level/harcore mentality. Who loves achievements? The social gamer that wants their friends to know not only what they are playing, but how far they have gotten. I know you gave a cursory nod to this, but it is an important part of my enjoyment of social gaming communities. Achievements that simply mark your position in the game are a great way to do this. Not every player is out there trying to test the boundaries of your gaming universe created by your ruleset... I'm not going to play an extra hour on pacifist mode, unless I enjoy it, no matter how many "achievements" you give me. I am a mom that plays with my young children, and I have to say that little kids LOVE achievements that are easy to get. It is also a good tool as a sort of tutorial, because it can guide you to learn the game starting from easier to harder challenges, but always giving you a reachable goal. To me, the more achievements you throw in there, the more ways you recognize the players for just enjoying your game. Challenges, side quests, alternative ways to stretch the game are all fine, and so is the hey, you just finished this first task! There's nothing wrong with them (except for the commenter that said it can take away from immersion... I get that.) Throw them all in there. It costs practically nothing to do, and it adds to someone's enjoyment of the game.

And yes, there are a lot of people who simply lack imagination and want tasks or goals to accomplish. This is a good way to provide those goals, write them for the people who are very goal-oriented. I remember enjoying the Sims as a virtual dollhouse, but it was more fun for me to have certain goals to accomplish for my sims rather than coming up with all my own stories and scenarios. That's why people read books or watch movies, or we'd all be writing books and filming movies. We are not all creative types and we enjoy content that other people make for us. Another person with a different personality will prefer to play in their way and maybe even resent tasks set out for them when they would rather do their own thing. I don't feel that my way of playing or my way of enjoyment should be considered less important. I see this with my children all the time when they play minecraft. They love doing random things, trying things out, exploring, being crazy and creative. Me, I have no ambition in the game. Stacking blocks and exploring the possibilities of virtual blocks just has no meaning for me. The only enjoyment I really have in that game is helping my children accomplish their ideas. So having the tree of goals that you can unlock, such as building a bed for the first time, learning how to make shears, etc., that helps me to have some purpose in the game and guides me on a journey of learning easier to harder tasks.