Nintendo Belittles Achievements As "Mythical Rewards"

[BabyRaptor]

"You just killed that enemy with it's own ear lobe! TEN POINTS TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Sir/Ma'am, you owe me a new monitor. Mine is now covered with soda. Have a cookie.

 

[TheBoulder]

snip

I meant optional as in you don't have to pursue them.
Besides, why would you want to turn them off?

As some have mentioned, they don't like them popping up on the screen. It pulls them out of the game. I don't feel that way but I can easily see how it is true for others. Also, if there were a way to disable achievements (system wide) then it would open the doors for cheating devices for those who would buy them.

You can turn off the sound for them on the Xbox if you do a minimal amount of digging. Also, why cheat? If something isn't working the way you want it, then it's obviously something the developers put in to make a game not the most simplistic thing around.

 

[mjc0961]

BTW, people who don't want to see achievement/trophy pop-ups because it ruins their immersion, just go into the console settings and disable notifications (I can't remember exactly where it is on 360 or PS3 right now). It will turn of all pop-ups: No more knowing when your friends sign on, when you get a message, or when you get a trophy/achievement. I figure that's not a problem though that it turns all that stuff off. If an achievement pop-up ruins immersion, I have to figure so would a friend coming online pop-up.

 

[Tanfastic]

I like achievements when they have something to do with the story or sidequests. Not just a "Kill 5 civilians with a car explosion" type deal.

 

[FoolKiller]

This actually relates to motivational theory.

If a person does something because they love it (intrinsic motivation) and you add incentives (such as achievements) not only does the person start doing it for the incentives, but they tend to start not doing it without the incentives.

Personally, I won't play a game to get achievements but after I've played through a game once, I will try to get achievements because they are usually tied to things I haven't experienced in the game, either in the form of new challenges or hidden items and such.

 

[Notsomuch]

I would rather collect "mythical rewards" than achievements.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

I actually find this disappointing. I love achievements (as I talk about here [http://jadedscribe.blogspot.com/2011/01/achievements-and-gaming.html]) and I think they are important to gaming.

If Nintendo wants to keep the openendedness of their games, they only have to make the achievements "hidden" where the player doesn't know what it is unless they earn it (or make the conscious decision to find out online).

 

[omega247]

The only time I feel achievements have a purpose is when you can unlock things, a la Team Fortress 2

 

[supaflystrikes]

*looks at 20 platinum trophies*

I rather enjoy getting them. I'll admit that they feel a bit arbitrary now-a-days, but it definitely adds to the replay value. There's been several games that I feel I would not have kept playing if I wasn't so close to getting a platinum trophy for it. It's not just for bragging either, because I got 121 stars twice on SMG1 just for the fun of it.

Also, this guy would like to disagree as well:

http://www.yourgamercards.net/profile/duck360

 

[Assassin Xaero]

I do agree with them, but at times I like achievements. With some games, they give it more value with more things to go for or different ways to do certain things (like Gravity Gun only through Ravenholm). Multiplayer ones are annoying though.

Off-topic, but Gravity Gun only through Ravenholm sounds like something dreamed up by a demon on a very painful and malevolent plane on the deepest circle of hell.

I tried it and that sucked. I got to the part where you're waiting for the elevator shortly after getting the shotgun and gave up.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

I actually find this disappointing. I love achievements (as I talk about here [http://jadedscribe.blogspot.com/2011/01/achievements-and-gaming.html]) and I think they are important to gaming.

If Nintendo wants to keep the openendedness of their games, they only have to make the achievements "hidden" where the player doesn't know what it is unless they earn it (or make the conscious decision to find out online).

...at which point they are no different than 360 Achievements.

Exactly my point. I like the 360 and PS3 achievement/trophy system. A lot of games (Heavy Rain for example) keep all their trophies hidden so players don't know what they are until they get them. But, you have something to work for if that's your thing.

 

[Jaded Scribe]

*looks at 20 platinum trophies*

I rather enjoy getting them. I'll admit that they feel a bit arbitrary now-a-days, but it definitely adds to the replay value. There's been several games that I feel I would not have kept playing if I wasn't so close to getting a platinum trophy for it. It's not just for bragging either, because I got 121 stars twice on SMG1 just for the fun of it.

Also, this guy would like to disagree as well:

http://www.yourgamercards.net/profile/duck360

So really it seems that the only replay value alot of games have is in the Achievements/Trophies. This is artificial length and eventually people will tire of it.

But, they aren't a huge deal. A bad game, or one that you don't like, isn't going to get you to keep playing just to get achievements. But, it does keep a game interesting after you initially beat it. You can only play through a game so many times before it gets old. This helps keep it fresh just a little bit longer.

And, if you don't have an interest in them, they really don't take away from the gaming experience, and you don't lose anything by not doing them.

 

[TheBoulder]

snip

I meant optional as in you don't have to pursue them.
Besides, why would you want to turn them off?

As some have mentioned, they don't like them popping up on the screen. It pulls them out of the game. I don't feel that way but I can easily see how it is true for others. Also, if there were a way to disable achievements (system wide) then it would open the doors for cheating devices for those who would buy them.

You can turn off the sound for them on the Xbox if you do a minimal amount of digging. Also, why cheat? If something isn't working the way you want it, then it's obviously something the developers put in to make a game not the most simplistic thing around.

Great, you can turn the sound off but not the image or the Gamerscore. You are still participating just by playing the game.

As I pointed out earlier, there are sometimes mechanics thrown into a game that degrade a game. IMO, the wallet system in the Zelda games is stupid and so when I can, I get rid of that mechanic. Sometimes you want to cheat because you want to access a debug room or speed up a second playthrough. You could spend hundreds of hours maxing out all your Pokemon just to see what would happen or you could use an exp cheat to get there faster, just to see what would happen. There are many reasons to cheat.

The 'Achievement Unlocked' sign takes up less than a tenth of the screen, and if the games is as immersive as people say, they wouldn't notice, as I've done before. With the whole cheat thing, I just find that using them rewards no sense of accomplishment whatsoever.