Nintendo Belittles Achievements As "Mythical Rewards"
- Thread starter Tom Goldman
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Pff.. Who cares. Its not like the people who care about achievements actually play the Wii. If Nintendo's next console can compete with the other in such away that warrent and actual third game port for their console. I think they will soon find out the "Mythical Rewards" will be a huge selling point when all other things are equal.
This of course is a moot point now since the best a Wii owner can hope for is a dumbed down version of game if any.
I for one don't care a whole hell of a lot about achievements. I have rarely if even played a game solely to farm them, but if there was a choice between game on a Sony/Microsoft console and a Nintendo console I wont be buying on Nintendo since achievements are neat to get when they pop up from just playing the game.
Also they are being some what Hypocritical since the star coins and KONG letter in Mario and Donkey Kong are basically Mythical rewards for completing developer appointed tasks.
This of course is a moot point now since the best a Wii owner can hope for is a dumbed down version of game if any.
I for one don't care a whole hell of a lot about achievements. I have rarely if even played a game solely to farm them, but if there was a choice between game on a Sony/Microsoft console and a Nintendo console I wont be buying on Nintendo since achievements are neat to get when they pop up from just playing the game.
Also they are being some what Hypocritical since the star coins and KONG letter in Mario and Donkey Kong are basically Mythical rewards for completing developer appointed tasks.
Don't like achievements at all, it seems they turn games into a second job when you try to get all the points.
Can't even remember all the times people complained they haveto go back to a game to get more achievements(even if that game was really fun), suddenly a fun pass-time has turned into an extra burden.
Can't even remember all the times people complained they haveto go back to a game to get more achievements(even if that game was really fun), suddenly a fun pass-time has turned into an extra burden.
They got it right. The only thing I like about Achievements is that sometimes they're cleverly named (see Press X for Jason), but otherwise it's just dumb, and I'd rather have the option to turn them off, or not even have them (especially since they take up space on my PS3's hard drive).
For the most part I agree with Nintendo, it it's too much of a pain I rarely chase achievements in games, it all depends on how far out of my way I have to go. The point that I think they are missing is that acheivements are a way of documenting accomplishments though, and a way for one gamer to prove that they actually did something to another, rather than just making claims through word of mouth and so on. "Acheivement or it didn't happen" is a common comment in certain gaming circles for this reason, as achievements and gamer profiles are a way of checking to see who is BSing or not.
Of course this also means that bugged Achievements are very annoying. For example I was with the second guild to ever kill Illidan on my server back during "Burning Crusade", when they added the Acheivement system I didn't get credit for this because I neither won loot from the final boss, nor completed the quest chain (due to real life scheduling and using all of my playtime either raiding or farming in order to raid), thus I am incapable of proving that I accomplished this, which is annoying.
The above is pretty much the only real purpose served by the Acheivement system, and I don't see it as a bad thing even if my "on the go" gaming habits have lead to me probably boosting more people's profiles than my own at various times. Truthfully, I think the future of the gaming culture is going to be to create some kind of universal gaming database. Truthfully I've been of the opinion that all of this would matter more if Sony and Microsoft and various PC game developers/services were to put aside their rivalries to create a linked system that would benefit them all. Sort of like how DC and Marvel comics fight like cats and dogs, but still get together to do crossovers for the fans, the whole "Amalgam Universe" thing of years ago showing what can happen when rivals can put aside business for the sake of the product and the fans.
Now I WILL mention an important exception here, which I also think is an important part of the evolution of the system:
A number of games provide tangible, in-game rewards for obtaining Achievements. The original "Mass Effect" for example gives you buffs based on the achievements you earn, "Champions Online" has costume piece and clickable power/item unlocks for certain "grind" based achievements (at killing 1,000 and 5,000 members of an enemy faction) ot to mention titles. "DC Universe Online" has perhaps the best system where Acheivement hunting is connected to alternate advancement and for every 100 Acheivement points you gain an extra skill point, this makes acheivement hunting a direct part of character advancement above and beyond simply grinding for exps, and hunting for item upgrades. I really like that system to be honest.
Truthfully I think that since Acheivements can be linked into the play of games themselves, that this is what more companies should be doing... make them an integral part of the game itself by rewarding players in the game for performing difficult (or at least time consuming) feats. That kind of thing tends to motivate me more than just getting a little stamp and a couple of points added to a profile.
Of course this also means that bugged Achievements are very annoying. For example I was with the second guild to ever kill Illidan on my server back during "Burning Crusade", when they added the Acheivement system I didn't get credit for this because I neither won loot from the final boss, nor completed the quest chain (due to real life scheduling and using all of my playtime either raiding or farming in order to raid), thus I am incapable of proving that I accomplished this, which is annoying.
The above is pretty much the only real purpose served by the Acheivement system, and I don't see it as a bad thing even if my "on the go" gaming habits have lead to me probably boosting more people's profiles than my own at various times. Truthfully, I think the future of the gaming culture is going to be to create some kind of universal gaming database. Truthfully I've been of the opinion that all of this would matter more if Sony and Microsoft and various PC game developers/services were to put aside their rivalries to create a linked system that would benefit them all. Sort of like how DC and Marvel comics fight like cats and dogs, but still get together to do crossovers for the fans, the whole "Amalgam Universe" thing of years ago showing what can happen when rivals can put aside business for the sake of the product and the fans.
Now I WILL mention an important exception here, which I also think is an important part of the evolution of the system:
A number of games provide tangible, in-game rewards for obtaining Achievements. The original "Mass Effect" for example gives you buffs based on the achievements you earn, "Champions Online" has costume piece and clickable power/item unlocks for certain "grind" based achievements (at killing 1,000 and 5,000 members of an enemy faction) ot to mention titles. "DC Universe Online" has perhaps the best system where Acheivement hunting is connected to alternate advancement and for every 100 Acheivement points you gain an extra skill point, this makes acheivement hunting a direct part of character advancement above and beyond simply grinding for exps, and hunting for item upgrades. I really like that system to be honest.
Truthfully I think that since Acheivements can be linked into the play of games themselves, that this is what more companies should be doing... make them an integral part of the game itself by rewarding players in the game for performing difficult (or at least time consuming) feats. That kind of thing tends to motivate me more than just getting a little stamp and a couple of points added to a profile.
It feels like Nintendo just has go against the mainstream. There is nothing wrong with doing something other than what is mainstream, but when you are doing it just for its own sake... is just looks silly.
I was about to say something similar.Sir John the Net Knight said:
Nintendo aren't big on a lot of things. Like originality.
Gimmicky games they can easily franchise are where it's at. There's no money in achievements. Lets make another Pokemon game for people who ought to have grown out of it 10 years ago.
Exactly my thought. I rarely ever try to get all the achievments mainly because many are a pain and require some convoluted series of actions. Now, what happened to the old days where doing some difficult task in a game rewarded you with secret goodies and cheats?MikailCaboose said:
Good. All achievements do is add to the skinner box mentality that most game designers have nowadays. Seriously, achievements suck.
This coming from the king of the trophy system. Seriously, how many trophies did Super Smash Bros Melee have? That was before "achievements" were really thought up. But it was still an achievement system and it had the same sort of mindset with people. You either wanted to get them all (like me, I still don't have them all), or you didn't care about them in the slightest. I don't care as much about trophies/achievements nowadays but they're still a nice addition to a game.
Mythical rewards... Oh! Like a Triforce! Why didn't he just say Triforce?
Seriously, though, this guy needs to be called out on his BS. When people play a Mario game and try to get every last star, they know exactly what they're trying to do. They aren't surprised when it finally happens. It's all the same virtual shit.
Seriously, though, this guy needs to be called out on his BS. When people play a Mario game and try to get every last star, they know exactly what they're trying to do. They aren't surprised when it finally happens. It's all the same virtual shit.
Actually, I think achievements are more for casual gamers. Take a game like New Vegas, where you can actually look up the Achievements to see what all there is to look for. It essentially serves as a hand-holding guide to step players through the game, and then give little tiny encouragements of "Hey, buddy, you're doing a great job," before they ruffle your hair and send you to the next achievement.mad825 said:
The thing I hate about Achievements/Trophies is that you can have 100% on it and have nowhere near 100% completion in the actual game.
There's also the ridiculous ones that aren't an Achievement at all. Pressing start on Soul Calibur? Walking down a corridor in Assassin's Creed 2? Yeah....
There are some I like. Such as the 'Riding south on a White Horse' in Red Dead which I wouldn't do normally. It's the only one that comes to mind however.
There's also the ridiculous ones that aren't an Achievement at all. Pressing start on Soul Calibur? Walking down a corridor in Assassin's Creed 2? Yeah....
There are some I like. Such as the 'Riding south on a White Horse' in Red Dead which I wouldn't do normally. It's the only one that comes to mind however.
I like the unique achievements. Like the kill 5 enemies with one explosion mentioned in the OP. I do hate the grind and to a certain extent collect them all achievements. I do think that Nintendo would benefit from achievements.
Some actually do add to the game, like Mass Effect's achievements adding extra skills to your new game Shepard, or how In Soul Calibur Four Achievements can unlock new CAS items.
Achievements can be fun, but aren't always necessary. Look at Uncharted 2 for example. Kill 5 enemies in a row with 1 shot after softening them up with punches.
Who got that one naturally without tuning down the difficulty, and replaying one early level of the game until you got it?
What exactly are you achieving by jumping through such silly hoops?
I just played mario galaxy 2, and upon collecting all 120 stars and discovering that there are 120 more gives me way more incentive to play the game more than going back and trying to do random silly shit within the game.
Who got that one naturally without tuning down the difficulty, and replaying one early level of the game until you got it?
What exactly are you achieving by jumping through such silly hoops?
I just played mario galaxy 2, and upon collecting all 120 stars and discovering that there are 120 more gives me way more incentive to play the game more than going back and trying to do random silly shit within the game.