Poll: Achievements and Trophies. Do you even care?

[natster43]

I like them when they are games that actually reward getting them or actual take effort.
I like it in Dead Rising, you get stuff for a lot of the achievements, and in Battlefield Bad Company i2, killing someone by putting a drill in there head.
I don't really like it when it is just "You beat a level!" unless it is done as a joke like in Eat Lead the Return of Matt Hazard (Pausing the game for one, also you get like three different achievements AFTER you beat the boss, one for a reveal, one for watching the credits, and one for mastering the nonexistent multiplayer)

 

[Thatguyky]

This is a good thread idea. I used to care about my Gamerscore a lot. Like I was constantly trying to get as close to 100% as possible with most my games. About two-ish months ago I've come to stop caring (to busy really, and once I hit 56k I realized playing just for achievements gets boring). Honestly, ever since I stopped caring and constantly seek them, my gaming experience has been a bit more fun. Plus, when ever an achievement does pop it feels better because it's more of a surprise!

I still enjoy them though. Wouldn't want them removed or anything.

 

[Cerity]

I have never totally been a fan of FPS on my own. Usually I would play them with a team of friend. I found it hard to even get online and play with random people. Then came achievements, and suddenly FPS became a whole other entity. However in rpg's which I already find very fulfilling with or without friends the achievement game has become tedious and certain stupid. People base your online worth on that score when it certainly is not the truth. I have put WoW away because of all the scores you now need to meet. Once upon a time I was one of the top healers in an amazing guild, and thanks to achievements I have all but quit the raiding game and moved onto games where people know achievement points don't determine your talent as a player. Any idiot can run something 100 times and still not have the finesse required to beat it. In the same turn a passive light gamer may have the knowledge to beat the most sophisticated game mechanic. So, Hmmm, to achieve or not achieve is still a question I pose to myself.

 

[The Pinray]

I'm indifferent unless it's a game I really enjoy. Then I can have a blast trying to get them all.

Other than that, it's whatever.

 

[Finebrew]

Usually if I get one great whatever. But sometimes I find some that just look like they would entertain me so I go the extra mile to get it. I really don't stress out if I cannot get certain ones.

 

[Lunar Templar]

let me answer your question by asking this one.

"dose it unlock anything useful?"

if you answered "no, its just for gamer score" then i've no time for them, like at all.
if you answered "yes, you get ______" then I'm all about it, and will bend over backwards for them.

 

[Nuuu]

I don't know how to answer. On the Xbox (which i hate) i like achievments but really dont feel like bothering to get them. Im a bit more obliged to get some on Steam, although wont go out of my way to get the extremely difficult ones or one that requires me to do a second playthrough. Although in WoW i want to get every achievment there is... I think it might be because in WoW they aren't that hard or annoying to get, and the ones that are can usually be done in a group.

 

[BathorysGraveland]

Completely indifferent. Steam for example, if I get some silly achievement, cool I guess. If not, that's cool too. I ain't going out of my way to complete them though.

 

[Grygor]

I only care if they provide tangible benefits, like the achievements in Mass Effect or Fallout: NV.

Can you detail what these particular benefits were? Was is specific to that particular game or was it a certain type of achievement? Thanks!

I can't remember the exact details, but it went something like, kill 600 enemies with X weapon, recieve permanent +5% damage with X weapon.
Ah, I just found a Mass Effect wikia:
http://masseffect.wikia.com/wiki/Achievements

Since Achievements are permanent and not repeatable, how would that work on subsequent playthoughs.

The bonuses are account-wide (or install-wide on PC) - so any bonuses earned through achievements apply to all your characters.

 

[skywolfblue]

I love achievements. They're not "forced", they're optional things to reward people who want to play the game in different ways.

Achievements like:
"One Free Bullet" from HL2: Ep1: Can use only one bullet, for the whole game you have to use the gravity gun and clever use of traps and physics to kill enemies.

The Garden Gnome from HL2: Ep2 and Left4Dead2: Having to carry and babysit the gnome throughout the level/game provides an interesting challenge.

"To all the squirrels I've loved before" from World of Warcraft: Going around and /loving critters is hilarious and allows for some fun exploring.

"Yippie-Ki-Yay..." from Starcraft 2: Using the big friggin laser drill to steamroll the protoss base instead of burning through the vault door.

 

[Project_Xii]

I used to take notice of achievements on Steam, but they were never that important. It was only when I got a PS3 and my first few platinums that I started to get addicted. I'm now onto my 24th platinum, and pretty proud of my gaming achievements (i mean trophies).

BUT! I still don't count myself as a hardcore trophy hunter. As in, a game not having trophies won't stop me playing it, and if a game has impossible trophies it won't matter either.

When I first get a game, I look at the trophies, judge their difficulty vs. how much time it'd take to get them, factor in whether I actually enjoy playing the game itself, and then decide if I'm going to go for it. Anything with multiplayer trophies is usually a no-go, but I may attempt to get all the single player ones anyway, even knowing I'm not going to get a platinum. If there's one or two impossible trophies, I simply get all the ones I can, but it again doesn't put me off. The way I see it, they're a fun bonus and test of skill, but they're not the end all of my gaming experience. It's just a nice way to challenge myself and also lord my skills over other peoples hehe.

The best achievements for me are ones that require you to use your skills in exceptional ways, since aquiring them offers the best feeling of satisfaction. "You started the game!" achievements are among the lamest, and online ones are just stupid and should never count towards 100%, since practically every game is MP barren a few months after release if it's not in the top 3 series (CoD, Battlefield, Gears).

That said... even though I'll still play it, if a game doesn't have any trophies at all, it'll usually get pushed to the bottom of my "to do" list in favour of ones that do :/ I've got a loooottt of great games on the Wii that I've just never got around too, and I'll admit it's not just the consoles crappy controllers or graphics that keep me from doing so...

 

[Seriphina]

I wonder if it's a girl thing. most boys i know dont care for achs and trophies but they spur me on!

 

[Nigh Invulnerable]

Devs need to stop giving out achievements for simply playing scripted parts of games, which has been said. All it does is bring some distracting little alert on screen with no real effort required. Yes, developer, I am still breathing, thanks for checking, I suppose.

Give me achievements for speed runs, using limited inventory, unorthodox techniques, etc. Default achievements are insulting and meaningless.

 

[mental_looney]

I like them, they bring extra challenge and things to do in the game I may have never thought of otherwise and if you have a group of friends all with the same games it adds another element to competition rather than who has finished it first and proof to back that up.

 

[Starik20X6]

Not fussed. Won't go out of my way to get a trophy, but it's a nice little bonus when I get one.

 

[The_Deleted]

I think they're a nice little reward rather than an incentive. I never check before a games released what the trophies might be and only look at what I've missed when the games complete.
That trophy tinkle is addictive, though.

 

[K84]

I like them when:

- one is received when doing something funny/awesome, like the Irony throphy in Bioshock 1
- you beat the game (chapter throphies are somewhat okay)
- you have to put effort into them but it's challenging in a good way.

Not:

- Get all 4987123566329 feathers/coins/monsters/whatevers, frak you AC2
- Multiplayer throphies, seriously, when you're in asshole'ville you can't be bothered with those, staying alive is my priority....
- Insane difficulty mode trophies, i play on medium, hard if i like the game, this is'nt Starbucks, after Hard comes...NOTHING!!!

Nothing i hate more when seeing other friend's list and seeing they collected all 100 feathers, or other senseless things like that, that make you wonder if they play for fun or suffering from some OCD.

 

[arnoldthebird]

When they are implemented in a smart way, or add another layer of depth and challenge to a game then yes, bring it on. I was proud when I got 'The Pacifist' trophy for Deus Ex: HR

But if they are cookie cutter and stupid collectibles with no reward then I feel no obligation to collect them

 

[Ilikemilkshake]

I don't care at all about my PC gaming achievements but for some reason i care about my ps3 ones. (even though i'm more of a pc gamer)
I think it's just the fact that i have quite alot and more of my friends are on ps3 so i can get into a semi competition with them... It's also nice to see the number go up every time i play a new game, it's like my life is a very shitty RPG.

Saying that though i wouldn't freak out if they all just disappeared or something.

Also sometimes it gives a reason to play a game differently. For example in Deus Ex: HR i was planning on doing a stealth no kill run. There were some parts that were very difficult to do without killing anybody though and without there being a trophy for no kills i might have just said "ah fuck it i'll just kill this one guy"