Hmmm, well truthfully I don't really see the big thing about badges for a website. I only "get" the achievements/trophies thing because it can be fun once in a while to see how much you've done with a given game compared to someone else, but I don't see the same kind of appeal in escapist badges.
As it is, I'm also gradually becoming less enamoured with the idea of gamerscore and such as time goes on, not that I was ever really that into it. Largely because there have at least been hints of "better" systems than what we're using now.
Whether it will ever materialize or not for example, I remember hearing when Blizzard first introduced Achievements for WoW that there was going to be a "Blizzscore" which was going to affect content availible for later games. The idea being similar to what they are doing with "Dragon Age: Origins" and "Mass Effect" I guess but rather than handing you an item for buying one game, you would get access to content of a similar sort you could DL from their site based on achievements and/or score from their other games. Oddly this was being said BEFORE Bioware did their thing.
Whether it materializes or not remains to be seen, but I find it an interesting idea, and a way of both developing company loyalty, and discouraging piracy without resorting to idiocy like DRM. Going by the rumor and what Bioware is already doing, I figure it's going to materialize, and honestly if such scores ever wind up meaning something, that will make them considerably more cool (well in the nerdy context of gaming).
It WOULD be interesting if they could find some way of having a "system" (Ie XBL, or PSN) based score mean something, but I just can't see how that would work. Besides most of the console companies are too greedy to ever comission content people would actually want to give away to dedicated players who keep supporting their system to build up points.
Still, given how seriously some people take meaningless scores and badges and stuff, I won't be terribly surprised if on gold-sales/power leveling sites you soon see offers from people willing to watch escapist videos and such for you to earn badges. ;P
As it is, I'm also gradually becoming less enamoured with the idea of gamerscore and such as time goes on, not that I was ever really that into it. Largely because there have at least been hints of "better" systems than what we're using now.
Whether it will ever materialize or not for example, I remember hearing when Blizzard first introduced Achievements for WoW that there was going to be a "Blizzscore" which was going to affect content availible for later games. The idea being similar to what they are doing with "Dragon Age: Origins" and "Mass Effect" I guess but rather than handing you an item for buying one game, you would get access to content of a similar sort you could DL from their site based on achievements and/or score from their other games. Oddly this was being said BEFORE Bioware did their thing.
Whether it materializes or not remains to be seen, but I find it an interesting idea, and a way of both developing company loyalty, and discouraging piracy without resorting to idiocy like DRM. Going by the rumor and what Bioware is already doing, I figure it's going to materialize, and honestly if such scores ever wind up meaning something, that will make them considerably more cool (well in the nerdy context of gaming).
It WOULD be interesting if they could find some way of having a "system" (Ie XBL, or PSN) based score mean something, but I just can't see how that would work. Besides most of the console companies are too greedy to ever comission content people would actually want to give away to dedicated players who keep supporting their system to build up points.
Still, given how seriously some people take meaningless scores and badges and stuff, I won't be terribly surprised if on gold-sales/power leveling sites you soon see offers from people willing to watch escapist videos and such for you to earn badges. ;P
