Poubelle wrote:
Kachi, I don't think you get to decide what the point of playing video games is, as that would differ from person to person. You don't get to decide their importance, how they "should" be played, etc.
then again I couldn't really take you seriously after you downplayed being a pro quarterback as no big deal/no real accomplishment. I guess you think athletics are pointless or something. I get the sense that you're out of touch with reality.
and I get the sense that you have a very inflated opinion of yourself too.
stop overthinking the situation. some people find achievments/trophies, 100%ing the game, having little badges on their account to share what games they like/have played... some people like that stuff. and games are for fun after all.
From you? Priceless.
Newsflash: I'm not the least little bit interested in being taken seriously by you. You mean nothing to me, other than an occasional hardy laugh at your expense. Reflect upon the fact that NO ONE here takes
you seriously. Then go somewhere and die quietly.
Torrence wrote:
We probably just aren't on the same page as far as what constitutes an achievement. When I think of achievements, I think of "The Perfect Akylios" - which is defeating the entire four stage, nearly thirty minute encounter without any of your 20 raid members dying. It's @#%^ing hard, because there's loads of stuff to die to and it was once the hardest encounter in Rift. Not only does that achievement show that you have reached the highest level of content in question, but you and your team have mastered the mechanics as well. There's nothing wrong with being proud of having that level of coordination, teamwork, communication, and skill. Achievements allow you to remember things you have done in a neat and easy format, and it also allows others to see what your gaming level\interest is. I'd tend to agree that an achievement for reading up to page 168 is hardly worthy of notice, but knowing that someone has reached floor 100 of Nyzul, for example, wouldn't necessarily be a trivial accomplishment to report.
I just don't see why you have such disdain for achievements. It doesn't make sense to me.
I don't have an inherent disdain for achievements, but I think they are an example of really lazy design at best. As I said, there are some exceptions to the rule-- "The Perfect Akylios" perhaps being one of them. Perhaps. It could also be an example of an accomplishment that seems to require great skill but also requires incredible luck, and therefor a great deal of repetition. That rather seems to lessen the accomplishment to me. If most achievements were indications of coordination, teamwork, communication and skill, then I would think much more highly of them, but still: Meh. And the primary reason is that they are a poor substitute for a real reward.
Good games reward players--it's one of the main things they do. Those rewards exist within the game for a reason--because it enhances the game. If your character gets a trophy that they can walk around and whack things with, that's cool! Even if they can just put it in their house, fine. Achievements are non-rewards. No one really cares that you got them, and you can't do anything with them. They're a consolation prize for lazy design. Now, I find no fault with giving someone an achievement that goes along with an actual award. I think that's probably even an ideal approach. It's just almost never the case.
My complaint isn't with achievements in theory, but achievements in practice. Bearing in mind that game design is a passion of mine (obsession is perhaps a better word), I'm inclined to be rather nitpicky about doing it well. It doesn't mean that they're evil, just that they're an example of bad design. When you get me on a rant, it's in the same way a car fanatic might tear into you if you suggest that the Chevy Cobalt is a good car (is it? I'm not a car fanatic).
I want games to be meaningful experiences. That means meaningful rewards for meaningful play. Achievements struggle to accomplish that in theory, and they miss the mark by miles in practice.