Do achievements ruin the fun in a game.

When i first got my 360 i thought achievements were great, i mean its just so satisfying to see: "achievement unlocked" come up on your screen. But some people just take it too far. I know several people that simply play games just so that they can brag about how much gamerscore they have. I mean sure you have 40k gamerscore, thats impressive, but did you really enjoy renting "avatar: The Burning Earth" just so you could scoop up that quick 1000 gamerscore? Now dont get me wrong, i can be a bit of an achievement hussy at times, but im starting to realize that a game is so much more fun if you can just play it without thinking about that one achievement you could have gotten for only shooting one bullet and using nothing but the Grav gun for the entire game(Yes, that was a HL2: Episode 1 reference) instead of just playing the game for what it is.

This is why I sometimes envy PC gamers, they dont have the opportunity for achievements therefore they just play the game for the fun of it.

Now dont mistake me for a Sony fanboy because i am by no means one of them, i just wanted to ask all the achievment hunters out there if playing games for the achievements, instead of actually enjoying the game is fun.

Thanks

It would've been awesome of Microsoft made achievements the exact same as Microsoft points, so you can buy content on the marketplace depending on how much dedication you put into the games you play.

It'd definiately be a lot better than a little, pointless number.

I'm pretty sure some PC games have achievements.

But yeh, i dont like achievements/tropheys/whatever.

It would've been awesome of Microsoft made achievements the exact same as Microsoft points, so you can buy content on the marketplace depending on how much dedication you put into the games you play.

It'd definiately be a lot better than a little, pointless number.

-Jiggles-

Yeah it would be cool, but microsoft would never allow it because they wouldnt "profit" from it. I cant blame them either.

They ruin the fun in online multiplayer when people only care about achievements and not actually playing the games.

Single player achievements are great, they can increase replay value. I despise multiplayer achievements, 360 or PC.foxhound_fox

HAHA just like the stupid kids in halo 3 try to all line up purposely in order to get the double kill with splaser

It would've been awesome of Microsoft made achievements the exact same as Microsoft points, so you can buy content on the marketplace depending on how much dedication you put into the games you play.

It'd definiately be a lot better than a little, pointless number.

-Jiggles-

When I first got my 360 I assumed that that's exactly what achievement points were for. I thought they would act as currency that you could use on the Xbox Live Marketplace. But when I discovered that they had no inherent value, my interest in them suddenly diminished.

Recently though, I have rediscovered them and I now actually enjoy getting them. What's great about achievements is that they can extend the life of a game significantly. I recently decided to play through Half-Life 2 again, and this time I acually tried to get the achievements. Sometimes this made the game worse because I was wasting a lot of time exploring more than usual in an attempt to find the Lombada pack things. But other times it made the game more interesting...like in Ravenholm, you get an achievement for using only the gravity gun. That makes that whole section quite a bit more challenging and adds replay value.

There are achievements that just waste your time, but then others extend the life of the game.

There was never anything stopping players from trying different things in a game or trying to play a certain way. The difference with acheivements is that it can be quantified and recorded for convenience.

Like said

In single I like it, it add some replay value and sometimes (like in the orange box) make you do crazy and wierd challenges that you would not pull originaly.

I hate multiplayer ones though. People all switch to that class (like in tf2) or all try the same thing and in turn don't complete the objective/defend/or kill enemies but instead try to get it.

Like said

In single I like it, it add some replay value and sometimes (like in the orange box) make you do crazy and wierd challenges that you would not pull originaly.

I hate multiplayer ones though. People all switch to that class (like in tf2) or all try the same thing and in turn don't complete the objective/defend/or kill enemies but instead try to get it.

soiheardyoulike

Yeah, thats why tf2 is only fun playing with people that either already have all the achievements or just dont give a damn about them.

[QUOTE="soiheardyoulike"]

Like said

In single I like it, it add some replay value and sometimes (like in the orange box) make you do crazy and wierd challenges that you would not pull originaly.

I hate multiplayer ones though. People all switch to that class (like in tf2) or all try the same thing and in turn don't complete the objective/defend/or kill enemies but instead try to get it.

skatatay

Yeah, thats why tf2 is only fun playing with people that either already have all the achievements or just dont give a damn about them.

Agreed, when the medic ones came out I was the only non medic on my team. Nothing got done and instead everyone on both teams(all medics) just healed each other and hoped to get an achievment.

I don't really focus on achievements. I usually find getting achievements fun after I beat a single player game (ie, Ninja Gaiden 2.) Right now, I just buy games, beat them, then move on to the next.sargentbotk

Same here, i did the same thing with COD4 but thats just because i like the game.

I love achievements. IMO they give me something extra to do after the games finished. I would've never went through Portal's advance maps if it weren't for achievements because I really don't see the point. I wouldn't have went through CoD2 again on verteran if it weren't for achievements (I probably would not...it taught me that playing games on veteran is much funner due to the challenge).Many things I wouldn't have tried to do in HL2 if it weren't for the achievements (Making a hoop in the junkyard,finding that suit thing). They give me reason to continue playing Crackdown (which has some of the best achievements...if not the best.) They add replay value.

P.S.-I don't know if this has anything to do with achievements...but it's annoying when your on the losing team in TF2 on 2 Fort and you have about 4 snipers and only 1 is good. The rest just get picked off by the other teams 2 snipers. Instead of sniping they need to be defending the intel or something...I don't know if they're sniping just for achievements or trying to get better. This is when I dislike achievements.

I love achievements. IMO they give me something extra to do after the games finished. I would've never went through Portal's advance maps if it weren't for achievements because I really don't see the point. I wouldn't have went through CoD2 again on verteran if it weren't for achievements (I probably would not...it taught me that playing games on veteran is much funner due to the challenge).Many things I wouldn't have tried to do in HL2 if it weren't for the achievements (Making a hoop in the junkyard,finding that suit thing). They give me reason to continue playing Crackdown (which has some of the best achievements...if not the best.) They add replay value.

P.S.-I don't know if this has anything to do with achievements...but it's annoying when your on the losing team in TF2 on 2 Fort and you have about 4 snipers and only 1 is good. The rest just get picked off by the other teams 2 snipers. Instead of sniping they need to be defending the intel or something...I don't know if they're sniping just for achievements or trying to get better. This is when I dislike achievements.

killab2oo5

Well i cant disagree that they add replay value to a game that you already enjoy, but what really gets me is the purchase of pointless titles to get a quick 1000 gamerscore.

Depends on the person. If you love them, fine.

Frankly, I've played some games much longer than normal had it not been for achievements. And I enjoyed the games for longer because of it.

[QUOTE="killab2oo5"]

I love achievements. IMO they give me something extra to do after the games finished. I would've never went through Portal's advance maps if it weren't for achievements because I really don't see the point. I wouldn't have went through CoD2 again on verteran if it weren't for achievements (I probably would not...it taught me that playing games on veteran is much funner due to the challenge).Many things I wouldn't have tried to do in HL2 if it weren't for the achievements (Making a hoop in the junkyard,finding that suit thing). They give me reason to continue playing Crackdown (which has some of the best achievements...if not the best.) They add replay value.

P.S.-I don't know if this has anything to do with achievements...but it's annoying when your on the losing team in TF2 on 2 Fort and you have about 4 snipers and only 1 is good. The rest just get picked off by the other teams 2 snipers. Instead of sniping they need to be defending the intel or something...I don't know if they're sniping just for achievements or trying to get better. This is when I dislike achievements.

skatatay

Well i cant disagree that they add replay value to a game that you already enjoy, but what really gets me is the purchase of pointless titles to get a quick 1000 gamerscore.

[QUOTE="skatatay"][QUOTE="killab2oo5"]

I love achievements. IMO they give me something extra to do after the games finished. I would've never went through Portal's advance maps if it weren't for achievements because I really don't see the point. I wouldn't have went through CoD2 again on verteran if it weren't for achievements (I probably would not...it taught me that playing games on veteran is much funner due to the challenge).Many things I wouldn't have tried to do in HL2 if it weren't for the achievements (Making a hoop in the junkyard,finding that suit thing). They give me reason to continue playing Crackdown (which has some of the best achievements...if not the best.) They add replay value.

P.S.-I don't know if this has anything to do with achievements...but it's annoying when your on the losing team in TF2 on 2 Fort and you have about 4 snipers and only 1 is good. The rest just get picked off by the other teams 2 snipers. Instead of sniping they need to be defending the intel or something...I don't know if they're sniping just for achievements or trying to get better. This is when I dislike achievements.

killab2oo5

Well i cant disagree that they add replay value to a game that you already enjoy, but what really gets me is the purchase of pointless titles to get a quick 1000 gamerscore.

Fight Night is a fun and decently challenging game though, i wouldnt consider that a game that people use purely as a source of achievements.

Achievements are fun as long as you don't overdo it. It's cool to read the achievements and go out of your way to do some sidequests and stuff that will increase your gamerscore. It's not cool to beat Ninja Gaiden 2 like 9 times because each time you beat it "only using 1 weapon", you get 5 extra gamerscore. It's also not cool to not play a great game because the achievements don't look like something that you will be able to "1000/1000". Once I was over at achieve360points.com and in their GTA4 forum there were people who are not going to play the game because it looks to hard to get all of the achievements. If you're not going to play the game because you don't think it looks good, then that's fine, but not playing something JUST because "the achievements look difficult" is really... just strange...

They in no way ruin the fun. I can't think of a single game where all the fun was in collecting achievements. You can always totally ignore the achievement and just play the game.

Once I was over at achieve360points.com and in their GTA4 forum there were people who are not going to play the game because it looks to hard to get all of the achievements. If you're not going to play the game because you don't think it looks good, then that's fine, but not playing something JUST because "the achievements look difficult" is really... just strange...

death919

Those people aren't real gamers to begin with. Any gamer that doesn't want to play good games has major issues.

Achievements are fun as long as you don't overdo it. It's cool to read the achievements and go out of your way to do some sidequests and stuff that will increase your gamerscore. It's not cool to beat Ninja Gaiden 2 like 9 times because each time you beat it "only using 1 weapon", you get 5 extra gamerscore. It's also not cool to not play a great game because the achievements don't look like something that you will be able to "1000/1000". Once I was over at achieve360points.com and in their GTA4 forum there were people who are not going to play the game because it looks to hard to get all of the achievements. If you're not going to play the game because you don't think it looks good, then that's fine, but not playing something JUST because "the achievements look difficult" is really... just strange...

death919

Wow thats exactly what im talking about, in some cases achievements can ruin gaming for people. Like you said, those people wouldnt even pick up the game because it didnt offer quick and easy achievements.

Achievements got me 100+ hours out of Lost Odyssey, however.... now, even though I beat a game, I don't consider it finished until I have all the Achievements.... and that bugs me sometimes. So while I love Achievements, I also hate them.... I'm sure I'm not the only one.

And when there are Multiplayer Achievements for games that no one plays anymore or just a multiplayer game that lags in 99% of the games you join, that really bugs me.

However Achievements are a nice way to be like.... "Yeah, I did it, don't believe me..... check it out"

When i first got my 360 i thought achievements were great, i mean its just so satisfying to see: "achievement unlocked" come up on your screen. But some people just take it too far. I know several people that simply play games just so that they can brag about how much gamerscore they have. I mean sure you have 40k gamerscore, thats impressive, but did you really enjoy renting "avatar: The Burning Earth" just so you could scoop up that quick 1000 gamerscore? Now dont get me wrong, i can be a bit of an achievement hussy at times, but im starting to realize that a game is so much more fun if you can just play it without thinking about that one achievement you could have gotten for only shooting one bullet and using nothing but the Grav gun for the entire game(Yes, that was a HL2: Episode 1 reference) instead of just playing the game for what it is.

This is why I sometimes envy PC gamers, they dont have the opportunity for achievements therefore they just play the game for the fun of it.

Now dont mistake me for a Sony fanboy because i am by no means one of them, i just wanted to ask all the achievment hunters out there if playing games for the achievements, instead of actually enjoying the game is fun.

Thanks

skatatay

I never understood the point in the achievements/trophies. Scores haven't been pointful since the days of the Commodore 64/Atari2600. Back then games were all about one simple task. For completing that task successfuly you got points and the more points you got the harder it was to do it. The task might be eating yellow balls (pac man) or stacking blocks (tetris). Your score meant you could compare your progress as you got better at that fundamental task to your previous scores or other players. This told you how good you were at the game Vs how good you used to be or how good the other player was. You didn't have an internet connection to get a walkthrough and it wouldn't matter if you did because you couldn't write a useful walkthrough for something like Tetris or Pac Man.

These days, half the games out there can be made rediculously easy through use of a walkthrough that is easily and freely available. Tons of games are out there that offer you tons of quick and easy points for your gamer score and tons will soon be available for PS3's trophy system. A high gamer score doesn't mean you are better at a particular game or games in general. It just means you have more time and money to spend on games and a score that measures such a thing is pretty damn worthless.

Is it fun to constantly obsess about the value of achievements? Why even bother caring what others think of them?farrell2k

I do not constantly obsess about the value of achievements as you claim i do, i was just simply stating something that was on my mind at the time while trying to prove a point that i felt was important. I mean, isnt that what forums are for?

well, i'm waiting for them to come out with achievement before I start my second run through MGS4. Yeah im sad but pretty sure I'm not the only one.

they are fun to get, its like scoring points in an arcade game, does anyone care if you scored 100K on pacman on an arcade cabinet you will most likely never use again? NO

does it feel good to score 100K on pacman in an arcade cabinet you will most likely never use again? Hell yes

if you take them seriously, then yes

like i was playing pro evo 08 and they affected how i played .. i didn't shoot unless it was a clear chance and was afraid to commit fouls (even being caught offside counted as a foul!) so that my stats were kept up

but then i decided to not care about the achievements and it was instantly more fun

i guess it depends on the game

Well im kinda an achievement head but when i get a game i play it the first time for the fun of it not thinking about any achievements or trying to play a certain to get achievements and i just get what i get my first play through,then i play the game a second time and pick up the rest of the achievements that i didnt get the first time.

But i dont go out my way to get achievements,for example,the GeoW online achievement for getting 10,000 kills,im pretty good at GeoW and could've gotten that but it would've took a while and i have better things to do than to play that much of GeoW ha.

When i first got my 360 i thought achievements were great, i mean its just so satisfying to see: "achievement unlocked" come up on your screen. But some people just take it too far. I know several people that simply play games just so that they can brag about how much gamerscore they have. I mean sure you have 40k gamerscore, thats impressive, but did you really enjoy renting "avatar: The Burning Earth" just so you could scoop up that quick 1000 gamerscore? Now dont get me wrong, i can be a bit of an achievement hussy at times, but im starting to realize that a game is so much more fun if you can just play it without thinking about that one achievement you could have gotten for only shooting one bullet and using nothing but the Grav gun for the entire game(Yes, that was a HL2: Episode 1 reference) instead of just playing the game for what it is.

This is why I sometimes envy PC gamers, they dont have the opportunity for achievements therefore they just play the game for the fun of it.

Now dont mistake me for a Sony fanboy because i am by no means one of them, i just wanted to ask all the achievment hunters out there if playing games for the achievements, instead of actually enjoying the game is fun.

Thanks

skatatay

I have had a 360 for about a month now and until this week or so I thought achievement points were not a negative aspect to the Xbox 360 profile system. I am now playing the 4th game for the 360 since I got it and initially my plan was to have every achievement point for every game I played. Well I just came off of a 10 hour or so hunt for the flags in Assassin's Creed......dont do this. These achievements are seriously like trying to find a needle in a haystack, and you have to find 10 needles in 10 different haystacks. If I were to get every achievment point in this game it will probably take me another 20-30 hours, and thats just flags.

It was fun for about the first 2 hours, now I dont want to play any game on the 360 at all. Random feeling of unease and violent lash outs I have also maybe sensed within the mind.

I do not atempt this to show off or brag, it is more of a personal goal. I figured if the designers and such want to make this system of challenges for the gamer to go along with the game that would be cool with me, now its like I can beat the game and then have more to do.....But when the designers or whomsoever's decision directly causes the gamer to want to do violent things to them I think they may have possibly not done a very fun or good job with the achievements.

So far every game I have played has had some ridiculous achievement I came across at some point in time, this one in Assassin's Creed may just be a little to haynus. The cities in this game are on such a enormous scale, this isnt peaches castle or hyrule, this is like the size of a large American city times 3 with some other areas.

Call of Duty 4-Veteran Mile high club....that took a few hundred tries, that really wasn't that fun either.

Apparently chromehounds has impossible achievements...

Mass Effect....You have to beat the game like 3 times just for the achievement of playing more with a particular character...so absurd...

The achievement points should maybe just be for beating the game or doing other reasonable tasks, as well as tasks that take skill.....not excessively large amounts of time....

There is much more to be said about this topic from myself....Also I am a little out of it from looking for flags for half a day or so with hardly any breaks....

I am curious if anyone else had this more or less happen to them when they first got a 360, how did you handle this and what did you realize....I am curious as to what others thoughts are regarding this as well...this should not really be read with a tone of annoyance or in the form of complaint, even though it may lok like these things.

I can definitly accept them in multiplayer games, they do no bad there..

But in singleplayer they are simply annoying.. Is the gameplay so bad that you need achievments to make the player keep playing? It seems devs think so.. I dont want too see "achievment unlocked" when I completed the last boss.. I want an epic ending. Too some people that is 200points I guess, could it get more epic.....?

They ruin the fun in online multiplayer when people only care about achievements and not actually playing the games.

Single player achievements are great, they can increase replay value. I despise multiplayer achievements, 360 or PC.foxhound_fox

Indeed, Achievements are Team Fortress 2 completely ruined the game for me. People can just cheat with achievement servers anyway.

One bad move by valve.