I need some positive advice

Hey all wanted to discuss something about my gaming to you all and see what your thoughts would be. So i got this problem. It almost feels like an addiction with the amount of effort i put into it. Im talking about the effort i put into these achievements. Just to get you up to speed i got my xbox back in Agust 2010, and this day i have over 60k gamerscore. Even i feel this is a little extreme. What im wanting to ask is i need reasons that i shouldn't play games for achievements. I find myself playing all my games with my laptop open to an achievement guide and i end up spending more time making sure i don't miss an achievements than i do playing the game. On top of that it feels more like a job than a game at this point.

My wife told me last night that whats the point in achievements if your not enjoying the game and that made me think that im really plaing like this. To the point where i play on extreme difficulties dieing over and over staying stressed and religiously follow collectible guides spoiling majority of the game so as not to not miss something. I end spening twice the time playing a game, long after ive lost interest in it and i spend large amounts of money on games (secretly) to get achievements. I even frown upon some games cause the achievements are too difficult.

If you look at my PS3 signature it says i have 51 platniums. This was a problem on the PS3 as well. That list includes some games i would have never touched, but because of a dumb trophy i felt like i had too. Funny how before none of this existed i could give a ding dong about these rewards.

Well i want to "detox" myself from achievements. Im at the point of either just getting what i get, not even looking at the achievements, just play the game as it was meant to be or turning off achievements completely in my profile. At this point i find it really hard to stop going for achievements, just like some crack addict would have a hard time stopping crack.

So give me some advice if you would. Id like some reasons why i should stay my course or change and get off this train.

I can relate to that, although i would only go for the achievements AFTER i've completed the game and if i really enjoyed it.Now however, after playing XBL for 4 years and reaching 50k i've got bored of achievements and i just enjoy playing the game and having achievements pop-up at random without me knowing what they are (i find this way a lot more enjoyable as it's more of a 'thrill' when you get an achievement you weren't expecting).

I enjoy the games a LOT more than i used to. However i can't say the same as one of my RL friends on XBL who is in the exact same boat as you, but he has set up a lovefilm account and rents easy GS games. But he's in denial about being 'addicted' to GS. When we play co-op games, he always insists we use a guide and go back and do EVERYTHING... It's now got to the point where i just leave him to do it on his own, because i find it very tedious.

But i suggest you try not to look at the lists, as that way you will enjoy the game alot more when you get achievements you were not expecting. I still look at leaked achievements lists but, by the time the game is released i've forgotten all about it. Look at gameplay videos/trailers/reviews, if it sounds good buy it! Don't decide on a game because of the achievements. :)

I can relate to that, although i would only go for the achievements AFTER i've completed the game and if i really enjoyed it.Now however, after playing XBL for 4 years and reaching 50k i've got bored of achievements and i just enjoy playing the game and having achievements pop-up at random without me knowing what they are (i find this way a lot more enjoyable as it's more of a 'thrill' when you get an achievement you weren't expecting).

I enjoy the games a LOT more than i used to. However i can't say the same as one of my RL friends on XBL who is in the exact same boat as you, but he has set up a lovefilm account and rents easy GS games. But he's in denial about being 'addicted' to GS. When we play co-op games, he always insists we use a guide and go back and do EVERYTHING... It's now got to the point where i just leave him to do it on his own, because i find it very tedious.

But i suggest you try not to look at the lists, as that way you will enjoy the game alot more when you get achievements you were not expecting. I still look at leaked achievements lists but, by the time the game is released i've forgotten all about it. Look at gameplay videos/trailers/reviews, if it sounds good buy it! Don't decide on a game because of the achievements. :)

NevecLP

I agree. I am the same guy you talked about in co-op games lol. It really does feel much better to have a random achievement pop than to know exactly when its coming. I figure if i play a few games and literally stop looking at guides or even achievements in general that ill eventually stop caring about them. This is the same process for any addiction :P

If i can do it on the NES, Gameboy, DS, SNES, Genesis, N64, Gamecube, PS1, PS2, Xbox, and PC without worrying about them, shouldn't be a problem to just stop going for them. There was even a time on my first Xbov 360 that i saw these achievements and thought, what a waste of time and played numerous games without caring if one ever popped up.

Theres no problem with trying to earn achievements as long as you enjoy doing it but like you said sometimes you feel its more like a chore and your not enjoying the games like you should so may i suggest that when you first buy a new game dont even look at the achievements until you've finished the game and the chances are you'll unlock the majority of the achievements without even trying to get them then if you still want to earn the remaining achievements, do so on your second playthrough then atleast you've played through the game once and hopefully enjoyed the game for what it is instead of being constantly distracted because your watching or reading an online guide.

I think what your all saying is what i should do. Avoid achievements then later if i want go back and get them do that. Part of me worries that ill kindle an old flame and want to do them again if i go that route, but one step at a time.

Thank you all for the replies, i feel kinda dumb even having to deal with this as a married 27 year old man, but gotta start somewhere. :P

IF thats what you like to do in a game What is wrong with that?

Just like people who like to sit on the ground with a sniper in COD, WHich i find very hard to believe camping is fun.

If your playing tons of games i can see 60k gs.

PLAY THE GAME THE WAY YOU WANT TO!!!

IF thats what you like to do in a game What is wrong with that?

Just like people who like to sit on the ground with a sniper in COD, WHich i find very hard to believe camping is fun.

If your playing tons of games i can see 60k gs.

PLAY THE GAME THE WAY YOU WANT TO!!!

k2theswiss

Yes but he's saying he doesn't enjoy it. He described it as being more like a job, and when it gets to that stage I think it's best to stop. Games are there to be enjoyed and you're meant to have fun playing them. When they feel tiresome or more like a chore than anything else, then what's the point?

I have a friend who bases all his game purchases on whether or not the trophies are fun (if they even have trophies at all; he won't play older PS3 games that don't have trophy support) and it has got to the point where he plays the most useless games just for trophies, games he doesn't even like or want to play. It's sad because he used to be the biggest gamer I knew, a guy passionate about games, but now trophies dictate his hobby and it's not about the games anymore.
The best thing I can suggest if you want to get out of that mindset is to pick up an old console and games, a PS2 for example, and just play games again for the fun of it. Rediscover what got you into gaming in the first place.

I can relate, but I'm not quite as hardcore. My gamerscore is almost 66K after 5 years. I don't go out of my way for achievements on my first playthrough. I just enjoy the game, then play through again to pick up what I missed. I do often feel like it's more of a pain than it's worth by the time I'm getting the last few though. I don't get a game just for achievements either. I only play what I really want to and try to get as many achievements as I can just from those games. I'm a little too concerned with my completion percentage, and what I really hate is that sometimes I skip games I think I would like if I think the achievements would be too hard. That's why I hate multiplayer achievements, especially for games that aren't very popular and I don't know if I'll even be able to find a match.

There's not much point in gaming if you don't enjoy it. Maybe it would help if you turn off your notifications, so you don't even see when you get an achievement. Also maybe you should get professional help. Obviously you're addicted to achievements because you feel like you're not achieving enough in real life. :P

I agree, though I rarely go for them, I just don't like the system personally. I wish I could delete all of my gamerscore and turn them off. I'd be satisfied.

Well last night i just played and didn't worry about achievements. I even got like 100g on various games but didn't even look at what i got. I actually felt much better about it :)

Few more days of this and i can get the mindset of doing this regularly and i doubt ill ever care again. I did turn off notifications but i felt like i was missing something. Even if don't worry about achievements its still nice to hear the jingle. Also im curious to see how much score i earn on games if i don't actually try. Like someone said in another post ill probably get most of them naturally anyways.

I even played my Wii last night haha. I was reluctant to play anything else cause it had no achievements. Super Mario Galaxy 2 is really fun!

well i have to respectfully disagree with your wife. If you didnt enjoy getting achievements you wouldnt get them plain and simple.

well i have to respectfully disagree with your wife. If you didnt enjoy getting achievements you wouldnt get them plain and simple.

Gen007

Simple Advice: Don't sweat it, if you like gamerscore, then go for it. I, for one, don't care about gamerscore (hence the low score).

As long as you don't judge other gamers by their scores (I do a ton more gaming then some people with extremely high scores), then you should just play games for whatever you find fun about them, if that happens to just be the gamerscore, then so be it.

...Just make sure you don't remain stuck to your 360 and start missing out on other great titles for different systems.

[QUOTE="Gen007"]

well i have to respectfully disagree with your wife. If you didnt enjoy getting achievements you wouldnt get them plain and simple.

gatsbythepig

Thanks! My wife said she got a new husband. Yea it was that bad. She is happier now and well i can really tell i needed to stop. I wasn't full blown gaming 24/7 but i felt like i was in a race against myself, cause nobody else cared. Infact they laughed and said i was crazy.

Great that you quit smoking, thats an extra 10-20 years.

When the achievement pops it feels good. But some just aren't worth it. If I'm starting out a game I usually play half way before I even look at a achievements. It's always cool to get them out of nowhere. When I look at the achievements I determine which ones are reasonable and go for those, beat it, then move on to the next game. Some achievements are impossible, and some are just too time consuming.

[QUOTE="Gen007"]

well i have to respectfully disagree with your wife. If you didnt enjoy getting achievements you wouldnt get them plain and simple.

gatsbythepig

I wouldn't compare it to smoking though as they are vastly different things. Smoking has actual chemicals that physically affects the way your brain works and causes you to become addicted so it makes since that you would have problems stopping. I will admit though that if your achievement hobby is affecting your life then fine pull back but I feel like if you can stop when you want then your not addicted and the TC proved just that by playing his wii ect. Imo deep down he's an achievement hunter and he's not alone there are plenty around. The people around him probably dont understand though so there's stigma surrounding it but that dosent mean its the worse thing in the world.

things you love to do can be stressful sometimes. e.g Im a programmer and i love it but it can extremely stressful at times because its a ton of work and there's a ton of stuff that can go wrong which you have to fix but the end result makes it all worth it to me. All in all though i cant completely comprehend the TC's situation. I mean if its really THAT bad then by all means start your intervention.

Hey all wanted to update you on this. Ive only played a few games since the start of this post but i can tell you ive played without worrying about any achievements. Ive even lost the urge to even look at the ones i get while playing. I still like to watch my total go up cause its hard to avoid seeing that number, but i like to know its going up on its own rather than me dedicating myself to it.

Now i just pop in a game and go for it. Its so much more fun that way. Makes everything worry free again.

I believe ive seen both sides of it now and im happy to say i wouldn't miss them if they were gone.

Thanks all for the advice it really helped in my decision.