Trophies and Accomplishments - worthless?

[ActRaiser1]

I think there are a couple of different takes on this.

1) You only get a few games a year.  In which case the achievements and trophies are great.  They give you something to work toward while enjoying your game.

2) You have so many games that they become pointless.  If you're not going to play the game fully and for an extended period of time, why bother?

3) You have friends that also have the same game.  It's fun and competitive to match or exceed their achievements.  It's kind of like comparing scores.  You want to one up your friends.

4)  You really like the game and want to maximize your time with it including doing a lot of the pointless stuff just because (goes into the bucket 1 category).

At the end of the day, they don't harm anything.  They can be fun, so I don't get why people bag on them?  Sure, some are dumb, but some are pretty clever.  They allow different folks to enjoy the game how they want to.  So, how is that a bad thing?  It's pointless to compare total scores with friends but you can compare the achievements on a single game.  To me that's kind of fun.

At least that's my take on them.  Man, now I want to go back and play the Midway Origins game.  Someone on this board has me whooped on their achievements.

[VideoGameCritic]

Actraiser - you make some good points.

If used well, they can add value to a game.  Midway Origins is a good example, as they give you specific goals that go well beyond a high score.  

On the other hand, I imagine they can also have a detrimental effect.  If I'm in the middle of a creepy silent hill game and one of those little achievements pops up, it could take me out of the moment.  I have heard about stuff like this happening.

[Gentlegamer1]

You can disable notifications on Xbox 360 so you won't see any achievements pop up if you don't want to.

[JWK1]

There's something satisfying about hearing that little "bell" when you get a trophy/achievement.  I believe Pavlov proved that dogs react the same way... 

Yes, they're pointless.  They're not a measure of your prowess as a gamer, but rather how much time you spend gaming.  I will say they can give you some ideas on HOW to play the game, though.  For example, the next time I play Dead Space, I'm going to try to finish the whole game with only the plasma cutter.  There's a trophy for that and I wouldn't have thought to do it otherwise.

[darkrage61]

captain crunch-I said tough game achivements felt like an accomplishment, there's really no need for sarcasm.

 

[Steve1]

I've been playing games since the mid-70's on all kinds of consoles and all kinds of games. Less than 10% of the time if not less, I completed a game. My most played console of all time is the Xbox 360 and besides great games, I can safely say one of the main reasons for this is achievements. For me, achievements make finishing a game rewarding. I'm not one of those people who has to get all the achievements and less than 5% of my games are 100% complete (wrt to achievements) but it definitely gets me to try different modes, multiplayer and different endings.

One interesting issue with achievements and trophies is that while I'm aware some companies make an easy list to boost sales, it can also have the reverse effect. My goal (although not a requirement) is to at least get half the available Gamerscore (500/1000, 200/400, etc.) and if I notice a game that this can't be done, I'm less likely to purchase it. Obviously, it's the game that matters when it comes to playing/purchasing but it is a factor for me. I just find them rewarding.

I also must admit to being kind of excited about approaching 100,000 Gamerscore (98,819). That seems like it should be an achievement in itself

[rift1]

99.9% are stupid and pointless.

The other .1%? Pinball Hall of Fame: The Williams Collection.  Getting all the trophies/achievements in that game is a true accomplishment that few will ever achieve. 

[Irenicus1]

I don't care much about them. I'm surprised to hear about the gamers that play a game that they don't like just to get trophies & accomplishments. I just don't get it.

Sometimes they're neat, like when you do something really odd or off-the-wall just to find out that you got a trophy for it.

How about that Bioshock trophy for beating the game? It sure took me out of my gaming moment. Total bummer dude.  

[darkrage61]

Achivements never really take me out of the moment, if anything they put me even more in the moment, for me seeing the achievement pop-up after beating a game gives me a real sense of accomplishment.

[Astrosmasher1]

[QUOTE=darkrage6]Achivements never really take me out of the moment, if anything they put me even more in the moment, for me seeing the achievement pop-up after beating a game gives me a real sense of accomplishment.[/QUOTE]
Well DR and me have something in common.  We both enjoy it.  Really it is one of the things that they did so right on the 360.  After I have beaten a game I definitely look on the game score of my friends and try and beat their score.  It is just a bit of fun.  6+79*-