Profiles Suck

General and high profile video game topics.
C64_Critic1
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Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Profiles Suck

Postby C64_Critic1 » March 8th, 2015, 10:52 am

[QUOTE=ptdebate]
I take it you don't like scores either then, right? Achievements are just that--a metric of your mastery of the game. Earning them is a challenging metagame that many gamers take joy in--just like traditional scores.[/QUOTE]

     I agree that achievements CAN be a metric of game mastery if properly implemented, but most of my experience with achievements has been meaningless.  I'll get randomly pop-up messages congratulating me on having 'achieved' something I had no idea was something I should be striving for, or in some cases something that was inevitable like finishing a tutorial or doing something that every single person playing the game *must* do in the course of playing the game.  In those instances I truly have no clue why a developer thought to attach an achievement trophy, and doing so cheapens the idea of achievements as a whole.  If developers were more judicious about their use, I think they'd be a lot more worthwhile.

ptdebate1
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Profiles Suck

Postby ptdebate1 » March 8th, 2015, 11:46 am

[QUOTE=scotland17]

I like you.  You keep my logic on its toes.  

I was probably responding to the 'strove and strove' comment that yes, getting that achievement was the sole motivator for you at that point in time. The achievement you valued earning from Dark Souls II was an ultra rare ones. One you could really brag about bagging. 

Even if we accept those rare achievement are okay, older games did the same thing with bonus levels or bonus dungeons or replaying the whole game on a higher difficulty setting.  Now instead of that, you get a merit badge.   
 

[/QUOTE]

Thanks, Scotland [wink]. Newer games have those too! Thus we have a theoretically unlimited range of difficulty modes in something like Diablo III, Master Quest in Ocarina of Time 3D, New Game + in Dark Souls, etc.

In response to the C64 critic and others, I agree that the more banal achievements can be annoying, especially if you don't like pop-up boxes appearing during gameplay. It is really easy to turn off notifications though so that you're never interrupted by them. 

Achievements have been put to great use though, so it would be wrong to characterize them all by their worst element.

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VideoGameCritic
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Profiles Suck

Postby VideoGameCritic » March 8th, 2015, 1:03 pm

There have been some excellent points made here.

First, Dave really opened my eyes that not all gamers have the time/desire to have people over on a regular basis for the purpose of gaming.  For most people, online game fills this void, allowing you to keep tabs on old friends and make new ones on your own schedule.  

I have to be careful not to project my myopic view of the world on everybody else.  I'm kind of lucky I still have friends willing to take an old-school approach to gaming.  It does take some effort on their part.  To that end, it might be about time for me to put my consoles back online so I can be more in tune with the majority of gamers.

As for achievements, I like C64 Critic's point about how the concept has been cheapened. Apparently there are no standards or central authority to keep developers in line, so achievements have been watered down to nothing.

And how do you even know about these achievements ahead of time?  The only time I even remember they exist is when the bubble pops up on my screen.  Do people actually go to some achievement screen and peruse them beforehand??

ptdebate1
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Joined: December 31st, 1969, 7:00 pm

Profiles Suck

Postby ptdebate1 » March 8th, 2015, 1:24 pm

[QUOTE=videogamecritic]There have been some excellent points made here.
...
I have to be careful not to project my myopic view of the world on everybody else.  I'm kind of lucky I still have friends willing to take an old-school approach to gaming.  It does take some effort on their part.  To that end, it might be about time for me to put my consoles back online so I can be more in tune with the majority of gamers.
[/QUOTE]

Don't get me wrong, local multiplayer is always preferable to online, but that's assuming it's even an option in the first place. I envy your group of friends! I'm in a similar situation to Dave here in Dallas--everyone's so spread out that when my friends and I actually do find time to meet up, it's usually at a bar or in a big group setting that favors party games, board games, Cards Against Humanity, or the like.

The only person I do regularly play head-to-head multiplayer with is my brother, who lives about 30 minutes away. When I go to his house, the Xbox automatically syncs my save data so I can continue my Halo campaign progress, Killer Instinct profile, or Call of Duty loadout, which I can later pick up at my house when I get home. 


Vexer1
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Profiles Suck

Postby Vexer1 » March 8th, 2015, 1:40 pm

To view your achievements/trophies you hit the home button on your Playstation/Xbox controller and somewhere in the menus is achievements/trophies, there you can view all the ones you've got and ones you still have yet to get(though some are listed as "secret" and you won't know exactly what they are unless you look them up online, those are usually story-related and they're hidden to avoid giving out spoilers).

Sut1
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Postby Sut1 » March 8th, 2015, 1:54 pm

Again to defend trophies the 'banal' or 'meaningless' ones tend to be the bronze level trophies. The Silver, Gold and Platinum ones tend to have a more specific goal and thus a higher understanding and ability at the game.

What good trophies and achievements can also do is help you explore the game and use different strategies rather than just rushing through the title. MGS Ground Zeroes is a great example, once proficient you can best the main mission in 15-20 mins. Obtaining all the trophies ? Hours and hours of exploring this great game and how various mechanics help in certain situations.

To echo ptdebate I can't understand how you can love high score tables and dislike trophies/achievements - they are essentially an evolution of the high score table.



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