The Trouble With Trophies: How The Community Ruined The Fun

GP writer Jared discusses why trophies and achievements should not mean everything to gamers.

[Xbot360]

Achievements and Trophies have forced me to play games I would have never otherwise tried. Some were good some were not, overall I think the reward system is great. I wish Nintendo would jump onboard.

[Snookies12]

Agreed, I like that trophies/achievements push me to go that extra mile with games. It gives me a lot more playtime out of them when I know there are more things to be done.

[NoTheMama]

Really?! Not the idea of a fun game is what draws you in? sad.....

[t0mmyb0y]

Where is the reward system for the trophy levels?

[Hellsvacancy]

Trophies are love hate relationship for me, it can be fun trying to earn a particular trophy, but at the same time can be hell, like beating Gaius on SOTC, or when Dishonored screwed me out of the Ghost trophy the other day

[KingofGambling]

did you platinum SotC?

[Alos88]

It sounds more "The trouble with the Community" to me.

[guitarded77]

Yup... don't blame trophies/achievements for people being a-holes. If it wasn't trophies, it would be leader boards... we've had them since gaming started, and no one complained about them. It was an honor to put your 3 initials at the top of the list on an arcade machine, trophies are essentially the same thing... an overarching leader board/gaming diary. Sure, the PS Blog community is half retarded, but that's everywhere on the internet.

[NoTheMama]

the worst part about trophies is when i see my friends playing shit games just for an easy platinum.
When I asked them if they were actually having fun doing so, they'd say "nah not really!"
Thats the problem right there. Games are designed to be fun and entertaining, not a chore or your 2nd job.

[GarandShooter]

That's not the worst part about trophies, that's the worst part about your friends psychological make up. They still need to make the decision to buy/rent/play the game.

I don't think a developer sets out to make a game a chore or feel like a second job, they somehow just miss the fun factor or misinterpret what makes a game fun.

[PirateThom]

I played Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs for trophies, it was easy but I also had fun with it to a degree, more than some big titles.

I also played Terminator Salvation for trophies and enjoyed it for a while, then quickly just wanted it to end.

That's examples of two games, picked up on a whim for cheap, due to easy trophies and I actually feel I got my moneys worth out of both. I think trophies can definitely keep you playing a game or get you to try a game you might otherwise avoid.

[beerkeg]

Playing crap games to collect trophies. Wow, well done I guess. Must have been a lot of 'fun'.

I'd rather put the money from buying two crap games with trophies towards buying one good game, whether it had trophies or not. Call me old fashioned but I get my pleasure from gaming just playing the games, trophies mean very little in the end.

[PirateThom]

It was fun, that's what I just said.

Sometimes a "crap game" can provide as much entertainment as full blown AAA title. Just depends on the reasons. How many people enjoyed Deadly Premonition and enjoyed it?

Games are played to be enjoyed, I just happen to derive happiness from an odd dabble with easy trophies.

[_LarZen_]

Im glad Nintendo with the Wii U dont have achievments at all. Dont know why but I feel like it's just "hanging" over me when I know there are a bunch of achievments I have not done in a game I just finished.

Let me enjoy a game without all this achievment pressure! :p

[Fez]

I agree, I would prefer not to even know they are there.

They're often used to entice people to buy DLC by displaying new unearned trophies in the list with the ones you've spent ages getting too! Taking advantage of peoples nature for capital gain.

[dboyman]

Here Here! I feel the same. Gaming is about having fun, enjoying the experience. My own personal experience with trying to get trophies is sometimes playing just to get trophies kills the joy of the experience of the game. So I play the game, and if don't give a care whether I get that trophy or not.

[eferreira]

How could Trophy/Achievements be bad? Your getting more play time with your game. Nothing wrong with that.

[dmonee]

I don't think trophies and achievements are bad per say. I do think there are too many per game though. if I had it my way, you would get a bronze or equivalent for just playing. a silver would be achieved by finishing a game or reaching a certain score at a medium difficulty. a gold would be achieved by finishing a game at an exceptional skill level. the all mighty platinum or equivalent would be obtained, similar to how it is done now, by combing over a game, and finishing it's hardest of challenges. I also think multiplayer achievements should be separate from single player goals. by doing this, you reduce the number of Knick knack trophies and achievements. It will also make it possible for your acquaintances and friends to see what games you've played and how well you played them. It's too much of a hassle to go thru someone on your friends lists acheivements to see how and whynthey have 156,820 points. This way you will see a more consolidated list of accomplishments that is easier to compare to yours.

[BlaqMagiq24]

The way I see it trophies/achievements are like an add-on. You don't have to go after them if you don't want to. You have a choice. You're not forced to do anything. They're mainly for bragging rights. If you don't care about them don't go after them.

[Spacemagic]

I like how Sucker Punch used Infamous' trophy data to impact the story of Infamous 2. Albeit minorly, we need more of this!!!

[Playstation1984]

waste of time, i used to platinum games but i was getting so stressed with some trophies that i didnt want to play anymore. Now i play games with no extra hassle and enjoy games much more.

[Tonester925]

I just wish the PS3 had multiple PSN Sign-In so my brother can earn trophies on his own account while I earn trophies on mine.

The only thing Xbox has that I want on my PS3.

[violents]

They do just go to the login portion of the xmb and hit add new user.

[Tonester925]

At the same time as I'm playing

[violents]

Well you didnt say that. I wish you could do that too. But it dont.matter to me cause I don't play splitscreen.

[ACEMANWISE]

The highest trophy earned should be for passing a video game. I think that would be more informative when looking at a gamer's profile...and more accurate as to the gamer's accomplishments and overall status in comparison to the community.

Diamond- Should be awarded for passing a game. Highest value.
Platinum- Should be awarded for achieving everything on the developer's list. 2nd Highest value.

Gold, Silver, and Bronze should be awarded on the level of difficulty the developer decides it should be.

Adding the Diamond would not only solve this problem but it wouldn't interfere with the current trophy system. At worst a trophy rehaul of this type may require some sort of retroaction...like awarding a diamond trophy for all past games that already have a platinum.

[rpd123]

I see no problem with trophies/achievements. I don't have an irrational compulsion to get every trophy. If I happen to get some during the course of a game then cool, if I don't, then whatever.