An Alternative to Achievements | Gamasutra

"Designer Keith Burgun examines the concept of achievements, looking at how they're used, how they might be used in the future, and how they might even change totally -- for the better."

[ElectricKaibutsu]

Very interesting article. I never gave achievements that much thought.

I agree with the part where, let's say you do something cool in a game, like jump off a platform while an enemy jumps off another platform and you successfully get a headshot. You automatically feel good because you did something unique and awesome, but then the achievement pops up. So I guess it wasn't unique, and actually it looks like I was supposed to do that. I guess thousands of other people have also done the same thing. Hrm.

I like achievements but the author has a point, they shouldn't be thrown into games randomly like they are now (kill 25 guys! Run over someone in a vehicle!). That's not achieving anything. It's like being a kid in kindergarten and making just a terrible drawing. The teacher says, "wow, you sure used that crayon. Here's a gold star." That gold star is meaningless.

[metalgod88]

Breaking Immersion:
I kind of feel the same way as this guy. For some games, the trophies feel meaningless. A ton of games give you trophies just for playing through the story. That does a few things which I don't feel are good for the game itself.

One, it lets you know(somewhat) how far along you are. Sure, you get an estimation, but isn't that kinda ruining the whole point of a story, to simply enjoy it no matter the length?
And two, you're going to most likely play through the story no matter what, so..what's the point of the achievement...really.

It's just small things like those that don't really seem to carry a purpose, other than hearing that ding sound that so many people seem to long for.

I simply wish there was a way to disable achievement/trophy notifications in all forms so that people like myself could completely enjoy the game the way it is.

I say that, because we all know that trophies/achievements are now embedded into the games from here on in. There's no taking them out.

Overall, I don't think achievements are necessarily a bad thing, but I do feel that they do take away from the excitement of simple things like unlocking things in the game, or pulling off some sick combo, or defeating an insanely hard boss. You're attention is pulled away from the game(breaking immersion) and placed into a large array of achievements, only to notice that you have like 40 more to unlock to get them all. *Sigh*

And finally, trophies need a purpose. Microsoft/Developers used achievements to unlock things for your xbox character like clothes, or background wallpaper, or even an icon from that game.

I kind of like this idea and I hope that the next generation of consoles do something like this to help make trophies and achievements a little more meaningful.

Sorry this is so long =P ..guess I had a lot to say about the topic. Thanks for reading!

[profgerbik]

I don't know I guess for some games sure but some games are huge bitch to get achievement/trophies in.

I barely got any fucking trophies when I beat Uncharted Golden Abyss, fuck those they take forever and are a pain in the ass to get. As I said sure some games hand it to you easy but those are usually easy games to begin with while other games it's been near impossible for me to invest that much time into getting them.

I mean I guess I can understand if you don't like them there could be an option to have them disabled sure that is fine but still some games are very hard to achieve things in is all I am saying.

I have found more that are really hard than ones that are really easy and as I said it's generally the easy games that give easy achievements or trophies.

[hazardman]

I don't completely agree with article, but he made some good points. I think everyone has their own agendas when it comes to these. I for one like achievements ever since MS had on Xbox360, then Sony with the Trophies. I'm not a achievement whore like a lot of people, but I like getting mines when I play a campaign or sports franchise or whatever. Some games actually reward you for your time playing Skyrim is good like that..most of the achievements have to do with story mode and the leveling of skills, most $$, etc. So whatever I get from my playthrough is usually it for me. I never go back for dumbass points, maybe to some its important for them to show that they mastered the game completely so that you can see it on their profiles. More power to you if you get 1000+ points and pllatinum trophies, atleast noone can say you didn't play the game.

[Kevlar009]

WiiU users could very well use Miiverse as a form of custom Achievements (though it would need a few updates). Give players the use of screenshots and recording software on the system, suddenly players film themselves doing difficult actions in games, upload those videos and descriptions, then challenge others to complete those challenges (video is of gameplay, not of webcam for various reasons). Players could then assign points (based on difficulty) to those challenges that players test and give feedback on. Suddenly you have a wide community making their own achievements, challenging others for imaginary points, and extending gameplay value.

The allure of achievments is going beyond the normal game objectives, giving that ability to the players could be an interesting experiment.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

I thought the alternative to Achievements was Trophies.