The Number One Way to Ruin a Game

PS Analog writes, "The number one way to ruin a good game for me is to add trophies."

[Bagogames]

I hate it when there is that one near impossible trophy preventing me from achieving a platinum, and I mean HATE it. Otherwise I wholly think trophies are a great benefit, and if certain games were granted full trophy patches I would go back and play them again.

[FriedGoat]

I agree, There is no bad side to trophies, they can only add more to a game.

[kza]

U say theres no bad side LOL go play Hanna Montanna JUST for trophies, thats when trophies get out of hand and abit sad imo.

[kza]

Addict i bet u have Hannah Montanna and Terminator plats. THATS the bad side of trophies.

[FriedGoat]

Look at what i said. Why trophy hunt if you don't like them? If trophies arent there you have nothing to complain about. If they are, then its an extra bonus. No downside.
People Disagreeing are morons. I don't understand, If i release a game with 10 objectives and no trophies they are saying that a game with 10 objectives and 15 trophies isn't advantageous?
More Content is NEVER a downside.

[PS-Analog]

Trophies can add to games. But sometimes they take away the fun and that defeats the purpose of a game. We like to get the trophies but when they make trophies just to prolong a game with meaninless trophies then it gets a bit tedious.

[Ilovetheps5]

I think that if you don't like trophies, then just ignore them. If you don't enjoy a game that much, there is no reason to go for platinum. Trophies are just there to allow you to get more out of a game. Video games are expensive and I love trophies because I'm able to play a game much longer. But if trophies are taking away the fun of a game, don't go for the trophies and ignore them.

[CarlitoBrigante]

How can trophies take away the fun? You don't have to get trophies in order to play or finish your games.

[admiralvic]

@ CarlitoBrigante

That's not true. Some games like MAG are several times worse because there are trophies. Countless times you will see people do whatever they please for a trophy. This includes allowing enemies to win, trying to stay alive, team killing, and much more. Even a few people trying for a trophy can ruin the experience.

This is also true for a lot of online experiences.

Demo 2.0 caused people to focus on blowing up buildings in Bad Company 2.
Medal / Awards cause people to play differently to achieve them. This is very common in games like Section 8.
Level forces a lot of people to start boosting the online. Some games like Quantum Theory is literally impossible to platinum without boosting.
Leaderboard trophies cause some people to be greedy and lock others out. This was true for Fight Night and others try to glitch the board to a point where it's impossible to do legit.

Trophies like this definately cause people to find the online far worse. Even simple things like "Win 3 fights in a row" in a fighting game, can cause people to play the cheapest fighters doing the cheapest things. While you might not care, simply having someone who does can ruin your fun.

[AusRogo]

Such as Resistance FoM!

@bagogames I mean as in id go back and play it if they bought out trophies for it.. But yes I agree about trophies like that.

[Bagogames]

And Killzone 2. Anything trophy that relies on the online community to remain active is a poor decision.

[Ilovetheps5]

Yeah Bagogames, I haven't bought SSX yet. But I believe there is a trophy where you have to go on a mountain with 50K people. That will most likely be impossible if I buy the game this summer. Luckily I got the KZ2 online trophies the first week it was out.

[Ilovetheps5]

I love trophies because they give me replayability and objective. After I beat a game I used to either put it back on the shelf or play through the game again. But now, instead of just playing through a game again, I am encouraged to go back and 100% a game making the game last longer. I enjoy trophies personally. But if I don't like a game I'm not going to play it just to platinum it.

[tarbis]

Lol! Why do you look at the trophies before starting a game when you don't care about them? That's just stupid.
What ruins a game is not trophies but episodic dlcs. That's pure crap. Why do I need to buy a dlc about someone's past or an epilogue just to know what the gang's been up to after the game when it should be included in the game right away?

[Tzuno]

true, some achievements and trophies just make you loose time and fun.

[MysticStrummer]

Trophies and Achievements both give the illusion that we're getting more content when it seems to me that we're actually getting less content these days. I don't hate them, but I see them as a cheap illusion and I don't care about getting them at all.

[Kaos_Vll]

FINALLY! I can't believe how many suckers have been fooled into thinking that Trophies and Achievements add ANYTHING to a game when in reality they add NOTHING.

The very things you do to earn a trophy use to earn you a costume or a weapon or SOMETHING USEFUL IN-GAME. Now all you get is a ding and have to pay(dlc) to get what used to be included to give you a reason to go back and play.

Leave it to this gen of gamers to praise something that takes content away from the game and adds NOTHING.

You people need to wake up and realize you are being ripped off not rewarded.

[coolasj]

Whine, whine, whine.
Whine whine whine whine.

[Son_Lee]

Trophies add incentive and longevity to a game. Besides, I find it almost impossible to play a game that doesn't have trophies. It gives me extra motivation.

[kevnb]

Don't like them then ignore them. That's what I do.

[deletingthis34675334]

I absolutely enjoy collecting trophies, but there are some exceptions like Uncharted: Golden Abyss with the black market. I hated collecting them damn bounty pieces. Got the platinum though.

[AusRogo]

I love getting trophies. But I only try to platinum games I really like. other games I just play through again and collect some on the way.

[Mr_Luke]

Well, i'm not a trophy whore but usually i play the whole game forgetting about them and once i finishit i replay from the start to get them. No ruined fun, the game lasts more for me and i like challenges.. unless they're too hard to get, then i abandom them =P

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I like trophies. I go for the fun ones and skip the stupid ones. Doesn't bother me either way. I don't want to play Dead Space and only use the plasma cutter for example so I simply refuse to do it. I do however enjoy looking for the hidden Treasures in Uncharted so I attempt to find them all.

I just pick and choose which ones I attempt to obtain. I'm frustrated trying to platinum Portal 2 however because of a certain trophy which requires you to play online with a friend who hasn't played online before. /sigh

[KUV1977]

You can easily have your friend make a new account and start the game there. Definately works.

[I_LOVE_MYSELF]

I don't really speak to anyone who has Portal on their trophy list and is frequently active on PSN. My real life friends wouldn't ever dream of buying Portal. Plus, I don't really fancy asking the "strangers" on my friend list to make a new account etc because it's a bit of a pain to be honest.

Just one of those situations, but I will find a way around it when I can be bothered to put in the effort.

[Ilovetheps5]

Or if you are on PS3, add me. I haven't played online on Portal 2 yet. PM if you want my PSN.

[Prototype]

This is how I see trophies/Achievements;

They make bad games playable because they know certain gamers will do anything just to get that one trophy or achievement just to "brag" they got something. Some games do have a reward system (extra characters, etc) but the majority don't waste their time just to "brag" about a score.

Back in the 90's it was called "replay" and "fun factor" that drove a game. Imagine if Final Fantasy 7 had trophies; "Successfully obtain Knights of the Round," I got it to see if it was worth it, others would have gotten it JUST because its a trophy - wouldn't even use it. Chrono Trigger - "Obtain all 15 endings," there would be people skimming through the endings just to show they did it without even watching/enjoying the multiple outcomes.

I've said this multiple times and I still follow it - I miss gaming BEFORE trophies/achievements.

[Nicaragua]

Get a grip - what makes your reason for getting Knights of the Round more valid ? Just sounds like elitist nostalgic bullshit to me.

[helghast102]

Well then, all games = ruined
Too bad

[Caffo01]

From the article:

"Some developers are even kind enough to tell you to defeat certain characters or see certain scenes which ruin's upcoming events. Forget spoiler tags, trophies are one big massive Spoiler! They should keep the list secret!"

That's just stupid... if you hate trophies why do you have to read the list before even playing the game??

[PS-Analog]

I think you're missing the point. Like we said, we like collecting trophies and like to platinum a game but most of the time it's implemented in a stupid or un-fun way. Trophies should be added in a more natural way instead of an artificial way to extend extend a game by making you do dull things that grate on you or take hours and hours to achieve. Most people have a life and can't spend hour and hours on a single game.

[Biggest]

He/She sure did not miss the point. The specific quote from your article is stupid. The overall point of your article, if your comment about your article is accurate, is stupid. The game is the game with or without the trophies. There are no rules forcing you to look at or obtain trophies in order to play a game. If you have a life preventing you from fully completing a video game feel free to enjoy your life. No one, least of all a trophy, is preventing you from doing so.

Also. . . What the hell does having a life have to do with playing/not playing video games? You have a life that prevents you from playing a SINGLE game? Does that mean that you have to play multiple games in a short period of time to enjoy life? What are you even saying?

[R834]

I don't find trophies ruin the games. I've gone on and off of collecting trophies, and neither way causes issues - if I want to collect them, I get more gametime out of a game. If I don't, it doesn't matter, I just play the game normally.

Also, most really spoilerific trophies are hidden, so I don't find that a problem. And, if you're worried about ending up with 0% complete on really bad games, make yourself another user without a PSN account to play on.

Slightly off-topic, but related:
You should work on your site formatting a bit more. I know you're only using Google Sites, but there's loads of things you can do to make it look cleaner and more professional: http://www.psychicgamers.co... (my site)

[PS-Analog]

Actually I don't think your sites looks anymore professional.

Nice Plug btw lol.

[R834]

Bit uncalled seeing as I was trying to be nice. That's quite an insult considering how poor your site and content actually is.

And PM me back about what the 'plug' is.

[bobrea]

Uhh...why? All that happens is a little notification that pops up when you complete one. How the hell can that ruin a game for you. Get over it.

[Fasttrack76]

I Strongly disagree with ya, trophies/acheievements add so much more value to games. I couldn't imagine now not earning either.

[bladednuisance]

if you dislike trophies so muuch why do you go through the list? trophies are an out of game element if you dont like them ignore them, they have NO effect on the game!

[bladednuisance]

sounds to me like this guy likes trophies, just not the scoring system behind them!!

[catfrog]

its enjoyable to get trophies, so why shouldnt they be put in games?