Achievements / Trophies system: Yay or nay?

k'_127

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I used to think it's stupid but now I'm into this shit. I'm a completionist, so having some sort of a guideline helps by making a checklist for what needs to be done, and finding all there is to discover in a game (secrets, endings .... etc). It tells me when I can be content with putting a game down for good, that is unless I want to play it later on for nostalgia or whatever.

Actually, at this point, the lack of trophies demotivates me to play any multiplatform title on Switch, despite the awesome portability option.

What pisses me off, however, is achievements / trophies that require luck, or extensive online play, or ridicules amount of time to unlock (or any combination of these).

My worst experience ever was with Binary Domain. I loved this game so much that I blindly went through the offline trophies without checking the online ones. Long story short: ended up spending 300+ hours grinding for them after finding some players online who were on the same boat. I never expected it would have taken this fucking long.

Second worst experience was with Ninja Gaiden Sigma 2. Had to go through the game 8 times, clearing the highest difficulties (which was a real bitch). Ended up being stuck with the online coop missions trophies. Never got them.

Anyone got any stories to share? And what system/s do you build your achievements on? Personally I've been focusing on PSN only.
 
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ggallegos1

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I don't mind them. I like the trophies and achievements, but I had to redo my email for Xbox live so I lost basically everything. No big deal, as I play the games to enjoy them and not fully 100% complete everything.

I do dislike the event oriented achievements or ones that require online. Those are unfortunate especially with older games that don't have a supportive online.
 

CrazyDean

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I used to like them years ago on X360. If you are getting enjoyment out of it then good for you, but I don't enjoy grinding for hours to get some points.

Back in the day, when you achieved something in a game, you would get a special ending or extra character unlocked. Now, you get points. It's just a cheap way to stretch playtime in a game.
 

Cousin_Itt

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I love and hate steam for it's card system. It's a way to potentially show you love a game by earning cards to unlock avatars, titles, and wallpapers. But since you can't earn enough by just playing the game, you have to rely on trading or buying the cards outright.
 

Lastblade

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All depends on the implementation. Most of the JRPGs just take too long (multiple endings, etc), or those that require online participation are dumb.
 

tomwaits

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I like going for trophies that add extra challenges within the normal gameplay. Beat a boss without taking damage, within a time limit, huge combos, etc. And, all of the pinball game trophies are great fun and usually require learning the table rules/improving your skills. If they're done right, I think trophies are a great incentive to encourage 'mastering' the game.

I don't usually bother with trophies that require endless grinding or online play on quiet servers. Not a completionist unless I really enjoy playing the game.
 

Heinz

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Anyone who spends that much time to complete all the trophies needs to rethink their life priorities.
 

ggallegos1

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The only games I ever maxed the achievements for were Dead Space and Elder Scrolls 4. Dead Space was short enough to get everything quickly and multiple replays didn't feel like a chore. Elder Scrolls took longer but it was all join the brotherhood or make this decision. Not overly difficult.
 

k'_127

NeoGumby's Sycophant,
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Not a completionist unless I really enjoy playing the game.

Same here. I only go for the games that I love, and after checking their achievements / trophies requirements.

Another thing I hate: missables. Fuck that shit.
 

Renmauzo

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If I'm enjoying a game, I'll generally try for the trophies, but I've only ever gotten 100% on Deus Ex: HR and Horizon: Zero Dawn. The only thing that irks me and can be a real turn off to putting any kind of effort into trophy hunting is wen there are trophies that can only be obtained through multi-player. It's a slap in the face to those that don't want to pay pay for PSN, so these trophies are essentially trapped behind a paywall.
 

@M

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I'm fine with them if they're unobtrusive and don't require ridiculous amounts of time/energy to complete. The only ones that really irk me are ones that require you to be online or connect to another console/handheld that you don't own, etc.
 

famicommander

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I have never intentionally gotten an achievement and I never will.
 

smokehouse

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I have never intentionally gotten an achievement and I never will.

This.

I didn't get them when they first came out...I still do not now. Fake "awards" for doing useless shit. Seems absolutely pointless to me.
 

Tripredacus

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I found I like the achievements but there are few games that I care enough about them to try going for ones I missed after the main playthrough. For example, I have no interest in re-running most games on the different difficulties just to get another achievement. I think part of this might be due to the fact I have too many games to play to want to dedicate massive amounts of time on a single game. The main reason why I haven't played so many games in the 2000s is exactly because of spending all my time on just a couple of games.
 

100proof

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Achievement design was a critical component of game development for the previous generation for me. If achievements are designed well (challenging without being stupid, not overly grindy, helps you learn a game's mechanics), they can be a huge boon to enjoying a game and getting more out of it. If they're designed poorly, it's a great way for me to either stop playing a game or only play it to completion and never touch it again.

Now, I think people who were buying/playing games solely because they were easy achievements or were obsessed with getting a big number are retarded/autistic. It also seems like people have generally lost interest in achievements during this generation. Myself included. Then again, I'm also playing a hell of a lot fewer games this generation than I did the previous.
 

jro

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I like going for trophies that add extra challenges within the normal gameplay. Beat a boss without taking damage, within a time limit, huge combos, etc. And, all of the pinball game trophies are great fun and usually require learning the table rules/improving your skills. If they're done right, I think trophies are a great incentive to encourage 'mastering' the game.
Platinum is really good at that- Bayonetta, Vanquish, Metal Gear Rising, all of them have about a trophy per level for doing something in a unique way that adds replay value to the game for me. Thing is, though, it's not about the score, it's about going hey that sounds like a fun challenge I should try that. That's probably the best use of achievements, IMO.

Overall I agree with 100proof about them being less interesting than they used to be for most people. Used to know a handful of people who were really competitive on XBL points, PSN trophies, whatever. Now I don't know a single person who's into that.

Stallion83 on Xbox and the guy on PSN with 1200 platinums (can't remember his name, there was an article about him on Eurogamer) are nuts.
 
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