GamerScore/Trophies: Detriment or Benefit?

[Phoenix S117]

Do you think the advent of GamerScore (360) and Trophies (PS3) is a good thing for gaming, or a bad thing?

Achievements/Trophies sometimes give a game a longer life. And, sometimes wanting more points results in trying out games you may not have tried otherwise, and finding out that you like them.

On the other hand, Achievements/Trophies can sometimes lead to people playing games they don't like just for higher gamerscore. Which personally, I think is pointless. The way I see it, there's someone out there hardcore playing every game they can get their hands on and unless you give up your entire life except for gaming, you'll never have the highest gamescore or the most trophies. And even if you did, it's not something you can take in to your boss and say "Hey I have the highest GamerScore. Can I get a raise?"

So what do you think? Good experiences with it? Bad experiences?

[Setharion]

I meant to reply to this sooner, for me i have a love hate relationship with achievements and trophies. I feel that they can be fun at times if done right, but i also feel they can ruin a game and my thinking going into it.

Like i dont enjoy if a game upon completion gives you only a fraction of the trophies. Even though i beat the game i feel like there was so much i missed but really alot of it is just playing in goofy aspects, or trying to find ways to get a trophy easier or just silly stuff that imho dont prolong the game in a meaningfull way. Alot of them just to me spell who has more free time to get them, mainly.

But if they are done right and alot more along the line of story related, i think they can be great.

[Sondiame]

I think achievements are a good idea, but i wished you could do something with them than just look like you have no life. I wish you could like for every 1000 gamerscore turn it in for 10 microsoft points. Then it would make getting achievements more meaningfull, but then again, more people would go buy barbie's hair show adventures just for free 100 MS.

[best3444]

May 11, 2011 15:27:29 GMT -5 Sondiame said:

I think achievements are a good idea, but i wished you could do something with them than just look like you have no life. I wish you could like for every 1000 gamerscore turn it in for 10 microsoft points. Then it would make getting achievements more meaningfull, but then again, more people would go buy barbie's hair show adventures just for free 100 MS.

Interesting idea but it will never happen. I personally LOVE achievements because it makes me do things in games I wouldn’t normally do thus adding more value to the product.

Take for instance NBA 2K11...I loved getting the achievements in the game and I wouldn't have attempted them if I didn’t get achievement points out of them. I like to see the achievement points I get in the game and the dates in which I achieved them etc.

It makes playing games for the 360 a lot more fun...IMO of course.

[cusideabelincoln]

I never particularly liked them in the past, but now I'm pretty indifferent towards them.

Once I realized they are pretty much just "universal" achievements, I saw what value they hold to some people. In past games, like Goldeneye and Perfect Dark, you would do crazy things to either unlock new gameplay modes or earn a stars (if any of you remember the shooting range in Perfect Dark.) During this gaming age, along with unlocking new game content you also get an achievement with it, so I don't see what's to hate about that.

I think they are alright based on two aspects, and I almost think they should be divided into a couple of categories. First the ho-hum achievements which are awarded to people who simply play the game as everyone normally would. These are alright as they are simply an indicator of how far along a person is in the game and what they have done. I look at them like a progress bar of completion.

Second are the go out of your way achievements, which entice players to try something different. They are fine for people who don't normally experiment with their games, but I on the other hand am not compelled to do these achievements just for the sake of getting the achievement. If I enjoy a game and see potential, then I'll experiment with the game as I see fit.

I am not particularly fond of the idea of playing games I don't like to increase my gamer score. That does not seem appealing to me, and that is really now how I envision gaming should be enjoyed. Your focus shifts away from actually enjoying what a game offers, which is why I play games in the first place. But I don't think this method of play is very prevalent; it's simply just newsworthy and controversial.

Oh, my final verdict: Benefit.

[stepheno1683]

Depending on the game both!

[TheBlackStones]

They're a good thing and a bad thing. Usually they'll get me to do fun things I might not have decided I want to do regardless, and they're useful in finding out if someone is claiming they put hours into a game but have nothing to show for it.

But what kills me is the "gamers" who refuse to buy games without them. I can't count the number of people I wanted to smack around because they refused to buy Valkyria Chronicles for the PS3 because it didn't have trophies. PLAYING THE GAME IS THE REWARD YOU JERKS.

[ManillaRoad]

I can't see them being a detriment, going for high scores isn't anything new. That being said, I never go out of my way to get an achievement/trophy. If they pop up and say I've got some points/a new trophy that's cool, but otherwise I wouldn't even know they are there.

Although people putting themselves through games like Hanna Montana for points may be a good argument for it being a detriment.

[CSquared42]

I love achievements and trophies

It makes it so that I can beat a game and have a good reason to go back and play parts of it again; extends the life of the game and gives me the satisfaction of an electronic high five when I succeed. It's a little frustrating when I want to get a trophy or whatever and it's too difficult or it requires a resource I don't have (like 4 controllers or ten bazillion other people that I have to play with online) though, but still worth it.

I'm not a big fan of the overall scores like your gamerscore or the trophy level for PS3. That's what causes people to buy horrible games just so they can get the points. I *think* Steam does achievements just by the games you have and doesn't allocate a score to overall amount of achievements earned. I like that approach a lot more.

[gandra]

Dont do as much consoling as I used to so I know nothing of this type of thing. But from my view point the only thing I see using gamerscore/trophies for is to up yer E-peen and thats it. And even then I wouldnt even bother if there was something realy good. Not gonna play a game just to get points for something that has no real point to it.

[journeyman2x]

I'm in a gamerscore war with a friend right now and it's forcing me to play alot of crappy games for easy points. I know it's stupid but we are getting competitive with it. It is fun just trying to out do each other though.