The Best Achievements

Like them or not, achievements have become a staple of modern gaming, giving players goals to strive for and a measuring stick with which they can compare themselves to random strangers on the internet. Eurogamer discusses why they've become so popular, and takes a look at some of the most entertaining examples. Quoting: "... we mock Achievement points because they spell out in large numbers what is so pathetic about video games. But we also celebrate them, because, when used in funny, creative or interesting ways, they also spell out what is so compelling and wonderful about video games. Because for every Achievement in which you have to do nothing more than play through a tutorial there's another that subverts convention, rewarding you for skipping it instead. For every fetch quest that has you collecting dogtags for the millionth time, there's another that makes you fight the baddy with your arms tied behind your back. And for every Achievement you earn in jest for pressing the start button, there's another that only rewards the single best player in the world."

Comments

Re:Microsoft's Ripoff Of Sony's Skill Points

[artor3]

No, you're the one who doesn't grasp the concept.

The idea is to have EVERY game have tons of little achievements. People find them, accidentally, and then find themselves wanting to complete the set. It keeps them playing past the point where they might have otherwise stopped.

Having more people playing your games improves your mind share, and attracts more developers. And it costs MS not one cent. They are giving away absolutely nothing, but because it's a limited amount of nothing, and you need to work to get that nothing, people eat it up.

It's been a tremendous success, to the point that other companies are now mimicking it. Sony Skill Points? Who's ever heard of those?

Re:Microsoft's Ripoff Of Sony's Skill Points

[brkello]

Um, hate to break this to you. I have never heard anyone talk about Platinum Trophies either. I have a feeling that hardcore MS gamers talk about gamerscore and hardcore Sony gamers talk about platinum trophies. The rest of the us just play games to have fun and aren't involved in the stupid fanboy crap.