Achievements.

**Xiahou** · 03-02-2008, 22:10

Originally Posted by TinCow

IMO, 'achievements' are a method the console developers created to increase replayability. They are an inferior console substitute for PC modding.

I get your sentiment, even if the comparison isn't perfect. The main thing achievements seem to indicate to me is how much time you're willing to spend getting achievements. If the only reason a replay part of a game, find certain items, or to explore certain content is to get an achievement, then aren't they really just a crutch for bad game design? If it's new content, it should be good enough to see on it's own- if you're only going somewhere or doing something because of an achievement, what's the point?

My only real experience with them is in games like TF2. From that, I would say that I think they're interesting, in terms of stat tracking, but I did not feel compelled to play the game any differently in order to collect achievements. In fact, if it just tracked stats and dumped the achievements, I really wouldn't mind.

**Motep** · 03-03-2008, 15:24

Eh, you said it all...

**Husar** · 03-04-2008, 02:44

Originally Posted by Xiahou

My only real experience with them is in games like TF2.

I got more than you there! Ahahahaha, pwned!

Well, I like to get more and more and sometimes they can show whether you're good or not (Xiahou got 1000 kills two months or so before me

).
But overall, I wouldn't try really hard to get them, just sometimes I thought "hey, why not play a medic to get some points for that medic achievement?" so they can be useful if well-implemented.

I never bothered to look for some dwarf in episode two though, never seen any either.

**Decker** · 03-06-2008, 22:52

I don't own a game or gaming system that has any type of achievement system, but imo, I think that a game should be good enough to make you to want to explore the world more and that will reward you with cool little doodads or something that open up other areas of the game for more exploring. Imo, a game or system that gives you little achievements sounds a little weak, unless you can get any game you'd like after collecting so many achievements or something as the only games that I ever played that really made me want explore more is The Legend of Zelda: Orciana of Time and Morrowind: Elder Scrolls IV or which ever one came before Oblivion.