I read an article yesterday and the editor talked about how achievements changed the way people play games. He was thinking, that its a motivation to play a game different than without them included. But my experience about games with achievements is, that they are mostly about completing the story, about the handling of the difficulty or collecting stuff and if you like the game and play it a lot, they normaly unlock from time to time. But whats your opinion about?

8 years ago

Comment has been collapsed.

Do you play games different because of achievments?

View Results
Yeah
Hell no
I dont care
Potatoe

I'm an achievement whore now, and it taught me a few things. Chief among them that most devs have zero idea on how to handle them, so they just throw in some dumb collectible in the game and the rest are story progression ones. Even point 'n' click adventure game makers can be guilty of that.
The other end is the totally ridiculous one, like trying to 100% any Arkham game. Asylum is somewhat manageable, but from City on they just flipped their mind. Same goes for things like L. A. Noire too.
But when it is done correctly, they are enjoyable. For example, I loved Deponia's achievements, and for a more action-oriented one, I liked the slightly strange, but doable combat challenges of Remember Me.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Personally, I have mixed feelings about achievements. I often cringe when I see achievements (especially in bad games), because I have a completionist soul and no time, sometimes no will (e.g. when I didn't like the game) or no skills to max everything at 100%. On the other hand I like e.g. EU4 achievements - sometimes they help to decide what I want to do in particular playthrough when I'm not feeling creative enough to pursue my own goals. Another type of achievements I like are achievement that make me do something I'd normally missed/didn't notice. And this answers your question - of course I'd play differently without achievements. I even attempt achievements that are out of my reach which I obviously wouldn't bother doing without them ;)

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

EU4 & CKII have awesome achievements they add replayability imo.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Games like Mark of the Ninja handle achievement really well in my opinion. The achievements there are not about replaying the game, but replaying it differently, which adds a lot of replay value.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I like them, but sometimes is stupidly bugged or some really really hard (or tedious as farming) tasks.... For example, in Dust An Elyisian Tail i have this achievement: The Stuff of Legends: Earn a Four-Star Rating in EVERY Challenge Arena but i didnt unblock this one: An Impressive Display: Earn a Four-Star Rating in any Challenge Arena ... In Darksiders 1 i have something like those, i killed a boss and the achievement didnt show up...

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Darksiders 1 is like that yes. I had to do many things twice or even more to unlock some achs. Rule of thumb was: save constantly and, when the game crashes, RESTART the Steam before going into the game again. Try to avoid alt+tab as well as shift+tab.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

yeah i read that AFTER this happened to me, and now im lazy to start again T.T

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

When I play the game for the first time,I usually go through it to find out about the story, the choices, the mechanics, etc. And only then I look into the achievements, because it's interesting. What things the delevopers would like me to do? What secrets and puzzles and challenges have they hidden in the game? Maybe it's a different perspective they want me to consider, the different choices they want me to make.
For example, in story-driven games where I have a choice to play as a "good" protagonist or as a "bad" protagonist, I would always play as the "good" one, because... that's just who I am. I can't be good, I'm not a good person, but I'd like to learn how it is, to be a hero.
And if not for achievements, I wouldn't have ever considered playing as the "bad" protagonist (which, of course, impacts the story).
I'm not an achievement hunter, but there are games I'd like to have 100% of achievements, and when achievements are thought out throughly, they are a good tool for creating an experience.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

My best example is Dishonored's DLC. Achivements- Cleaner Hands (Complete The Knife of Dunwall without killing anyone) vs Whisper Ways (Complete The Knife of Dunwall without alerting anyone) (this time allows killing- not like in main game :)

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Those achievements were amazing, but sometimes you didnt know if someone saw you or not and you cant really know until you finish the mission, i miss some kind of information panel to know that if someone spoted you or you can continue T.T

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I love achievments, doing them increases your play time and sometimes makes it more fun to play a game. For some reason I try to get as many as I can for every game I play.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I play the game first without worrying about achievements because they sometimes contain spoilers. When I finish the game, then I look at the achievement list and see what I missed. I might go back and complete the achievements depending on what is required. If it's some stupid grind type, I won't bother. If it hints to something I missed, I might play it again.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Deleted

This comment was deleted 4 months ago.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Its so strange... i completely ignore then.

I did played for achievements few times- TF2 of old tought me some achievements can be fun.
But in all sincerity how many achievements are actually fun?

When a achievement proposes a challenge that really twists things around (in a fun, non-boring way) they're more then welcome; Proper achievements i would say.

I know they're out there but i don't ever check for those- because its so rare i simply don't even bother.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Achievement!
Posted on a SG thread.

...¬¬

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Achievements and steam levels are next to useless I play for fun not for digital bragging rights

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Achievements are necessary, yeah...they add value to a game, and their social value is important too

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Only sandbox type of games they have the most rare achievements. Bad English

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Hell no! My thought is just like yours: if you play and enjoy a game enough, eventually you'll be achieving certain goals. It's natural, no need to force your way into an achievement.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

+1

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I don't really care about achievements, but I think it's still nice to see them casually pop up.

Btw.: I've heard that this game has easy achievements, but I'm not sure?

8 years ago*
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Playing a game a different way should be a product/reward of the player's creativity and curiosity, not sign-posted, advertised and gamified.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

I prefer games with Achievements and I do think I play them differently, because when I enjoy the game I tend to play it more until I complete the Achievements, but most of the time I just complete the game.

8 years ago
Permalink

Comment has been collapsed.

Sign in through Steam to add a comment.