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Post by SweetPoison13 on Feb 15, 2014 23:37:58 GMT -5
I used to play video games several years ago without digital rewards so this idea of being rewarded for being entertained is an interesting concept to me. I have always felt that the true reward with entertainment is the experience whether that means reading a thought-provoking book, listening to a delightful piece of music, watching a memorable film, or playing through an exciting video game. I don’t personally need some sort of pat on the back for any of this. Shouldn’t we seek out video games for their own merits such as their intriguing storylines and their enjoyable experiences?
Right now we have people seeking out video games for their trophies and pushing them to the side once they have achieved 100% trophy completion in them. Trophies and achievements cannot be all these video games have to offer us. What replay value do you think a video game has if 100% of its trophies or all of its achievements have been collected? These digital rewards have forever changed how some people experience video games. It looks like they are here to stay but how do you feel about them? What do they do for you? Do you need them? Do you "work" for them? How do they enhance your experiences with video games? Could you return to a time when trophies and achievements didn’t exist? Why or why not?
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Post by Tross on Feb 19, 2014 21:22:13 GMT -5
This is a topic that has been discussed since their introduction, but I guess it doesn't hurt to re-evaluate it from time to time. Trophies aren't something I need to enjoy a game, but they don't take away from my enjoyment either. I don't platinum most games, because is usually can't be bothered, but sometimes, the extra objectives are nice to have. For example, I may invest in a game that I think is over too quickly, but take advantage of trophies to extend the replay value. Most of the time though, the game itself is adequate enough. If I enjoyed it, then great, but the likelihood of me going back to play through the game again just for trophies is very low. I'll replay a game if I want to, regardless of if I have all the trophies for it. If I couldn't be bothered to finish the game otherwise, trophies won't encourage me to change my mind, and if I don't want a game, I won't buy it, no matter how easy or challenging it is to acquire its trophies.
I don't need trophies. I don't have anything to prove to other people, and I fail to see how the way people approach trophies and achievements proves anything. Sure, some trophies are hard to get, but most people can't be bothered to examine people's individual trophies. How many trophies one has proves nothing, other than how many games he or she has played. I don't have to go back to a time without trophies and achievements, because I live in one when I'm playing games on my 3ds, or when I go on a retro gaming kick. For many, particularly younger gamers, it's difficult to imagine a time without that stuff, but I don't personally need it.
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Post by OttselHero on Feb 20, 2014 17:54:59 GMT -5
We don't necessarily "need" trophies/achievements per se, but they do add a bit of a social element to gaming. Before the 7th console generation, I could tell you that I accomplished something in a game, but you would have to take my word for it. For example, and maybe this is a bad one as it hasn't been released in HD yet (though it will be if FFX HD sells well), one of my proudest achievements in gaming was defeating Yiazmat in Final Fantasy XII. I can tell you that, but a trophy stating said feat would be solid proof to show my friends that I did it and that I wasn't telling a fib. I am a bit of a completionist, but I don't worry about collecting 100% of the trophies in each game if it is far beyond my ability. I like it when games give me a reason to keep playing before moving on to a different game, as it saves me money in the long run, giving said next game some time to drop in price before I shell out the cash for it. I certainly don't need trophies or achievements to enjoy a game, though. For example, I've been playing The Last of Us, which doesn't have many achievements up its sleeve--I'm 10 hours into it and I've only picked up 1 trophy so far, and I don't care. I've been enjoying the game for what it is. I will most certainly play through it again after scoring the platinum, as I've done the same with other games I've platinum'd (with Uncharted being the most common case). In regards to those who do view trophies and achievements as an "important" feature, I can see why they might feel that way. As sadistic as this next statement sounds, there are those who have little to no achievement in their lives. Earning an achievement in a game provides a sense of accomplishment--a false sense of accomplishment, but a sense of accomplish nonetheless. It's sad to say, but it's the truth in some cases. Granted, this "sense" is experienced by those who have had significant accomplishments in their lives as well, but games add an extra "oomph" to their "real" accomplishments…if that makes sense. Personally, I could care less if an achievement system existed. It merely extends the playtime for a game, but not a whole lot more than that.
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Post by SweetPoison13 on Feb 26, 2014 22:09:54 GMT -5
Hi, everyone. Sorry for the late reply. I wanted to leave this thread alone for a while and see what would happen to it. Thank you for letting me know what you, as individuals, think about trophies and achievements. Here is some more information about this thread. It was posted in more than one community and it was presented in a manner that could have easily elicited some strong responses from some passionate trophy or achievement hunters. If my choice of words irritated anyone here then you have my apologies. This thread has given me nice glimpses into different communities and brought some interesting discussions to the table so I think it served its purpose. I would like to thank everyone who tackled this topic instead of tackling the author (some communities were better at this than others).
Here is my take on the questions that I presented a little while ago:
Trophies and achievements have not been able to enhance my experiences with video games or add any replay value to them. The only reason I would purchase a video game is if I think I might enjoy playing through it. I’m honestly not going to enjoy a video game more with trophies or achievements than without them. I try to look at a video game’s replay value beforehand and see what it has to offer in terms of things like optional side quests, collectibles, unlockables, difficulty settings, new game + options, a chapter select menu, and maybe alternate endings. I like to revisit enjoyable video games and play through them more than once. This has always been the case and it doesn't have anything to do with trophies or achievements. It can depend on the video game though. I don’t replay too many role-playing games because the time that I can spend with them (e.g., 100+ hours) tends to be enough.
With that being said, I don’t have strong feelings about trophies or achievements. My “reward” for playing through a video game is the experience itself and I don’t consider trophies or achievements to be part of that experience. They haven’t been for most of my life. In fact, I continue to play older video games that do not have trophies or achievements. I would like to think that I can always replay a video game and enjoy it again regardless of how many of its trophies or achievements I may have collected (if it has this support). The vast majority of the video games that I have played over the years haven’t given me trophies or achievements and I never expected them to either.
Anyway, I always like to hear about how trophies and achievements have enhanced someone’s experience with modern video games and I always appreciate it when people can do this in a respectful manner. Thanks for your time.
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Post by OttselHero on Mar 30, 2014 13:57:42 GMT -5
I randomly thought back to this thread and came up with another viable answer to the OP's question. Trophies/achievements somewhat serve as collectibles. Some people collect cards, some people collect comic books, others collect trophies/achievements. Though unlike traditional collectibles, trophies/achievements can't be sold for a high price when aged.
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Post by Tross on Mar 30, 2014 16:09:02 GMT -5
I randomly thought back to this thread and came up with another viable answer to the OP's question. Trophies/achievements somewhat serve as collectibles. Some people collect cards, some people collect comic books, others collect trophies/achievements. Though unlike traditional collectibles, trophies/achievements can't be sold for a high price when aged. To be fair though, not much of that stuff is very valuable. As it stands, my Pokemon cards aren't worth nearly enough to sell, even though I only kept my holograms. I'm sure the same is true of comic books. According to The Big Bang theory, some of those are valuable, but I doubt every single one is. If nothing else, the majority of that stuff might have some value in bulk, but not what you'd think. I can't pretend to be an expert on any of that, mind you, since I can barely comprehend videogame economics, and that pertains to my primary hobby. At the very least, trophies and achievements don't take up space, and you don't need to worry about having to sell them, so that's an advantage to them. Pursuing trophies as a collection isn't my thing, but that could be a reason why people do it.
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Post by OttselHero on Mar 30, 2014 16:51:03 GMT -5
I randomly thought back to this thread and came up with another viable answer to the OP's question. Trophies/achievements somewhat serve as collectibles. Some people collect cards, some people collect comic books, others collect trophies/achievements. Though unlike traditional collectibles, trophies/achievements can't be sold for a high price when aged. To be fair though, not much of that stuff is very valuable. As it stands, my Pokemon cards aren't worth nearly enough to sell, even though I only kept my holograms. I'm sure the same is true of comic books. According to The Big Bang theory, some of those are valuable, but I doubt every single one is. If nothing else, the majority of that stuff might have some value in bulk, but not what you'd think. My dad and I recently shared a similar discussion while watching "Pawn Stars". Pokemon cards aren't as valuable as they were a few years ago; I think the original Charizard card was worth thousands at one time, but not so much anymore. Granted I never cared much about the Pokemon card game, but I was a gargantuan Yu-Gi-Oh! nut back in the day. I still own a lot of cards that would have been worth a ton of money at some point. I own a [real] Slifer the Sky Dragon card that was worth $60+ in its peak (I didn't pay that much; it came as a random bonus with the animanga to the movie), but I now find it on ebay for $5-$10. I think games are very sensitive in that once the trend is over, the rarer pieces are no longer valuable. Somewhat getting off the subject, I always thought I'd invest in buying action figures once my financial situation is in the right moment to do so. Especially Final Fantasy figures. Have you seen how much they go for so quickly? If I had known Zack Fair from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII would go for THAT much after only a couple of years, I might have kept him in the box. I don't own this, but I've seen the Kingdom Hearts Sephiroth figure go for around $50 when it first came out. Only a year or two later, I see it going for $150. Might be a worthwhile investment.
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Post by Tross on Mar 31, 2014 11:39:19 GMT -5
To be fair though, not much of that stuff is very valuable. As it stands, my Pokemon cards aren't worth nearly enough to sell, even though I only kept my holograms. I'm sure the same is true of comic books. According to The Big Bang theory, some of those are valuable, but I doubt every single one is. If nothing else, the majority of that stuff might have some value in bulk, but not what you'd think. My dad and I recently shared a similar discussion while watching "Pawn Stars". Pokemon cards aren't as valuable as they were a few years ago; I think the original Charizard card was worth thousands at one time, but not so much anymore. Granted I never cared much about the Pokemon card game, but I was a gargantuan Yu-Gi-Oh! nut back in the day. I still own a lot of cards that would have been worth a ton of money at some point. I own a [real] Slifer the Sky Dragon card that was worth $60+ in its peak (I didn't pay that much; it came as a random bonus with the animanga to the movie), but I now find it on ebay for $5-$10. I think games are very sensitive in that once the trend is over, the rarer pieces are no longer valuable. Somewhat getting off the subject, I always thought I'd invest in buying action figures once my financial situation is in the right moment to do so. Especially Final Fantasy figures. Have you seen how much they go for so quickly? If I had known Zack Fair from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII would go for THAT much after only a couple of years, I might have kept him in the box. I don't own this, but I've seen the Kingdom Hearts Sephiroth figure go for around $50 when it first came out. Only a year or two later, I see it going for $150. Might be a worthwhile investment. From what I've heard, some Magic: The Gathering cards are actually still worth a lot. Too bad I never got into Magic, and have never owned any Magic cards. Games do go down in value, because I scored three brand new copies of ps2 SMT games at the beginning of last year, for $20 or less apiece, effectively completing my ps2 Megaten collection. I'm not questioning what sorcery that is, because the most valuable of those games went for as much as $110 at one point. I can't say I've never thought about starting a videogame figurine collection, which would probably consist of my favorite female characters from various games and series. I'm not interested in doing it for potential profit though. That seems like an awful lot of time and effort to go through for money, unless you want to start a store. If I got figurines, I would take them out of their box, and put them on my shelf, so I could admire them. I don't have a game collection for the sake of having a museum, and that applies to the various art books and soundtracks I have, as well as my two plushies, so I would apply the same principle to figurines if I had them. I can't say I've really gone out of my way to invest in videogame merchandise that isn't videogames. Almost all of what I have came as either pre-order bonuses, or the occasional Collector's Edition, and the rest came from E3.
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Post by OttselHero on Mar 31, 2014 15:00:45 GMT -5
My dad and I recently shared a similar discussion while watching "Pawn Stars". Pokemon cards aren't as valuable as they were a few years ago; I think the original Charizard card was worth thousands at one time, but not so much anymore. Granted I never cared much about the Pokemon card game, but I was a gargantuan Yu-Gi-Oh! nut back in the day. I still own a lot of cards that would have been worth a ton of money at some point. I own a [real] Slifer the Sky Dragon card that was worth $60+ in its peak (I didn't pay that much; it came as a random bonus with the animanga to the movie), but I now find it on ebay for $5-$10. I think games are very sensitive in that once the trend is over, the rarer pieces are no longer valuable. Somewhat getting off the subject, I always thought I'd invest in buying action figures once my financial situation is in the right moment to do so. Especially Final Fantasy figures. Have you seen how much they go for so quickly? If I had known Zack Fair from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII would go for THAT much after only a couple of years, I might have kept him in the box. I don't own this, but I've seen the Kingdom Hearts Sephiroth figure go for around $50 when it first came out. Only a year or two later, I see it going for $150. Might be a worthwhile investment. From what I've heard, some Magic: The Gathering cards are actually still worth a lot. Too bad I never got into Magic, and have never owned any Magic cards. Games do go down in value, because I scored three brand new copies of ps2 SMT games at the beginning of last year, for $20 or less apiece, effectively completing my ps2 Megaten collection. I'm not questioning what sorcery that is, because the most valuable of those games went for as much as $110 at one point. I can't say I've never thought about starting a videogame figurine collection, which would probably consist of my favorite female characters from various games and series. I'm not interested in doing it for potential profit though. That seems like an awful lot of time and effort to go through for money, unless you want to start a store. If I got figurines, I would take them out of their box, and put them on my shelf, so I could admire them. I don't have a game collection for the sake of having a museum, and that applies to the various art books and soundtracks I have, as well as my two plushies, so I would apply the same principle to figurines if I had them. I can't say I've really gone out of my way to invest in videogame merchandise that isn't videogames. Almost all of what I have came as either pre-order bonuses, or the occasional Collector's Edition, and the rest came from E3. Same here, I definitely don't regret taking Zack or Cloud or Yuna or Sephiroth out of the box, but I would consider buying 2 of the same figurine, one to profit off of 40 years down the line and the other for myself.
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