2012 Gaming Resolutions

[Charlie]

To play games for fun/on merit and not for achievements.

This. I'm sick of being an achievement whore. It's geeky, too often a chore and, at it's worst, a ridiculous investment of one's time.

[Brad]

Play the games I already have.
Complete Dragon Age, Skyrim, Ico, SOTC, Mass Effect, Fallout New Vegas, Dark Souls.

All those must be completed before buying ANYTHING else. 2 Weeks into the new year and I'm doing ok.

[Sane]

I want to replay some games this year. There's loads of games I've been wanting to replay but I never get around to it because I keep buying new games. I'm going to start with Shin Megami Tensei: Nocturne, one of my favourite PS2 games. That is, I'm going to start with it once I finish up Skyrim, Dark Souls, Deus Ex and Yakuza 4...

[Cepp]

This. I'm sick of being an achievement whore. It's geeky, too often a chore and, at it's worst, a ridiculous investment of one's time.

That's an odd thing to say considering the board you're on.

[Charlie]

Do you mean to say videogames are geeky? Or that gaming forums are geeky? Or that this site in particular is geeky? Either way, I need to cut down on my geekyness and caring less about achievements will help me achieve that, especially those which aren't even fun to attain.

[Cepp]

I just feel that people round here are geeky and cutting down on game time/achievement hunting won't change that (though obviously it is a good idea to cut down if it's getting out of hand).

It's just the way you used the word that struck me as odd.

[Charlie]

I don't know if other users on here are geeky (many seem to be) but I know I am and not just in regards to videogames either. Maybe it was a bad choice of word because being geeky about certain things (for example physics or music) doesn't bother me, but being geeky misspending my time building an insignificant number on my gamertag does. That's not to say everyone who achievement hunts is geeky (or, to be more accurate, wasting their time) but when you find yourself going for achievements which ain't even fun you have to question the folly of it.

Anyway, I fear I may be over-intellectualising something that requires no intellectualising, so, yeah...

[Family Fry]

You summed it up best when you said "but when you find yourself going for achievements which ain't even fun you have to question the folly of it."
I gave up when I found myself playing Meet the Robinsons, grinding away on some tiresome gameplay, took a long hard look and said I'm not REALLY achieving anything am I? Beating Jordan on Guitar Hero 2 or 89 leveling Mutant Storm are true achievements, something to challenge yourself with but collect 1000 coins, meh.

[dvdx2]

i never really got the point of 'achievements'

is the thrill in the message popping up on the screen, saying you have earned 25g or something?

[Charlie]

Personally, the thrill in achievements comes from achieving something difficult (like beating all 4 campaigns on Expert in Left 4 Dead), not the gamerpoints or gamerscore. At their best they can add something to a game, can lengthen the life of a game, but too many of them are tedious.

[Family Fry]

For me on 360 launch night the cheeves were such a new idea the first BLIP Achievement Unlocked, created an addictive monster I wanted to unlock em all (Pokemon Voice)
Nowadays achievements are something to prolong a game that I enjoy playing, for instance I have played 47+hours of Saints Row The Third, having so much fun with it, generally I barely notice the achievement pop up.

[toythatkills]

I'm all for stopping earning stupid achievements, but there's a lot to be said for the way they can keep you playing a game where otherwise you'd just stop half way through and move on to something else.

Spending time earning achievements is a good way to get yourself playing the games you've got, and not buying new games you know you won't play much.

Stuff like "1billion kills online in Visceral Shooter 4" can sod off, but stuff like being encouraged to beat the game on harder difficulties is great. I've played through so many games I would have given up on were it not for achievements. I don't consider myself a whore (I'll happily play XBLIGs with no achievements) but seeing my completion percentage rise is nice, so I aim towards it.

[Fader209]

I'm all for stopping earning stupid achievements, but there's a lot to be said for the way they can keep you playing a game where otherwise you'd just stop half way through and move on to something else.

Spending time earning achievements is a good way to get yourself playing the games you've got, and not buying new games you know you won't play much.

Stuff like "1billion kills online in Visceral Shooter 4" can sod off, but stuff like being encouraged to beat the game on harder difficulties is great. I've played through so many games I would have given up on were it not for achievements. I don't consider myself a whore (I'll happily play XBLIGs with no achievements) but seeing my completion percentage rise is nice, so I aim towards it.

Yeah I agree with this way of looking at it, it's a good way to get the most out of a game you really like. One thing that does annoy me though is when you try out a game (borrowed, pre-owned etc) and it has an easy achievement right at the start for simply getting past the title screen it seems, as then that game is stuck in your game history and can't be deleted.

[hush]

1 Finish more games
2 Work on my Backlog
3 Try and buy less games and less One Day Buys

[toythatkills]

300/300 in Trials HD

Possibly too ambitious.

Too ambitious? HA!



Well proud of that.