At what point does this person realize that he is no longer gaming for the sake of enjoying the game but rather competing, with himself, for a pop up notification indicating his reward of 20 G Points. Is it a point of pride, the easiest comparsion would be like getting the highest score at your local arcade. You want to prove that you did something no one else has, you want to make your mark, yet is this a testament to true acheivement or time invested?
There is no set formula for how to achieve these points. You can earn points by going through the story of the game or you are charged with a specific task. Sometimes points are gained fairly easy while others are almost impossible or turn into a total time-consuming exercise in monotonous tasks. Playing through a tutorial, getting X # of kills and even online multiplayer the options for gaining points are limitless.
There are plenty of websites and videos that help gamers learn how to achieve these challenges which creates another universe to gaming in general. To some gamers they remember only the achievements and the challenges that they provided, but is that the purpose of a game? I suppose that this is similar to someone who buys COD or Halo or Battlefield and only plays the multilayer mode, never to see the campaign or any other modes offered. Now I am not suggesting that there is a specific way that games should be enjoyed, I understand gaming is different to everyone.
So is this system of awarding players for specific tasks good or bad for gaming?
Personally I find myself in the middle of this issue. First and foremost I play games because I enjoy them. I want an escape from reality and something that will entertain me, plain and simple. But, as I am playing next-gen games and I see those achievement points popping up I can't help but find motivation to try to get as many as I can. In some cases I see the achievements as a good driver to explore all aspects of a game, while other times it seems like a shallow social experiment bent on proving how much time someone can waste playing video games, click here for an example.
I can admit that I have gone through and completed all achievements in a game just so I could feel a sense of completion, and to be honest it was a good feeling. I can also admit that I have started games with intentions of achieving points and yet I ignored the game itself, not paying attention to the story or the characters but rather yearning for those rare pop ups. Now I realize that if I am going to play a game I really don't care about the points, if I earn some, that's great and if I don't its not a big deal. I will still check to see what it takes to earn achievements and if it is something that sparks my attention I will give it a try, but I will not look up guides on how to complete this task.
My only hope is that people don't lose sight of the true purpose of gaming as an outlet for entertainment, not a venue for competition and not a platform to "waste" time. I know that there are those out there that say games are competitive in nature and therefore my argument would be invalid. Hell, in South Korea some video-games are considered a national sport, but I do not see the value in that. When you are playing against another opponent the competition is implied, but when you are earning achievements who are you competing against?, If not yourself? That can lead people to dispises an otherwise great game because they couldn't earn those last 30 achievement points unless they grind out 20+ hours in an attempt that will not enhance the game but dilute the original intention.
In closing, play video-games however you like, but do not limit yourself to one aspect of a game or gaming in general, try out everything, play through the story, appreciate the hard work that has gone into every pixel. Before you task yourself with achieving all 1000 Xbox point or Sony Trophies, ask yourself do you enjoy this game enough to invest that type of time?
So anyway grab a beer and start enjoying your games!
