• 27Jul 08

  "do you go for achievements or do you just leave them alone?"

  This post is really just a reply to a PM I received regarding my previous post that listed a bunch of my odd game accomplishments (found here).

  Original question

  "What about achievements. Alot of people don't consider what you have done anymore achievements due to the fact that you did not get an award or something poping up telling you that you did such and such. If you do play 360 games do you go for achievements or do you just leave them alone?"

  My Answer

  I do play some games on the Xbox 360, but I don't pay attention to the built-in achievements. One reason is that most of the games that I play are on other platforms (especially the PC), which, by and large, do not have formal achievements built in. (In fact, I only have 4 games for the Xbox 360 currently.) I also play a lot of older games, which predate the 360 and the concept of built-in game achievements. So that means formal achievements are only even available in a small subset of the games that I play, which makes them of limited use to me in gauging what I've done.
  
  Another reason 360 achievements are not very important to me is that, often, the achievements thought up by the game's developer are not the same as the ones that I might think of doing on my own. I prefer to play the game as I please, and if I happen to do so in some kind of unusual way, then it was my own idea and my own motivation which led me to do it. That feels more natural to me and keeps me focused on just enjoying the game rather than trying to contort my natural styIe of play to fulfill someone else's prescribed goals.
  
  The last, and probably biggest reason that I find myself inclined to ignore formal achievements is because I'm not looking to accomplish things so that I can show them off to other people. Rather, I'm doing them just for myself because I enjoy them, and I don't need formal achievements for that. That's not to say that I think there's anything wrong with being competitive or boastful in terms of one's gaming accomplishments--I don't. It's just that I play games for myself alone, and sometimes in so doing, I end up accomplishing something that, after the fact, I might realize to be kind of cool. But my goal is always, first and foremost, just to play some game in the way and to the extent that I enjoy--everyone else be damned. If doing that leads me to beat a game 25 times or something similarly crazy, then I'll throw it in a blog post or something. But telling other people about it is just for fun, and was never the point in the first place.
  
  The blog post I put up about those thing I had done in games was really just me trying to think up all the semi-eccentric things I had happened to do over my years of substantial gaming. I had never before really thought about trying to collect a list of all my such achievements, so I was having fun exploring it. Hope you enjoyed looking it over, and maybe it'll inspire you to compile your own personal list of gaming accomplishments that you're proud of or even just surprised to have actually pulled off!

  • Posted Jul 27, 2008 4:31 pm PT
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• 25Dec 07

  Moving Forward

  Well, the storm has passed now. The forums aren't being flooded with angry posts and the wider Internet gaming community isn't atwitter with conspiracy theories. That's not to say things are back to "normal" though. Damage has been done, both to GameSpot and perhaps to the general credibility of game journalists as a whole. I think it was at least good to see some attention drawn to the questionable business practices that exist between some game publishers and some game media outlets. It's not new or particularly well-hidden, but it's to the benefit of game players that that side of game coverage be pulled into the light every now and then, if only to remind people to exercise critical thinking in evaluating games and in trusting those people who are, themselves, paid to evaluate games.

  As for GameSpot, I think it has always been easy to see that the staff who works there are dedicated to doing the best work they can in the service of their audience, and maintaining their integrity is the very foundation of doing that. I continue to trust what they have to say, because I'm confident they wouldn't intentionally lead any of their readers to believe anything that they, themselves, do not believe.

  However, I still have a great deal of concern regarding the CNET overseers of GameSpot. I am not convinced that those responsible for the whole fiasco understand what they did wrong or that they won't again undermine the work and reputation of GameSpot for petty business opportunities or other reasons. Many of the complaints raised in this anonymous posting by a supposed GameSpot insider sound credible and scary to me. Also, maybe it's actually nothing, but the tone of the writing (not to mention the nigh impeccable grammar and spelling) in that article reminds me strongly of a particular GameSpot editor. I understand that what was written there, if from a legitimate source, was produced in the heat of the moment, and so is probably not entirely objective or even fully-informed about the details of what went down. But nonetheless, I am left with an irrepressible uneasy feeling that all has not been rectified in the upper echelons of the GameSpot hierarchy.

  I think the root of my sadness over the whole fiasco was that Jeff's leaving represented the end of the old GameSpot, at least in my mind. It was Greg's departure that jolted me into acknowledging the possibility that GameSpot as I had always known it was fading away, and then Rich's and Jeff's that sealed it. The old days of GameSpotting, the early GameSpot Live productions, and all the other silly, funny, but passionate editorial content that embodied GameSpot to me are now just memories. GameSpot doesn't have that highly personal feeling anymore. I guess times had been changing even before this last tumultuous year, but it didn't really sink in until now. I still care a great deal about GameSpot, and I will continue to visit the site, read reviews, check out the occasional feature, and post in the forums, but I can't say that I identify with GameSpot as a part of me anymore. It's no longer my home, it's just where I stop by for some quality info or to reminisce about the good old days.

  • Posted Dec 25, 2007 5:58 am PT
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• 1Dec 07

  By gamers, for gamers.

  The only time the thought of cancelling my GameSpot Total Access subscription had previously crossed my mind was back when Greg Kasavin revealed his departure early this year. I never came seriously close to actually doing it that time, despite the loss of the human embodiment of everything I treasured about GameSpot, as there were many other people still at the organization who were striving to honor Greg's legacy.
  
  This nightmarish episode of the past couple days is the second time I've considered cancelling my subscription. I've felt privileged to hold my paid GameSpot subscription ever since the first week that GameSpot instituted it. I was always proud to be able to demonstrate my appreciation to a group of people doing work that I deeply valued and with such passion and integrity that I admired. Plus, having old reviews locked away really did suck .
  
  A few minutes ago, I confirmed the cancellation of my account. It was surreal, of course, but I found no hesitation in doing it under these circumstances. I see that I still have my Total Access status, which I knew I would keep, but I still half-expected to vanish with the heavy click of my mouse. In fact, as I look at that little chevron emblem, I now find myself wishing that my Total Access status were revoked immediately. I don't feel the pride that I once did in having it.
  
  GameSpot has been a second home to me for many years. Since a relatively young age, I found that talking about video games with most people was generally not a very successful venture. They either had no idea what I was try to share with them or, if they were familiar with the games I mentioned, the dialogue always seemed very superficial. I had trouble expressing my passion for games, so I internalized it. I figured that as long as I found personal meaning in playing games, it didn't matter if I could make other people understand it. While I still believe there is a certain undeniable truth to that, I learned through the example of the GameSpot editors that there are many ways in which to share one's passion for games; that games are enriching and touch many veins of human experience. The key is passion: to love a game and the sensations of playing it, sharing it, remembering it. Those who invest most get the most out. That's a satisfying lesson, and it reaches well beyond just games.
  
  What hurts me most about everything that's happening now is the thought of whom it's happening to. The GameSpot editors, Jeff and everyone else, are the last ones to deserve this. While it's very painful to see the GameSpot name sullied across the gaming community, it's far more heart-wrenching to think of the people whom I respect so greatly being caught in the middle for the very same reasons that I have such respect for them. No matter what they choose to do next with themselves and their careers, I will always hold them in the highest regard for their years of honest work and their dedication to all of us who like to play video games.
  
  That's something that I hope people won't forget amid all this talk of distrust or betrayal. GameSpot was a bastion of celebration for games. For more than 10 years, across thousands of reviews, hundreds of features, perhaps millions of screenshots and videos, and every year's ever-growing massive E3 coverage, GameSpot was there, full of energy, wit, insight, and joy. I remember someone, possibly Greg Kasavin, saying that the GameSpot editors just wanted GameSpot to be the kind of resource that they all wish they had had before coming to work there. I can't imagine having been without GameSpot, myself, and I will forever be grateful for it and grateful to the people who made it what it was.
  • Posted Dec 1, 2007 9:01 am PT
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