Do Achievements/Trophies ruin the 'fun' in games?

I've been finding myself for the last 4 years now buying a game or renting and immediately looking at the achievements and playing the game trying to get them. But what I didn't realize was I missing out on the point; fun. When you're playing a game where the achievement is to never die you find yourself playing through the game and when you die, BAM! You're mad - no achievement. So what do we do? We restart. And even though we are redoing virtually everything we just did, we don't care cuz we want these 'magical virtual' essentially nothing points. Why? Cuz we want to beat our friends out?

We are ruining the games for ourselves.. don't you see? We no longer play to play.. we play to go after awards. What fun is that? For instance: Last gen.. there were no achievements. So what did we do? We played games and had fun. Cuz that's all that they were. Fun. Now I do realize the positive side of achievements/trophies like bragging rights, accomplishment, and making a game re-playable but weren't fun games replayable any way? To me it's just an annoying thing in the way. I admit that I was VERY obsessed at a time with collecting achievements and spending countless hours going after them but in the end I mostly regret it cuz I missed out on just playing the game through the first time just for fun.

Your thoughts?

not every one plays games for the trophies or achievements they have added alot to the gaming arena.

It's not like the games are designed around achievement gathering, so I don't see how. If you don't want them, ignore them.

not every one plays games for the trophies or achievements they have added alot to the gaming arena.

WilliamRLBaker

They don't effect game enjoyment negatively one bit.

Ignore them :o

No one has a gun to your head.. if you don't like them just ignore them. They add replay value and get some people to try things they normally wouldn't such as playing on hard, not dying etc.

achievements dont ruin the fun. For some people they might "add" something.

But it is a gimmick as any other

They dont, unless it affects you how other people play their games. Achievements to most dont really mean anything, but I'm sure many of us would rather have achievements/trophies than nothing at all.

Hmm, I don't know. Not for me personally. I kind of like that they exist in some games as a little incentive to do extra things rather than just blast through the game as fast as possible.

They may help to switch off the creativity in some peoples' minds when it comes to what they should do in a game. I'm sure many of us have our own personal achievements we've reached in our various favorite games that weren't tied to anything specific. We just did them because we loved the game, and enjoyed it. I would hope achievements haven't taken over that, and there are gamers out there who still strive for their own personal goals even when a shiny award isn't attached to it.

No.

Trophies are cool and add another layer of depth if you want to invest even more in that game. That said i'm not really a trophie hogger so i have yet to plat a game... trying now on Demon's Souls cuz i really loved it but having some troubles ;P

achievements dont ruin the fun. For some people they might "add" something.

But it is a gimmick as any other

Half-Way

Have you ever wondered that, MAYBE, those folks have fun getting achievements/trophies?? :roll:

Have you ever wondered that, MAYBE, those folks have fun getting achievements/trophies?? :roll:GreenGoblin2099

[QUOTE="Half-Way"]

achievements dont ruin the fun. For some people they might"add" something.

But it is a gimmick as any other

GreenGoblin2099

Have you ever wondered that, MAYBE, those folks have fun getting achievements/trophies?? :roll:

im not sure what your getting at.

I rarely go after them.

Infamous 2 is my only platinum.

I still don't understand why anyone would want to complete an achievement.

[QUOTE="GreenGoblin2099"]Have you ever wondered that, MAYBE, those folks have fun getting achievements/trophies?? :roll:foxhound_fox

Well, while I don't fully agree, I see your point and all I can say is that you don't need trophies/achievements to get that... people rage quits, join teams only to **** up with their team mates, people who fool around, people who get annoying. It's always been there.

I can't say I don't support trophies/achievements but I really really dislike the MP based ones... probably because I dislike MPs altogether.

Games serve a purpose for everyone. Some people play to kill time, chase trophies and a higher level. Others play games for pure fun. Most gamers are completionists of some sort here. I typically play a game to completedness without looking at trophies, then glancing at them for a second playthrough. I think the first playthrough with few exceptions is the most fun and if you waste it chasing trophies your going to have a poor experience. Playing Uncharted 2 on Hard and Crushing for my first and second playthrough respectively was the biggest mistake I've ever made in regards to impeding my fun, and I did it for the trophies.

So to summarize, they ruin your fun if you go after them right away, but once you've played a game to the point where having a task is more fun than what the game gives you, you go for the trophy. They maximize fun if you play it right, but they hurt it if you don't.

If you don't like them, ignore them. I turn off notifications so I never have to see them. I usually forget games even have achievements or trophies.

For me, achievements only add to the fun of playing games. I personally find that getting achievements adds a lot of replay value to games and I find a sense of accomplishment in getting them. However, I won't not play a game if I can't get all the achievements or kill myself to get them. Will I spend a couple extra hours or use a guide? Yeah sure.However, I don't let it ruin my fun by resorting to cheats or hacks in order to get them. So no achievements for me don't ruin but rather add to the game's fun and my experience with the game.

They don't take away from or add to the fun of a game. They do nothing at all.

Perhaps next gen they will serve a purpose, but this gen they do not.

they add more to it..seen me playing some games on harder difficulties for them for the sheer banter of getting them and getting more out my new £40 expense :P why not it gets you more playtime out a game dont really see anything bad with that :P mind you theres a few games i;ve got like 2 achievements out of cause they generally...just suck and been sold on.

I don't see any negative against trophies to be honest. Maybe on online games that cause gamers to rage quit etc could be annoying but in single player games it could add to it. Like little challenges to get the most you can out of the game.

I completely ignore them. I've never once tried to go for an achievement or trophy. Merex760

Same here.

No it doesn't. When a game is boring it make gaining achievements/trophies a chore.

I've been finding myself for the last 4 years now buying a game or renting and immediately looking at the achievements and playing the game trying to get them. But what I didn't realize was I missing out on the point; fun. When you're playing a game where the achievement is to never die you find yourself playing through the game and when you die, BAM! You're mad - no achievement. So what do we do? We restart. And even though we are redoing virtually everything we just did, we don't care cuz we want these 'magical virtual' essentially nothing points. Why? Cuz we want to beat our friends out?

We are ruining the games for ourselves.. don't you see? We no longer play to play.. we play to go after awards. What fun is that? For instance: Last gen.. there were no achievements. So what did we do? We played games and had fun. Cuz that's all that they were. Fun. Now I do realize the positive side of achievements/trophies like bragging rights, accomplishment, and making a game re-playable but weren't fun games replayable any way? To me it's just an annoying thing in the way. I admit that I was VERY obsessed at a time with collecting achievements and spending countless hours going after them but in the end I mostly regret it cuz I missed out on just playing the game through the first time just for fun.

Your thoughts?

Leakybubbles

There's a similarity between these useless achievements/trophies and high scores from arcades / other older console games, i don't see any problem with them. Bragging is natural.. that's what people do, i sure as hell know some people bragged about high scores.

Nah, you're looking to hard.

i usually go for trophies on the second playthrough.

No, not even one bit

If you dont like achievements you can turn off notifications....which makes it so you never knew yougot them.

Only if my teammate is looking for the goldenvibrater instead of helping me fight off a horde of zombies.

personally i never play for achievements and im not bothered if other people do or dont expect in multiplayer. its annoying to have that one guy keeps trying to get a pin/insigna in bad company 2 instead of playing for the objective

I only get achievements for games that I really enjoy because most of the time it allows me to appreciate the game even more. For instance, I just gathered the 50 gold reels in L.A. Noire and it really showed how much time, effort, and detail the developers put into the world.

If your buying game like Avatar stirctly to boast your gamerscore then I look at that as an obsession. However, I really don't care.