Number Addicts

‘Hi, I’m Ben, and I’m an achievement addict’. That was me a year and a half ago. I used to slog through rubbish games just for the achievement points; waste hours of my evenings and weekends doing what I considered a chore simply to boost the ’gamerscore’ situated next to my gamertag. I don’t know when exactly it happened, but there came a point when I began to look upon this task with utter contempt, essentially finding myself sneering at those who continued the fruitless task of number hoarding.

(Just to clarify, Xbox 360 games contain achievement points, which you can unlock after meeting certain criteria in a game. Such as completing a level on hard setting, killing 100 enemies or uncovering a secret area etc. Each full retail game contains 1000 points to unlock, some are easier than others, and a few are just ridiculously hard or pathetically simple to obtain.)

I had a new sense of freedom, but with that freedom came a feeling of loneliness. I’ll give you an example. Whilst perusing my Xbox 360 friends list one evening looking to join an online game, I saw that a few friends were playing Team Fortress 2. I joined, but to my horror discovered that they were participating in some disturbing acts. These people (some being real life friends) had separated into two equal numbered teams and were taking it in turns to stand on the spot while the other team inflicted damage to their rivals using the various weapons available, in a bid to collect the specific achievements rewarded for the use of each weapon. I tried my best to disrupt this sickening scene; I managed to end a few sprees before getting kicked out of the game. ‘We’re not hurting anybody’, they protested. I was angry, distressed, frustrated and above all else, disillusioned. Is this really what gaming has been reduced too? Everywhere I looked people were playing sub par games for the achievements alone. Where had the fun gone? Where were these people’s sense of pride? I was embarrassed to have them on my friends list. I deleted a few, it made me feel a little better, but not much.

Don’t get me wrong, I bloody love achievements, but not like this. I genuinely enjoy receiving an achievement after I’ve actually earned it and it’s even better when it’s unexpected. Where’s the joy in forcing it out of the game? It’s a bit sad obsessing over a number. I’d rather obsess over the game itself.
I want more games to offer proper rewards. Case in point: Super Smash Bros Brawl. This game just keeps giving and giving. Continuously rewarding the player for this, and praising the player for that. Always teasing you with the next gift, whether that be a new song, stage, trophy or character. The urge to play on is immense, and there’s not an achievement point in sight. I crave more rewards like this from a game, or at least more emphasis on in-game collectibles rather than the points themselves. I appreciate that there are many games that accomplish this, but when people are playing primarily for the points rather than the experience, something is seriously wrong.

I know that these ‘achievement whores’ are only a minority in the grand scheme of gamers, but how many times have you continued playing a duff game or bought a game on the 360 rather than PS3 purely for the points? I’m guilty myself of this inane behaviour (although when choosing between the 360 or PS3 format, the online experience and custom soundtracks on the 360 usually sway it for me).

Contradicting myself is a recurring weakness of mine, but the point I’m trying to make is a little contrived in itself. I’m not campaigning for the eradication of achievement points, I just want people to play games the way they’re meant to be played and for the developers to stop copping out with this easy excuse for replayability. I want to replay a game for added secrets, easter eggs and new experiences, not for a few extra digits next to my gamertag.