There is a satisfying feeling when you here that ‘ding’ sound from your TV and that little pop up appears- (You’ve just finished the game on hardcore). As parody CEO of Sony Kevin Butler put it, ‘Staying up till 3am to earn a trophy that isn’t real…but is’.
Trophies/Achievements have made gaming good and bad to a point. It’s made games more competitive with your friends which is always fun. They’ve also changed how we play games. It gives players the urge to explore the game even further unlocking some more entertaining play time we didn’t know was there.
But there’s also bad side. Trophies/Achievements can make us play some really bad games, all for the purpose of levelling up. Painful gaming defies the whole point of enjoying games. Playing Hanna Montana for a platinum trophy might be pushing it. I get levelling up is fun for some even if it’s grinding through a pile of crap.
For me anyways, it affects what games I buy. Take for example; there are some early PS3 classics that came out before the introduction of trophies. When thinking of what new game to buy I weigh playing something like LA Noire with Oblivion or the Orange Box. In the end I end up with LA Noire. Because of this I miss out on classics. Yes it’s my fault but my pocket only pushes me so far on how many games I buy or how much time I spend playing. Sometimes hearing that trophy ding and getting it published on my PSN profile and Facebook is all it takes to change my mind.
So what extreme thing have you ever done for trophies/achievements? Leave your comments below.