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What challenge from a game isn't worth completing and what challenge from a game is worth completing? (kbin.melroy.org)
submitted 9 months ago by to c/games@lemmy.world
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[–] 3 points 9 months ago (2 children)

I enjoy seeing the little achievement pop-ups, especially when it's a rare one, but I almost never go out of my way to get any. Don't see the point, tbh. I'm not interested in playing the game in a way that's less fun for me, just to check an utterly meaningless box. I guess you could reasonably argue that every goal in a game (quests, completion, exploration, what-have-you) is meaningless, but achievements have always struck me as particularly hollow.

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  • [–] 2 points 9 months ago* (last edited 9 months ago) (1 child)

    I'm an achievement hunter, I have 115 perfect games on Steam. Many of the games I've completed 100% are extremely difficult;

    list of games

    • Shovel Knight
    • Offspring Fling
    • Dead Cells
    • Dark Souls, +2 +3
    • Hotline Miami, +2
    • Binding of Isaac, + Rebirth
    • etc.

    • I have two points to make:

    First, the Achievement Hunting community is autistic as fuck. I don't mean that as an insult (I believe I'm on the spectrum myself), but rather, I'm convinced there is a correlation.

    Second, I believe achievement hunting is like the difference between playing sports for fun, or playing sports competitively/professionally. The challenge of 100% is occasionally so far beyond whatever 'difficulty setting' the game ships with.

    I believe some blend of these two factors are the impetus for achievement hunting (in most cases).

    In any case, I don't disagree with you, achievements can feel hollow. In some ways, I think they have contributed to games losing their magic.

    Gone are the days of some rare and obscure secrets a game has, because you'll always know there is something you missed when you check your achievements.

    "Discover the secret in the rotting wood graveyard" OK, cool, just fucking ruin the surprise I guess?

    From a development standpoint it kinda makes sense, you do want your audience to experience everything the team worked on, but yeah, magic gone...

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  • [–] 3 points 9 months ago

    I'm also on the spectrum. Sometimes I think the spectrum is so wide as to be functionally useless for describing behavior. I feel like my comment maybe implied that I think less of people that feel compelled to 100% games, which is not the case. I just have different compulsions.

    I've been gaming for over 30 years, and probably have thousands of games in my digital library. I don't think I've gotten all of the achievements in any of them. I tend to predominantly play rpg's, and other games with a strong narrative bent, and I try not to peek at the achievements, so as to avoid spoilers. I appreciate when the developers hide them, so it isn't an issue.

    I've seen many people argue that achievements have had a net negative effect on gaming, and I tend to agree, but I don't really have strong feelings about it, since it typically doesn't affect my experience very much.

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