Fun Friday: Real Life Achievements Edition

Life would be some much more exciting if this were real. At the very least, I'd be more motivated. Funny thing about this video, one of the guys in the drinking coffee was an intern when I was there, 5 years ago.

Reaching Another Milestone

It's been another year and a half since my first 10k, but I've done it again. Earlier today I reached a gamerscore of 20,000. Here are some of my favorite achievements earned along the way.

• Paramour (Mass Effect) - I found out what all the fuss was about, and guess what, it wasn't a big deal. But you know what was, the game. It was awesome (except the driving sections, those can go).

• Brass Balls (Bioshock) - I didn't need much encouragement to play through this game again but the challenge made it all the more sweeter.

• Defiant (The Orange Box) - The best part about this secret achievement is that I got it without knowing how to get. Take that can and shove it, buddy!

• Blade in the Crowd (Assassin's Creed) - Each and every time I stealth killed a enemy with the hidden blade, I was filled with great satisfaction. Should I see a doctor about that?

• No-one Left Behind (Left 4 Dead) - I have never had so much fun playing with my friends in an online Co-op game.

Achievement Unlocked: Awesome Flash Game

Achievement Unlocked | Armor Games

My love of achievements has been succinctly satirized in this awesome flash game. Play and enjoy!

Time and Money Waster!

Minesweeper coming to XBLA: Pay money for a free Windows game

But hey, at least it will have achievements, right?

Assassin’s Creed Bug Helps Earn Achievement

I have finally gotten around to playing through Assassin’s Creed and I love every moment of it. While many of the mission types are repeated, they never feel stale or repetitive. The AI may follow fairly static paths but the crowd seems so dynamic that a mission is never the same when retrying it. Additionally, assassinating someone with the hidden blade never gets tiring or old, it is always satisfying!

One of the achievements requires the player to remain in a fight for ten minutes. While that doesn’t sound like a long time, that’s a lot of blocking or running in a circle. The game has a fairly well known reputation for being a bit buggy, nothing game breaking as far as I know, but it’s a big game and they’re bound to make it in to the final code. At one point while riding my horse through the kingdom, I was attacked by one of the Templar Knights. This attracted several other enemies and I decided to high tail it out of there. I had my sword out and was running at full speed straight at a wagon full of hay to hide in. I attempted to jump into the wagon at the last second but instead of jumping off of the horse, Altair stood up and froze. I lost most functionality and I couldn’t get off of the horse, but I did become invincible. Since the enemies were still trying to attack me, I thought I would put the above achievement to the test. I got up and went and made lunch. When I came back, the achievement had been unlocked! Sweet!

Apparently I’m not the only one who has come across this issue as I found a YouTube video confirming that it’s probably not a fluke but a fairly repeatable issue. I assume that it was not severe enough to fix, probably causing more issues than was worth. In the end, I had to exit out of the Animus and reload my memory but fortunately I had just saved and didn’t lose a lot of progress.

On a side note, the game has many collecting achievements with the flags and Templar Knights. I traditionally hate these achievements but I came across an excellent site with very good maps for all of their locations. With this help, I’m well on my way to a perfect 1000/1000 in this game.

Achievements: Good vs. Bad

Achievements are my favorite feature of this generation. From a design perspective, they present a significant challenge though. They can encourage a player to experience the game in a way he might not of thought to try. They can be a deciding factor in a purchase decision. Unfortunately they can also divulge a lack of creativity, budget or foresight.

The Orange Box did something with achievements that seems so simple and yet makes games that don't do it seem incomplete. There is an Achievements option in the menus throughout the game that, while most games bring up the guide to view the achievements and their descriptions, shows the player's actual progress towards each achievement. So instead of guessing how many kills you have accumulated towards one achievement or another, it actually keeps track of the actual number for you. Many games, like Gears of War, have achievements that require X number of something to unlock. I lost count of my Boomshot, Pistol and Execution kills after the first several matches. I would have needed a spread sheet near by to keep track of my progress with any certainty, especially when going for the 10,000 kill "Seriously?" achievement. Many games may not need this because the player's progress is self explanatory if, for example, he needs to get to level fifty and he's currently at level thirty-two. Still, after playing through Portal and Half-Life 2, I absolutely believe that Microsoft should add this functionality to the TRC's so that every game includes this feature.

On the other side of the coin, there are games that seem to forget that achievements can enhance a game, not just lift its rental status due to it's insanely easy achievements. EA used to hold the crown as the producer of games that usually handed out achievements like candy, but their title has been usurped by none other than my own company, THQ. The release of Avatar: The Burning Earth was probably going to go mostly unnoticed this holiday season. That is until everyone learned how criminally easy it is to acquire all 1000 gamerpoints in less than two minutes and thirty seconds. Enjoy the following video!

I Broke the Five Digit Barrier!

It took just over one and a half years, but I finally eclipsed the 10,000 point mark for my gamerscore. While it is a relatively low score in comparison to my friends and especially 360 players in general, I am quite proud of my accomplishment. I don't play a lot a games. For one, I don't necessarily play a lot of games. But more importantly, I'm very picky about the games I do play. I stay away from most sports games and popular franchises, as I look for games that provide new experiences and stories. Of the 483 achievements, two stand out above the rest.

• Most people get the Escape the Imperial Sewers first when playing Oblivion, I got it last. I had just received my 360 and didn't really understand the profile system just yet. I put in nearly 200 hours acquiring the other 49 achievements before I could allow myself to start a new game just to get the tutorial level achievement. So it's memorable to me because, while not terribly challenging to get all of the achievements in Oblivion, it took dedication.
• I have never been very good at twitch gaming. I always struggle in first person shooters, like Halo and Gears of War. However, on a fateful night in September, not only did I come from behind to win a Slayer match on Isolation, I did it in style; with an overkill earning achievement in the dying seconds of the match with the rocket launcher.

I've mentioned before and I'll say it again, achievements are one of the best features of the current generation of hardware. Furthermore, I find myself using websites like Achieve360Points to see what a games achievements are like before I make a purchase decision. Studies are even beginning to show that a more diverse list of achievements, meaning one that asks a player to play a game in ways they may or may not normally play, can lead to greater sales. Here's looking forward to my next 10,000 points!

Feed the Dog, Take Out the Trash, Collect Trinkets?

While playing a game, gamers are asked to do many things. Some of those things are fun, others are not. Juuso Hietalahti, at Game Producer Resource, posted a quick article suggesting seven simple elements that can be added to your game can make it more fun. I agree with six of them.

As a kid, I collected all kinds of crap: baseball cards, Star Wars figures, soccer pins, comic books. Eventually I grew out of it (except for a resurgence of Star Wars figures around 1999) except I still have what I consider collections, like my video games, books or DVDs. I always had fun while I was doing it but I never really got too crazy.

However, I hate when a video game asks the player to collect things. In my opinion, it is not fun. It's busy work, a chore. It distracts from the game at hand. It has become one of the worst video game clichés and a crutch to synthetically lengthen game play.

While playing through Gears of War, I could never suspend my disbelief that Marcus would stop and look for COG tags while the Locust are bearing down on him or while he's in a hurry to save humanity. The same goes for Master Chief and the golden skulls. It seems that every platforming game to has the player collecting hundreds, if not thousands, of random, shiny object all in the name of meeting some goal of 100% complete. It has also become quite fashionable to create achievements around collecting. I hate collecting achievements. Which is saying something because, in general, I love achievements.

At least in the original Mario games, collecting 100 coins would earn the player an extra life. In Grand Theft Auto, collecting secret packages makes items spawn at your safe house (although, I usually stopped actively searching for them once the body armor was unlocked). These days, collecting things nets you a few gamer points and some concept art. If I'm going to be collecting something, it better be necessary to advance the story line and provide my character with new abilities. When a game play mechanic is no more important or as enticing as chores around the house, I'm not really have any fun any more.

News Round Up

PAX and the holiday weekend threw off my posting schedule, so here’s a rundown of things that have caught my attention over the last couple of weeks as I play catch up.

• Manhunt 2 is Dated for a Halloween Release: I was off by a couple of months as far as the release of a ‘modified’ version, but I think they have achieved the desired effect – buzz.
• Guitar Hero III Achievements Unveiled: I love achievements but these suck. I know, I know, you should have to achieve something to earn them. But for the love of all things holy, I can understand a few, but not the majority of them. I initially thought that these achievements were fake. Firstly, they are way too specific and require unnatural skills at the game. Secondly, some of them have errors in them, like the ‘Now That’s Impressive’ achievement that states 750,000 points on a song with a 1 million point image. Thirdly, there are no achievements for progressing through the game past the bosses, like Slash and the recently announced Tom Morello. Finally, I noticed that there were 59 achievements. Juiced (a THQ game) had submission problems because they had 60 achievements but was then passed, maybe because of Guitar Hero. But, come on, look at the requirements for Tone Deaf and Button Masher. Seriously?
• Sequel to The Ship is Coming to 360: I love the premise of this game. You are given a name and must find this person on a cruise ship full of people and kill him – all while avoiding the unknown person who has yours. Quite a departure from most online multiplayer games, this one requires some stealth and skill, not just run and gun. Awesome!
• Pit’s Intro in Super Smash Brothers Brawl: I don’t care about SSBB. Not one bit. But if Nintendo finally went ahead and created a new Kid Icarus game, I would finally have enough reasons to own a Wii. It looks like they have the assets. Come on Nintendo, let’s get this done.
• Zero Punctuation Reviews Bioshock:

My Heart Aches a Bit Now

Achievements are my second favorite aspect of the Xbox360 (the games are the first, duh). They are a lot of fun and add more to the experience. They make you explore a game in ways you would not have done without the them. They encourage you to give different modes of play a chance where you wouldn't have in the first place. What they don't do is entice me to buy random crap. Well they do now!!!! Well at least if I was going to play an EA game again (although skate. looks very enticing).

I don't really expect anything less from EA as they continue their reign at the top, doing what they please, and getting away with roster updates for full price. But this is quite low, even for them. I can understand the case for advertising in game if it helps flesh out a photo-realistic game environment. Still, it must be done with the utmost of care in order to not be distracting. I understand that there are only three achievements with the ad in them but it feels like they're feeling the waters. EA doesn't exactly have the best track record when it comes to Live and downloadable content.

The soft ding that accompanies an achievement has created somewhat of a Pavlovian response for me where I yearn to hear it again. Seeing an advertisement pop up when quickly shed me of the positive reinforcement that keeps me playing your game. Oh wait, I don't play your games EA. Carry on if you think that's what your buyers want.

My pick for the greatest Next-Gen feature

Now that the dust has settled, I am absolutely positive what my favorite feature amongst the three new consoles is: achievements. No other element that has been introduced drives me harder to play games. The Xbox 360 has done for games what I have not experienced since the early days of my gaming career. Not since the NES, SNES and Genesis have I gone back and played a game over and over again, looking for every little thing and exploring every nook and cranny. Back then it was mostly due to the fact that I had limited games available to me. Later, when I began to buy my own games, I have also had a limited selection of games, but little reason to replay them. Halo 2 was probably a precursor to the achievements but I was not fully sucked in until I started to earn Gamer Points. I still play only a limited number of games, but it drives me absolutely mad that I do not have 100% of the achievements for each and every game that I have played. Achievements have driven me to rack up about 220 hours in Oblivion (including Shivering Isles) over the last year, as well as play through Tomb Raider and Viva Pinata. Although attempting to acquire all the achievements in LiveArcade titles seems to be an exercise in futility, I am persevering. (Damn you, Hexic!!)

From a design perspective, they have also really encouraged developers to flesh out their games and challenge gamers. Would I have played through every story line in Oblivion if it weren't for achievements? Would I have broken a controller over FIFA World Cup? Would I have even downloaded Texas Hold'Em? The answer is probably not. Still, achievements also allow the developers to be a little lazy. I absolutely loathe collecting achievements. I am sorry: Marcus would not stop to pick up Cog Tags while being bombarded by the Locust and there are not floating, metallic medallions throughout Lara Croft's world. Collecting is dumb, but I'll save that for another post. Online achievements are a personal gripe since I don't seem to have the time or the reflexes to compete with those that do. On the other hand though, they wouldn't be achievements if they were easy or anyone could get them. They are for the most dedicated. In the mean time, I will continue to plug away.