Sense of Accomplishment

[exLupo]

Originally Posted by cashfoyogash

Eh, spartacus quote?

I'm to blame for that one. Re-hashing myself from the Rift forum but I thought it appropriate for this thread.

Style question - more appropriate to restate something in quotes or just say it like you're saying it?

[Bags]

Originally Posted by cashfoyogash

Not true I think halo xbox live achievements are awesome. Like capture the flag in a ctf match or get a double kill with the shotgun.... i like the idea of achievements.



Eh, spartacus quote?

But capping the flag or getting a kill is the objective. It's annoying that now-a-days every game hands out achievements for doing what you're supposed to be doing.

You get an achievement for buying a tabard, joining a guild, leveling up, etc in WoW.

It's fucking ridiculous.

[exLupo]

Originally Posted by Bags

But capping the flag or getting a kill is the objective. It's annoying that now-a-days every game hands out achievements for doing what you're supposed to be doing.

And it prints money. Setting up a simple milestone system with an "achievement" label gets players in the door. Look at my wife. When she's in TF2 she plays simply for the joy of murdering people. Clearing the cart elicits a shout of joy. However, when it comes to buying a new game she usually goes xbox. Why? Cheevos. It doesn't matter if there's better preorder swag or graphics, xbox wins on cheevos alone.

It doesn't do anything for you but achievements represent concrete goals for others and it keeps them playing games long after they would have stopped. It's like hats in TF2. In only the barest sense can it be called content but the Pokemonesque need to catch-them-all bolsters numbers. I know plenty of WoW players who limped on long past the point of boredom simply to watch their cheevo score increment.

Like nuts on a sundae. Not for everyone but it's an optional extra that broadens the market appeal.

edit: And the dev time, once the system is in game, is nil. The only reason to not do one is that some players refuse to play games with achievement systems but the buyers drawn in by such a system well eclipses the nay-sayers.

[Talek Krell]

A return of the merits from PS1 seems like it would work perfectly well to me. They were displayable but not gaudy, gave a sense of accomplishment and personal advancement, and were generally relevant to the success of your empire. There wasn't any "Blow yourself up with your own boomers 100 times" achievement for people to go off and work on because Vanu forbid they have to wait until the 100th time they accidentally boomered themselves.

If you want to add an elevator chime and a self affirmation popup to it then that's fine, but I do require that I be able to turn those off. I find them annoying and feel like they break up the atmosphere of the game.

[Senyu]

The years worth of speccing into skill trees will probably motivate me enough to keep playing