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How to get over this obsession with 'trophies' (/achievements, etc)
CoolWesties
Posts: 211 Forum Member
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i was thinking about this last night. i just completed getting every single trophy for gta4 but i admit the process felt more like a chore than fun. when i play a game i am put off by trophies and how difficulty they might be in getting (after considering if the game is interesting, first of all). was this how it was playing san andreas? no. maybe if i disable the trophy notification that i wouldnt have to worry about it? but then theres that obsession at the back of my damn mind and always checking which ones i've unlocked.
i don't have time delving this in detail but hopefully people here will get the picture. i think trophies ruin the enjoyment of the game. i didnt really get into the story of the GTA4 games because i was so pre-occupied with getting the trophies. games should be fun, not work. perhaps its the OCD aspect of me.
if anyone out there has managed getting over their obsession with trophies, or can suggest ways in how to do this (what things to say to myself, etc), let me know. here are some links that delves into this issue further, arguing yes or no:
http://www.gamnesia.com/articles/daily-delib-have-achievements-and-trophies-ruined-our-ability-to-enjoy-game#.VSJqAZNYYg4
http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2015/02/27/feature-trophies-hurting-ability-enjoy-games/#/slide/1
i'm not saying trophies should be banned or anything. people are free to get them if they want, others not. but for those wanting to change from wanting to getting to not ~(and just enjoying the game) it's abit hard to mentally adjust yourself if you have the thought of trophies nagging at the back of your mind. what about disabling it, enjoying the story and the game first, and upon completion, then think about trophies?
i don't have time delving this in detail but hopefully people here will get the picture. i think trophies ruin the enjoyment of the game. i didnt really get into the story of the GTA4 games because i was so pre-occupied with getting the trophies. games should be fun, not work. perhaps its the OCD aspect of me.
if anyone out there has managed getting over their obsession with trophies, or can suggest ways in how to do this (what things to say to myself, etc), let me know. here are some links that delves into this issue further, arguing yes or no:
http://www.gamnesia.com/articles/daily-delib-have-achievements-and-trophies-ruined-our-ability-to-enjoy-game#.VSJqAZNYYg4
http://www.playstationlifestyle.net/2015/02/27/feature-trophies-hurting-ability-enjoy-games/#/slide/1
i'm not saying trophies should be banned or anything. people are free to get them if they want, others not. but for those wanting to change from wanting to getting to not ~(and just enjoying the game) it's abit hard to mentally adjust yourself if you have the thought of trophies nagging at the back of your mind. what about disabling it, enjoying the story and the game first, and upon completion, then think about trophies?
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Do you ever replay the games after you got all the trophies ? With them all collected you are then free to enjoy the story !
Usually I'll leave the trophies for collecting the 500 collectibles that are almost impossible to spot without a guide because that does become a chore. But like right now I'm trying to collect the Driveclub ones and it's been fun since they use skill rather than having to sit there watching YouTube to find the last GTA pigeon.
I think for me it depends on the game if i trophy hunt or not, i only have 5 and am level 15 lol.
Some games like Drive Club which involves a long grind for the reaching level 50 and getting the Accolades I will often return to on and off between other games slowly working towards the trophies.
With a game like GTA5 it took me 5 months playing on and off to get the Platinum. I played it loads when it was released, I finished the story and played lots of the online. Then returned to get 100%, then again to get the gold medals, then for the flying under bridges. I also played the online on and off having fun doing what I wanted and occasionally pushing for certain trophies.
Dont play a game for the trophies. But go for the trophies if you enjoy the game.
i was worried my OCD is spoiling my enjoyment. i think i'll disable the trophy notifications and just play the game for the story and fun of it, like i did when playing pc and ps2 games in the past.
think i'll get re-aquanted with san andreas as thats a good way to start. i havent played that game in years and i feel like playing it.
They tended to be awarded for completing levels and the whole game rather than random collectibles which take forever to hunt down.
Even ones like "Get 100 kills" aren't too bad because you accumulate them as you're playing through.
I remember playing CoD:2 on Xbox 360 and it had a grand total of 13 achievements in total for 1000G. All achievements were for completing levels and one at the end for completing the game.
Now most games seem to have at least 50 achievements for 1000G + extra for any DLC.
The only franchise I've been a bit obsessed about getting the achievements is Assassins Creed. Mainly this is because the original was the first game I got 1000G in.
So far:
AC - 1000/1000
AC2 - 1000/1000
AC:Brotherhood - 1025/1250
AC:Revelations - 980/1490
AC3 - 905/1350
AC4: Black Flag - 1090/1250
AC:Rogue - Not played yet.
AC:Unity - 1000/1300 (just DLC to do).
And that reminds me, multiplayer achievements pee me off. Most of the achievements I have missing from Brotherhood to AC4 are multiplayer I couldn't be bothered to play.
The same goes for any time specific achievements!!
good for you. care to share us your secret to this success?
That said, I do draw the line at certain collectibles. I'm two trophies away from the platinum in Assassin's Creed II. Those two trophies? Collect all the feathers, and wear the cape you're subsequently rewarded with in each city. **** that.
I only have 4 platinums at the moment to be fair. Uncharted 2, Arkham Asylum, Heavy Rain and Resident Evil 5. So yeah, I see them as a nice incentive to continue playing my favourite games.
I hate multiplayer achievements. I usually can't be bothered with multiplayer modes so it's trying to force me to do something I don't want to do. In that case, I just leave it. If it sounds like a chore, just leave it. It's not like you're going to 100% every single game you play.
I'm only two off platinuming Watch Dogs but they're so annoying that I just gave up. My life isn't long enough to go round the map hoping to find that one last song that never ever appears and the drinking games are too frustrating to be fun.
Also I remember in Arkham City there was one where you had to play the game on a certain day of the year. Yeah right!
Then I found myself buying games just for trophies, It didn't phase me on the money side as that wasn't an issue.. As the years went on I couldn't be bothered with them to an extent. Now I just buy games i want and go for trophies I can get without to much work.
I'm also glad sony have now patched trophies so you can delete 0% games.
I find multi player trophies really annoying as so many games have their servers switched off making it impossible to get those trophies and therefore making the Platinum impossible. Online trophies are also normally a huge grind which is so off putting if the online mode is just a tacked on extra to a mainly single player game. I wish online trophies were classed as a separate element like DLC packages meaning even after the online has shut down the Platinum is still possible.
I also wish the trophy system worked more like the Uplay system Ubisoft games use. You earn points for each Uplay objective which can then be spent on skins or bonus weapon unlocks for the game. This would at least make trophies something more than a pointless collectable. A few games I have played have linked certain unlocks to trophies and others unlocked items for HOME. It would be nice if trophy points could be spent towards DLC.
All big AAA titles became about 'scoring' !
But now it seems some of them are for really random stuff or are a real chore. The most annoying are when you need online ones, yeah I'm looking at you Tomb Raider.
With the AC games I just use maps online to collect all the flags/feathers/chests etc.
In the AC series I got 1000G on the first 2 games and then they added multiplayer for Brotherhood which took up something like 400G. It just annoyed me as I'd platinumed the first 2 games then they added the multiplayer ones and ruined it.
There was one in Brothers In Arms : Hells Highway called "Remember September '44" or something like that and you had to play the game on a certain day in September. Some people were saying "oh just go offline and change the date settings on your Xbox" however the achievement specifically said "whilst on Xbox Live" to stop people doing that. I ended up getting the achievement a few years later when I happened to get back into playing it to pick up some achievements I'd missed and it was August so I set a reminder on my phone to play it on the day required, then just popped it in the machine on the day and the achievement popper!
I think you were able to do that from very early on with Xbox.
Annoyingly though, you still can't delete games from your record that do have achievements unlocked.
There's about 5-6 games in my list that I've got one achievement in from just playing the first level, then decided I didn't like the game. Because I have that 1 achievement it won't allow it to be deleted! >:(
The only trophy I need to Platinum Burnout is that pesky eye toy trophy.
On the Assassins Creed online trophies, after Brotherhood they got a lot easier and most can be earned with the Wolfpack mode playing solo which is actually pretty good fun.
im actually tempted to let my ps plus sub expire so i can just play the games i want within the timeframe, i seem to only get through one game every two months or so so its not that great value - plus i was away from the uk for 4 months last year, so again, not worth it.
If I'm enjoying a game and the trophies are reasonable, I'll try to get the platinum. But if the trophies are ridiculous in a game, or involve major grinding, I won't bother with them.
Having said that, I do still class myself as a trophy ****
http://psnprofiles.com/tartandon
In fact the only game I have maxed out with online achievements was cod waw on the 360.