Overachieving: Is there such a thing?
Microsoft’s latest game console, the Xbox 360, has been out for more than two years now. Most of us here own this super system and have grown familiar with its ups and downs. But there is something MS has pulled off quite nicely and that is to implant obsession amongst its faithful followers. That obsession comes in the form of achievement points.
No matter what name you give them: achieveys, points, gamerscore, or something else, we know what they are and what effect they have on us. Some of us might be impervious to their attractive nature, while others crave them and need them like the very air they breathe. Some start off not caring about them, but soon, they get wrapped up in the competition and obsession and cannot resist any longer.
I was one of those once. I didn’t care about these achievement points and vowed that they would never dictate how I play my games and which ones I chose to play… but that was underestimating the power of the Dark Side of the Points. Once I started seeing that “Achievement Unlocked” message more often than not, I should’ve known that any type of resistance would be futile. Sleepless night were soon the norm, as I tried to figure out which game I would play next to get achievements and alleviate my points to the highest level. Now, I am but a shell of my former self. The Dark Side has consumed me fully and, sadly, there is no turning back. I may not be at the same level as others who have fallen before me, but I am playing hard and earning achievements daily to catch up to them. Other systems mean nothing to me now. They do not understand the power of the Dark Side of the Points.
All exaggeration aside, yes, I am obsessed with points… to a certain degree.
I will go out and buy games for their easy achievements, but I will only buy them if they got a good review or are on sale. I will never buy a £40 game that got a crappy review just because it has easy achievements.
I also find myself going back to “older” games to get more achievements out of them, especially when all new expansion packs or extra content is released. I think this was an ingenuous idea by MS to keep the people interested in older games that they might have missed upon release.
So, if you think that you’ll never be even the least bit interested in points, remember my tale of woe. I too was once like you; careless and free, strong and confident that I would never fall to the Dark Side… but look at me now, clinging to the HDTV set, eyes wide open, mouth gaping, waiting for those two words to appear on the screen after an undisclosed time of effort…
Achievement Unlocked.
More Gaming Clarity goodness:
Want to discuss this? Then leave a comment. Also subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered right to your door. If you'd like to add a custom avatar to your comments, please visit Gravatar.com and register for a free account.
Your story reminds me of my own. Luckily I broke my “acheviement whoreing”, but at a high cost. A new gaming rig, or computer. I bought a Q6600 processor, 8800 GT graphics card, 3 gigs of RAM, antec 900 case and 850 watt ps, ect. Basically I spent all the money I made over the summer and I am now obsessed with computer gaming lol. The point is games are addicting, but awesome.