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I Did it for the Trophies

Written by on Feb 14, 2011

Picture of a Playstation 3 Trophy

When it comes to trophies/achievements, people seem to polarize. Are they arbitrary symbols of inane goals added to artificially lengthen a game, or are they valid objectives? The answer is both. Developers have been putting “extra things to do” in video games for a very long time; trophies are just an out-of-game way of pointing it out. I like trophies. Some games don’t do it right, but others are really worth it. For me, getting a platinum trophy is the highest compliment that I can pay a developer. With my schedule, I can only afford to invest that kind of time into games that I consider fun.

Since the dawn of video games, I have used two different words to describe how finished a game is. If I get through all the main levels or finish the story, then I’d say I “beat” that game. If I decide to go back and nab all the collectibles, finish side quests, or beat all the developer times, etc. the game reaches the illustrious status of “mastered.” I guess I’m a completionist, because, when I like a game a lot, I feel a nagging guilt if I don’t do it all. In one of my all time favorites, Donkey Country 2, I would lose sleep until I saw that 102% save data on the menu screen. That was all the reward I needed. It was my compliment to Rare for a job well done. While the in-game reward is sometimes the goal, most of the time I prefer the intrinsic value of knowing I’ve accomplished something difficult. It is the same now, I just say I got all the achievements or I platinumed it instead.

The problem with the rewards systems is that sometimes stupid tasks get added to games for no apparent reason other than to achieve a trophy. If games were consistently being shaped on reward systems, that could be a problem, but for the most part, it doesn’t really seem to be that big of a deal. Other people laud their gamertag or trophy level as way to show how awesome they are. These people generally suck, and the rewards system isn’t what caused that. Trophy whores will burn out once they realize that some games just aren’t worth beating completely. Once again, this doesn’t bother me too much, either.

What bothers me about the rewards system is when I love a game and want to complete everything, but some of the trophies are ridiculous. Trying to get all the trophies can turn a fun game into a chore. Look up the trophies for 3D Dot Game Heroes. I platinumed that game, and it almost ruined it for me. In a perfect world, that wouldn’t happen. I only did it, because I want Atlus to make more games like that.

That’s why I like trophies. For me, it sends a message. It says to the game makers, “Yes! You did this right. I want more of this.” To be completely honest, though, I also like how shiny they are.

10 Comments
Responses to I Did it for the Trophies
  1. avatar
    Clark on Feb 15, 2011

    I like achievements (sorry, I’m an Xbox guy), because they give me an excuse to keep playing a game I like. Even if gamer points ultimately mean nothing, at least I am getting something out of playing. In fact, now that I have an Xbox, playing Wii games feels almost pointless, because I’m not adding anything to my overall gamer cred.

    Some people have taken that feeling to the extreme, though, and won’t even touch the Xbox Live Indie Games channel simply because those games don’t offer achievements. The gamer score has suddenly become so important, gamers can’t be bothered to play anything that doesn’t contribute to it. And that’s just sad.

    On another note, I would love to see Microsoft and Sony implement a rewards system where you got DLC points whenever you reached an achievement milestone.

  2. avatar
    Joe on Feb 15, 2011

    Sony is in the Beta testing stage if a Playstation rewards program that is supposed to reward you for playing. I was hoping to get invited in, but it didn’t happen.

  3. avatar
    Ned on Mar 12, 2011

    I haven’t earned a trophy in weeks because I’ve been playing all older PS3 games and PS2 classics. Sometimes I admit to being a bit of a completionist if the game is fun enough, but currently I don’t look at trophies as anything but something for other people to care about. If you care, you miss out on a lot of fun, such as PSP, Wii, DS, minis, and independent games, not to mention great earlier gen games that you may have missed out on.

    It’s also true that people who platinum or unlock all or most of the achievements/trophies on their games are less likely to ever put said games in their console ever again, which is just sad…

  4. avatar
    Joe on Mar 13, 2011

    If one only played game because of trophies or achievements, then your logic is sound. But even when I played strictly Nintendo and older gen games, I rarely revisited games I had beaten. Unless I loved them. I think that trophies mostly just add to the experience.

  5. avatar
    Ned on Mar 14, 2011

    To prove a point, these are some games I beat often. Jak II, Assassin’s Creed, Dark Sector, Dead Space, Devil May Cry (1-3), Heavenly Sword, Heavy Rain, Mirror’s Edge, Resistance 1, Uncharted (1 and 2), White Knight Chronicles 1, Ico, Prince of Persia 2, Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sands, Resident Evil 5, Ultimate Spider Man, Xenosaga 1, and Viewtiful Joe 1.

    That’s just the games I feel like playing all of the time, even though I’ve unlocked everything on several of those. I could make a another much, much longer list of games I’ve beaten more than once just for fun. I look to my friend Shawn as an example. He still finds tons of pleasure in beating old N64 games on an actual N64, even though he’s beaten them dozens of times. He somehow finds pleasure in ALL games, and I respect that and consider him the most REAL gamer I know. I wish I could have that much fun!

    Anyhow, achievements/trophies do add to an experience for a time, but many games are just better then that and wouldn’t need them to be awesome. The ending credits, are reward enough for some people.

  6. avatar
    Joe on Mar 14, 2011

    The beauty of the achievement system is that it is only as invasive as the player wants it to be. Not a single one of those games is or would be worse with trophies added.
    In my mind, I equate getting all trophies to beating a game completely. Trophies don’t add replay value to a game, it adds extended play value. I would have never gotten all the inFamous shards without it.
    Besides it is fun to have a way show one’s gaming history without having to pull up every game one at a time to show a save file.
    I also really like the potential of a rewards system that hooks you up for playing lots.

  7. avatar
    Clark on Mar 14, 2011

    Getting into achievements doesn’t make you any less of a gamer. It just means you appreciate the little extras the developers threw in there. Plus, they encourage you to try playing a game differently. You might not have thought to go through a level using a particularly crappy weapon or without using any bombs otherwise.

  8. avatar
    Ned on Mar 14, 2011

    Agreed – as long as you’re still open to trying and playing games that don’t have them. I’m not talking to you two, I’m talking about one of my other friends who only cares about his gamer score.

  9. avatar
    Ned on Jun 27, 2011

    I kind of realize the importance of trophies now. I didn’t understand, or particularly enjoy the hundreds of attacking choices in Batman Arkham Asylum, mostly because I hadn’t tried earning the trophies in the challenge rooms. I just did what made sense to me, and that, sadly, didn’t result in a very enjoyable playing experience. Trophies can make you understand the game’s concepts to a much deeper level.

  10. avatar
    Ned on Mar 22, 2012

    Here I was all self-righteous for not caring about trophies, but then I keep buying the HD versions of games I already own on the PS2. Can you say “hypocrite?” They look good in HD, but the trophies add some fun to the experience. Besides, as Joe pointed in the 6th comment, it’s a fun way to show off your gaming history.

    Also, Clark hit the nail on the head in the first comment, now that I read them again…

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