Achievements are NOT Gameplay

[pure.Wasted]

Third, I personally hate the mentality that achievements give. I too remember the good old days when the simple fact of winning a game was good enough.

I still don't see the essential difference between achievements and multiplayer profiles. Is it necessary for my stats to be displayed on a profile for everyone to see? No, all it breeds is exactly the sort of competitive mentality you're talking about with achievements.

But removing it doesn't even enter the equation, does it? Because it's a tracker of your success with the game. So why the hell does the same policy not apply to the tracker for your success with the single-player game?

[FoxSpirit]

/snip
Third, I personally hate the mentality that achievements give. I too remember the good old days when the simple fact of winning a game was good enough.

Hmmm, really?
So turning into Super Sonic when getting all the Chaos Emeralds was a bad idea?
Infinite ammo when you cleared a game without continues?
Hairraising secret levels when you found the hidden pathways?

You didn't have to do any of those to see the end. But hell if it wasn't cool gettin those

[Nicol Bolas]

So turning into Super Sonic when getting all the Chaos Emeralds was a bad idea?
Infinite ammo when you cleared a game without continues?
Hairraising secret levels when you found the hidden pathways?

To be fair, those have actual gameplay effects. Achievements usually don't.

That's one of the reasons I hated TF2's achievements; you needed them to access new weapons. Now that this has been dropped in favor of something based on how much you play, not how you play, I'm fine with it. Because I don't have to do it.

[Xyvik]

I still don't see the essential difference between achievements and multiplayer profiles. Is it necessary for my stats to be displayed on a profile for everyone to see? No, all it breeds is exactly the sort of competitive mentality you're talking about with achievements.

But removing it doesn't even enter the equation, does it? Because it's a tracker of your success with the game. So why the hell does the same policy not apply to the tracker for your success with the single-player game?

There isn't really that much of a difference when you come down to it, I agree. At least in a multiplayer setting the numbers tend to mean -something-. With achievements, all it really says is "yeah, I've got OCD and no life, look at my long list of achievements!''

I've never reached for achievements (except the TF2 ones, which I found amusingly different) nor have I reached for win/loss ratios. I just play because I enjoy a game.

Just my two cents