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| Robot |
In my mind, the greatest benefit of Achievements/Trophies (A/Ts) is that, when implemented well, they encourage full exploration of a game's features and design. A recent example is the A/T list for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim. Bethesda built an enchanting, diverse world for this game, one they encourage players to explore fully with several A/Ts (Explorer, Delver, Standing Stones), and lest you ignore the multitude of things to do with your hands (apart from smashing skulls), the Artificer and Hard Worker A/Ts guide you towards more peaceful activities. Playing through the main story, getting married, slaying dragons, and taking sides in the bloody civil war side story--almost everything the player can do in the game has a corresponding A/T to unlock, and this is a good thing! Without the external incentive, one might miss valuable content. Cooking food, for example, is an activity in Skyrim I may have skipped over; in fact, I may not have been aware of the option at all. I can't say I particularly enjoyed it, but there is a tangible benefit to preparing these dishes (stat buffing and restoration), and some might find the activity rewarding enough to spend even more time in the kitchen.
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| Soundrel |
I'm in complete agreement about the Achievement mechanic promoting complete exploration of everything a game has to offer, if, as you said, they're implemented properly. From my personal experience another great example of this was used in the game The Saboteur. Beyond the typical story-related Achievements and the run-of-the-mill "upgrade your weapons" and "collect xyz amount of money," there were Achievements programmed in for voluntary, and in many cases non-violent, ambient challenges. A few of my favorites were the Chainsmoker Achievement, where you had to smoke 100 cigarettes--an animation that would occur by letting your character idle for a minute or you could prompt by pressing in one of the control sticks--and the Cassanova Achievement which you'd be awarded for kissing 50 women, a tactic used in the game to blend into the crowd in order to evade pursuing Nazis. Another of my personal favorites was a set of two Achievements that encouraged you to climb to the very top of the Eiffel Tower and then dive off into the pool below and survive. Despite not adding anything to the game's narrative, following the Achievement list and system in The Saboteur resulted in a more complete immersion into the game's environment, and ultimately a more enjoyable gaming experience. Incidentally, The Saboteur was the very first game in which I completed the entire Achievement list, and as a result of it being such a satisfying experience I subsequently credit/blame the game for the shift in my focus towards prioritizing 100%ing the Achievement list of virtually every game I've played since.
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| Robot |
Another boon A/Ts provide is an extra reward--however small--for overcoming true challenges, inciting players to push their gaming skills to the limit where, in the past, they may have given up without the promise of unlocking sweet, sweet icons. I've never been one to stand strong when confronted with a challenge in a game (nor in life, but that's for another time), and for the better part of my twenty-plus years with a controller in my hands, I've turned tail at the first sign of failure. With the advent of A/Ts, though, that flimsy, lazy gamer mentality has been replaced by one of determination and perseverance, and I've managed in the last couple of years to procure some formidable A/Ts. After working through C. Viper's 24th trial in Super Street Fighter IV for three hours without pause, many people would be left dribbling on their straight jacket in a mental ward, but when I finally landed it, the sheer joy, relief, and satisfaction I felt was really special. After working through all the other characters' trials, when I finally heard that familiar chime and saw the Trial Athlete trophy unlock, I was left with a great sense of accomplishment. I'm almost certain that I wouldn't have completed that 24th trial--nevermind all the others--without the trophy as a dangling carrot. Continually flagellating myself in this way across multiple games has hardened me, molded me into a stalwart gamer who doesn't shrink at a challenge--as long as there's an Achievement or Trophy to unlock!
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| Scoundrel |
It's apropos that you mention the "shrink at a challenge" gamer mentality; when I had gotten into the market for a next-gen console, I was basing part of my decision between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 on which system offered the best after-market cheat hardware. I'd become so accustomed to using devices like the Game Genie on my third and fourth generation consoles, the Game Shark on my fifth and sixth generation consoles, and even one Pro-Action Replay device on the underrated and ill-fated Nintendo Gamecube, and the notion that the big two systems not only didn't support cheat devices but actually discouraged their very existence was completely baffling to me. I recall discussing with a Gamestop employee, with $400 cash in my hand and a 7th generation console in my crosshairs, what Achievements and Trophies were and how the use of cheat system would circumvent and undermine the entire concept of these rewards. Before finally settling on a 360, I asked the clerk (with a snide and sarcastic tone befitting a Scoundrel) if I could "opt-out" of the Achievement system altogether and just buy a Gameshark to accompany my new console. He replied that they simply don't exist, and it appeared that add-on devices were going extinct. Still reluctant about the concept of not being able to flip the "invincibility" switch once I reached a difficult portion of a game, I hesitantly took my new Xbox 360 home, cursing the concept of these "Achievements" that I vowed to never care about.
Fast-forward a few years and I've got a 98.5% Achievement completion rate across all games I've played. I've become a far better gamer, much more willing to endure grinds and tackle challenges that would've surely been left incomplete on consoles prior. So much for hasty vows made out of anger, frustration, and ignorance.
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