jtr7 on 6/5/2011 at 21:59
I don't see why the developers need to build in tracking systems for each player type. If you don't know you ghosted a mission, you don't need the devs to build something for that, you need a notepad and pencil.
ZylonBane on 7/5/2011 at 20:22
Quote Posted by betpet
Another point with acjievements that hasn't been mentioned is that it also acts as a confirmation that you have actually managed a particular task.
Congratulations on your perfectly circular logic.
Ghost on 15/5/2011 at 21:01
I for one like achievements, altho i'm sure the popups would be annoying in mid game.
Likely, as this article says wont get an achievement for doing out of the box things for the fun of it, or because you think there might be something over that wall or whatever.
Like most others who spent years replaying these games, i liked trying to find those hidden spaces or finishing a mission in record time, or finding a way to avoid Brother Murus' innane tasks and i even took that into games like Everquest. To my knowledge i was the first one to climb that giant statue in the Kunark port. It took 3 or 4 hours and sadly there was no loot at the top but i did it and i was proud of myself even without an achievement or recognition.
I did see a whole lot of people including people who worked for Sony trying to do it the next weekend so in that, much like this message board, we get the achievement gratification when others say "you did what??" and then go off to try to duplicate it or do better themselves.
My point? who knows! but if Thief 4 comes out for the 360 ill be there in line waiting for it.
Goldmoon Dawn on 15/5/2011 at 21:40
Jesus man! If they actually build the Missions like they did in Dark Project, they could save all of the "achivements" for the ending screen. You know, the stats screen? Isnt that good enough? Lets face it, the meat of the first two games was in the brilliant Mission design. Deadly threw all that away and paved the way for popup "achievements". You have got to be kidding me. No amount of masking in the form of "achievements" can cover up bad Mission design.
Somnus on 20/5/2011 at 21:33
Quote Posted by demagogue
Anyway, all this talk about "complexity" and "minimalism" is beside the point that Achievements are a major part of mainstream gaming culture that developed in the last decade and are linked with a definite kind of game design philosophy we're all familiar with, that started in console gaming and is now everywhere and a lot of gamers take it for granted and expect it.
We didn't see it 10-15 years ago simply because it wasn't part of gaming culture back then like it is now.
Gaming has also become more mainstream these days, to the point that many video games are just as popular, if not more popular, than many movies.
The whole achievements thing is such a non-issue for me. It's one thing if the developers design the game around achievements; it's another if they're just giving the player a way to show off his skillz to internet buddies. I'm much more interested in the actual gameplay.
Frankly, Thief had a bit of the achievement thing itself. Remember the stats page after beating a mission? There were a whole bunch of irrelevant stats in there, like whether you knocked someone out while airborne, how much damage you dealt to enemies, how many pockets you picked, etc. People love quantifying themselves.
Goldmoon Dawn on 20/5/2011 at 22:43
Quote Posted by Somnus
Remember the stats page after beating a mission? There were a whole bunch of irrelevant stats in there, like whether you knocked someone out while airborne, how much damage you dealt to enemies, how many pockets you picked, etc.
Yeah, I just said that. :)