Achievement Whoring
A funny thing happened to me this weekend. I did something, in real life, not because I particularly wanted to do it, but for the “achievement points.” Yep. I ran 26.2 miles just to say I ran a marathon.
Some people might think that’s crazy. And yet, we do it in games all the time…
So what is it that drives some gamers to be such achievement whores?
XBOX Live, it’s all your fault
Maybe it’s the existence of the gamerscore that motivates us to add to our list of sometimes-useless achievements. Rewards are a powerful motivator, after all. Part of the reason games even have scoring mechanisms is so we can track our progress and bask in the glory of getting to a certain milestone – a high score, a new level, a better score than an opponent. Every one of those (sometimes thousands of) points is one more thing that you have accomplished, so why shouldn’t you brag a little?
The gamerscore plays right into that, and unlocking more achievements than your friends elevates your geek cred. Or, you know, seals your status as an achievement whore.
If a tree falls in the woods…
Ponder this: If you unlock an XBOX Live achievement and nobody notices that your gamerscore went up, does it still count?
Giving it 110%
Or maybe it’s a desire to complete every last playable minute of a game. The game’s developers created that content for us – we should experience all of it! There are Easter eggs, dammit. There are hidden items, there are secret bonuses, there are wicked cool combos out there. And we will find them all!
Besides, how else can we be sure that we’ve truly played the game to its fullest, but via unlocking every achievement built into the game?
110%? I don’t even like that game!
Then, of course, there’s the mark of a true achievement whore: playing a game solely for the boost in gamerscore. You know them - the RPG’ers who pick up a copy of Tiger Woods, the FPS fans who rent Viva Piñata – and, let’s not lie, which of us hasn’t played Bejeweled or Uno on the XBOX Live Arcade just for a few quick achievements?
So why play a game if it’s not something you’re really into? Easy points, of course!
As for the real-life achievement whoring like that marathon? Well….I don’t really have an explanation for that 
So, gamers: why do you achievement-whore?
Congradulations on running the Chicago Marathon, for you are surely pro at running. In my opinion, we whore becuase the achievements are there. i.e. Supply creates demand. I don’t think they give you bragging rights though as gamerscore doesn’t denote skill and ‘there’s always a bigger fish’ if you know what I mean.
P.S Nice article
PP.S I have not ran a marathon but luckily I have the Marathon Man achievement, so I’m ok.
Thanks! It’s funny, because if you check out my gamerscore, it’s about 450. I’m definitely not a gaming achievement-whore as much as I am a real-life one. Maybe that’ll change, though…I do have a little bit of gamerscore envy since the other authors here are total pros!
ROFL can i please make the list of Achievement hoes…
DOLL
RAV
I think everyone else is safe at the moment BUT i’ll be watching you
You know, I get alot of people saying that I’m a whore, but the achievements I usually get are for games that I REALLY get into.
Such as Gears of War 1250/1250
Ranbow Six: Vegas 2 1000/1000
Call of Duty 4: 760/1000
I really only strive for games that I like. With these exceptions..
Uno 200/200
Galaga 180/200 -or something like that-
Avatar 1000/1000 -ok so I boosted! I have shame all over my face…-
I don’t know. There’s just something odd that comes over you when you get a new game and a fresh set of achievments to obtain. There’s a certain feeling you get when you get them all, feeling accomplished. But at the same time, your peers look at you in a funny way, like, “Why do they matter, they can’t be used for anything.”
Maybe not, but they don’t understand. For us gamers it’s a whole other circle. We took that box and kicked out the edges forming that circle. We now have something to strive for when playing a game other than just beating it.
Ahh, Achievements, god invented something awesome that day.
-Juggalo x Ninja
I’m one of those that just kinda goes out of my way to get cheevos in games I like, I’ll scan the achievements before playing a game and if one is “level up shotgun” I’ll stick with one weapon instead of leveling them all evenly i.e. bioshock. The achievements in gears just gave me more of a reason to play a game I already loved, cog tags, MP weapon achievements, they were awesome, even before online achievements I always made sure my pause screen said 100% in all the castlevanias I played so if I really like the game I like to do everything, unless its an RPG cause 30-60 hours just to finish it is enough for me.
Why did I know that as soon as I saw the title for this there would be a section about me
Now I knew Doll would be there with her crab fishing self. But Lets not forget Advent who is currently creeping up on hoe status as well with her 16,491 score 
Sorry Advent had to throw that one out there
Haha not to brag but atm i have like 67000 points or sumthing along those lines. Idk what it is about achievements but you do get a sense of accomplishment when u see an achievement pop up. I think the bragging rights plays a big part as well, i mean thats what games are all about for alot of people, even back when there werent achievements i can remember me n my mates all talking bout the gta games and how much we’d accomplished in it and what little easter eggs we had found. Least now u can kinda tell apart the people who really did finish *insert game* on the hardest diffculty and who actually did get some unbelievable score on some other game. I had made it into the top 50 gamerscores in australia and that was a huge milestone too me. I think as long as there are games and competitive gamers it will be all about the bragging rights. Later…
I was sitting around the other day and I was thinking “If I just kill 3 more guys…” and then stopped. I totally realized I wasn’t having fun anymore. I like achievements because I’m a very competitive person and I like having goals. Achievements get me something, even if it’s intangible. But it started interfering with me playing what I want to play, and when.
But I have to say, I haven’t played very many games that I either didn’t want to play or used for beating. I did play Avatar, but I was truly interested in the game because I like the cartoon. Unfortunately, the game was absolutely horrible. So I’m going to try to give up the achievement whoring part of me and get back to the part of gaming I love: the games.
Shadowfox is a proud achievement whore. I could never measure up to his status.
I blame Microsoft for making us feel like we’ve accomplished something, just for unlocking an achievement. I do feel some pride when i unlock an achievement but it’s the challenging ones that i always remember, even if they weren’t worth much, like Overkill on Halo 3, since it took me so long to get.
Haha thanks doll i am proud of my score but it also shows i have no life =P.
I do have to agree that its the challenging achievements that have the sweetest taste when you get them. I have got to admit i have played some games i didnt like that much just for achievements and i have done absolute brain dead repetitive tasks as well just to boost, and in all honestly i felt so dirty doing it, i was having no fun at all and it was such an effort to sit there to get them.
My favourite kinds of achievements are the ones where u get them for finishing missions/levels of a game. That way you are getting rewarded as you go. Also when theres a game i love i like the achievements for doing again on hard, it adds replay value to the game. What i hate is games that make you get 10000 kills online, i mean come on i dont have the time n patience to sit there and play it for that long. Also i hate games that make you go back thru it like a million times eg ninja gaiden2. And also the achievements where you do it on hard and dont get the easy difficulty ones are just stupid eg guitar hero 3.
I go through my phases where i am hardcore into whoring the achievements and other times im like “why am i even bothering with this”.
My GT is xboxshadowfox if any1 wants to add me n compare gamerscores, i like comparing to people and seeing what theyve got n i dont, sumtimes they know little tricks to getting them that i dont. =D
Anyways later..
I’ve done that a little bit. Played Mercs 2 after the initial gotta-play factor wore off, just for acheivements. I’ve popped in Lego Star Wars… and Force Unleashed recently for the same thing.
I never do 100% though… well, except Oblivion.. and that one I’ve done 100% 3 times over. lol
No comment? I wouldn’t say I belong on a list, but there’s something I like about adding to a score/ completing a game more thoroughly. A friend of mine at work has something like 80000 pts though, and that blows my mind. Haven’t seen anything like that!
Ever since I got my own elite a couple of months ago.. I can’t help but want to 100% a game.. Ohhhhhhhh those achievements call to me!! Especially when I KNOW I can do it, yet just keep putting it off, or keep failing over and over.. Either way, for a measly 25 or something points.. Hours are eaten away by my 360..
Just thinking of running 26.2 miles makes me tired. After googling to find out the conversion is 42.16 km (kilometres is the only way I know. Don’t judge me, it’s what I was taught in school), well you are a rockstar in my books because I can’t even drive that far without wanting to take a break. Kudos to you.
I consider myself an achievement whore padawan. I own all the games that added to my gamerscore, but they are games I like. I couldn’t think of parting with money over a game that I know I wouldn’t like. However, I’m one of those folks that plays a game to death. Achievements give me ideas of what to aim for after my first playthrough. And I do squeal in glee when I see the achievement unlock.
There’s a little voice in the back of my head that’s telling me I need to 1000 point at least one game in my collection, but I’ve not managed it yet. I guess there’s a little bit of the pride thing in there…
There was an article or awards page in Edge a while back, in which they talked about achievements. They cited Geometry Wars (the first one on XBL – Evolved was it?) as an example of a good set of achievements – things like “Pacifism” completely changed the way you played the game, and so in fact actually added quite a lot of value. Not only are you trying to bash your mates scores, but pull off all the tricks they can’t do. All it takes is to be able to compare with a mate who you’re particularly competitive with and you’ll be playing the game for hours to beat them.
The only other time I remember being that competative in gaming was playing Amplitude with my old flat-mate. No such thing as online scoreboards then – we used to stick Post-it notes to the TV whenever we beat the other’s score.