Fredrik Thylander, the achievements designer behind EA’s cult title Mirror’s Edge, doesn’t feel that Achievements and Trophies have actually been any good for gaming in the long run.
Thyander took to Twitter to air his admittedly unpopular opinion, claiming that Achievements/Trophies ‘narrows games down’ and uses up resources that could have been better spent elsewhere.
However, he was quick to point out that these are his opinions only, and do not represent Ubisoft, the company he no works for.
Unpopular opinion : achievements/trophies have been bad for gaming. It narrows games down, it disrupts and diverts attention, and it eats resources that could have made the game better.
This view is my own. Doesn’t represent Ubisoft in any way. I just think games should have the reward mechanisms most suited for them, and the one-size-fits-all mandate from platform holders to make reward systems that benefit the platform makes games worse.
Personally I’m not really fussed about Achievements/Trophies. I don’t actively collect them in games, although if it’s a title I really enjoy I will sometimes make the effort to earn as many as possible. Then again, there are some people who absolutely love Trophy hunting, and that’s fine too. Whatever floats your boat, right?
Mirror’s Edge was released in November 2008 for PS3 and Xbox 360, and you can read our review here.
[Source – Fredrik Thylander on Twitter]