Do you remember when you could sit in front of a screen for hours, days, weeks on end just playing maybe four or five games? Remember when you had to get a dot, to a key, past a dragon that looked like a sea-horse into a yellow castle? I do, and I remember playing that game over and over again, even after I'd completed it once, for no real reward, just a feeling of accomplishment.

Unfortunately very little can emulate this nowadays. From friends, customers and complete strangers I hear the same thing almost everyday. "Games are getting shorter."

Truth is, they're not. Our attention spans are, and I'm here today to point my digital finger - raise one digital eyebrow and stroke my digital beard - at the top 5 culprits in reverse numerical order! Heck, I'll even try and paint both sides of the argument for each of them - well, one of them today. I'm too lazy to sit down and do all 5 in one sitting, besides making that picture took far too long.

So, today! Number 5!

5 - Achievements and trophies.

This was either 5th or 4th, it was hard to pin down. Either way, it's a brilliant place to start. I used to sit down and play games in an attempt to complete them - there were few games that I couldn't burn through, and just completing them was good enough for me. Fond memories of finishing off Super Mario World, StarFox, Final Fantasy 7, Sonic 2, Streets of Rage, Syphon Filter, Vagrant Story, Metal Gear Solid, Psycho Fox are always my more potent console gaming memories.

All these games have many things in common - like the occurance of the letter S. What I am focusing on however is that they had no difficulty setting, at least nothing by today's standards. They did however have extra things you could complete if you wished, that would give you extra levels or items, puzzle rooms in Vagrant Story, Bonus levels in Sonic, Chocobo racing in FF7, SPECIAL world in Mario.

And it was those extra things, the non-compusory things, that made me the gamer I am today, that gave me the completionist urge. That made me want to make a character stronger, faster and just generally better than any of my friend's ones.

Nowadays however, most gamers carry with them this dirty, completionist curse - and trophies and achievements balls it all up. Because the designers KNOW that we need that kind of thing, they play on our curse.

I for one jump into a new game on the hardest difficulty rating, allowing myself no time to adapt, I just have to be better than the game and that's final. Unfortunately designers know this too, they put in niche moves and opponants specifically for this, so you have to constantly adapt, they hide dog tags, packages and pidgeons and it burns... it burns so much. In the end, completionist nature turns these games into as much fun as sticking googly eyes to your hand and having a political debate with it.

I mentioned in passing hidden packages, from that I mean GTA3, however at least back then you gained items for them, a slight reward for meaningless collection.

Don't get me wrong, I think they're a fantastic idea as to milk extra out of a game; I held onto Assassin's Creed for far longer than I want to remember because of the flags and templars. I've played Condemned for the pidgeons. I've searched high and low for the cache's in orange box. But, it is only the latter that rewards you with anything more than gamerpoints, and that hurts my failed, completionist soul. It hurts it like a poison mushroom.

If you'd have found me 10 years ago to this day, I'd be sitting hunched in front of my Playstation, dead to the world. FF7 would be spinning around manically in the drive. About this time of the year I was trying to get through the game keeping at least one of every item, this ranged from the ultimate weapon for each character through to the weak 'attack items' creatures seemed to drop near the start. This sucked, this royally sucked, but a friend at school was trying it too, so I had to do it. I was proud when I managed it - hell I think I still have the red memory card I saved onto.

If you'd spoken to me back then about achievement points, about online multiplayer then it would have seemed to me like a great idea, although connotations of the picture at the top would have likely not been the first thing to spring to mind.

Either way, the two ideas are strong and have revolutionised gaming, but unfortunately bludgeon and kidney punch my long-term completionist issues and that of the people who I discuss games with. The GamerPoint race turns the enthusiastic to apathetic in a matter of weeks - but then it haunts you, you start playing games only for the points... then all of a sudden you can't stand them - you ditch the controller and go about looking for another form of media to palm off as escapisim. You start reading...

It haunt's you.



You're back there trying to kill 30 people in open fighting, climb the tallest building in the game or chain a combo worth 10'000'000. (I have no Achievements on E4)

Maybe the solution lies in putting the achievements in select games. RPGS, Shooters it works with, puzzle games as well. Hell, if they'd put more thought into it, Hitman would have pulled it off well too. I think overall it's something that's still too new to have taken full effect. Maybe in time they will unlock items for avatars or, as once speculated, go towards other games etc.

Then again, maybe you aren't all embroiled in a big race to beat your friends, maybe that competative drive isn't there for ya'll. As I said, this is just the opinion of myself and a pool of people I talk with.

Anyone else got a major take on where this is all heading?

Dann out.

Next blog, the countdown continues : 4 - Over the top fantasy madness!