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Starcraft 2 and Diablo III will have Achievements photo

Yesterday, MTVMultiplayer spoke to World of Warcraft designer Jeff Kaplan about achievements in WoW. What was then revealed was Blizzard’s cross-title system called “Blizzard Account” which will track Achievements across all Blizzard games including Starcraft II and Diablo III. Blizzard Account isn’t necessarily ready yet, but the WoW team will use the Wrath of the Lich King expansion to test it out.

There’s more, though. Every Achievement earned will go towards a players “Blizzard Level,” which is essentially a scalable version of Xbox Live’s Gamerscore. The more points, the more levels and the more bragging rights to your buddies. Here’s what Kaplan had to say about the system:

Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW.’ That sort of thing.
For some reason, I really need Achievements to validate my gaming experience anymore. I have no idea why these point systems have my psyche in an iron grip, but they do. Thank the gods that the PlayStation 3 finally got Trophies, or else I would feel soulless while playing PixelJunk Eden. Are any of you excited about the notion of Blizzard's cross-game Achievement system? Or are you too cool for points?

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15 comments | showing # 1 to 15

SunTzu's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:15
SunTzu
Remember when the experience of doing something awesome in a video game was more than adequate to validate playing the game in the first place?

Remember were video games didn't need a crutch like "Achievements" to get people to play their games?
zell's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:16
zell
aw, the 'game too bright' achievement was funnier :(
Sharpless's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:18
Sharpless
In before needless, silly complaini- Oh, dammit.

Also, zell is right. Should've stuck with the first pic.
Brad Nicholson's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:18
Brad Nicholson
@zell - It looked funny, with the little white line around it.
@SunTzu - I know it, man, but they've got me by the proverbial balls.
Zero_'s Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:36
Zero_
Isn't that level-based system of achievement what Sony is doing as well?
jgclark123's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:52
jgclark123
"Remember were video games didn't need a crutch like 'Achievements' to get people to play their games?"

No, actually. I know a ton of people who never finished every sidequest in various Zelda games or only got through the old Mario games using warps. Many people who play games aren't completionists, and having somewhat more tangible rewards for completing a game can bring them more enjoyment out of it.

...but those god damned antlion grubs... 331/333...
kagai's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 21:52
kagai
I don't think achievements are a crutch. Before achievements, I would just play through a game and finish it. Done. Sell it. Next. But, now, I will finish it but also go back and play again to try to get achievements (if the game is enjoyable and the achievements aren't ridiculous). I think they add value to a purchase, when done correctly. I find them a benefit to games that I was going to purchase anyway.

Also, I can't wait for Diablo and yay for achievements, although my Blizzard Level will be pretty low because I have never played WOW, nor do I want to, and I'm not a big fan of the RTS genre. Diablo III!
Arttemis's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 22:00
Arttemis
@Kagai - Why do you have to have predetermined achievements to replay games?

I remember replaying Max Payne 1 countless times on every difficulty with the sole purpose of making every shot a headshot. I didn't need a fictional, useless, cumulative score to do it.
Each of the MegaMan X games (save 5, 6, 7) brought me back countless times until I'd get hit less than twice per level - and each of the dozens of times I beat them, I collected every subtank and heart.

Honestly, I think most of my own self-imposed challenges are more interesting than actual pre-determined kinds.



This won't bother me, though, as long as it has no bearing on my character's attributes/abilities/aesthetics in any manner.
rbrooks's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/01/2008 22:22
rbrooks
i want you D3. COME TO ME!
Volomon's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/02/2008 00:14
Volomon
I think this is retarded, the whole Achievement thing arose from a age group of 15-25 year olds. Do you really think the more wider range of populous is going to float on that boat too? Not to mention MMOs were the first at achievements not with stupid sounds and words popping up, but by acknowledging the players skill via loot or pure word of mouth.

Unless these achievements have something beyond some stupid social commentary it does not interest me in the least.
ninjikiran's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/02/2008 00:24
ninjikiran
I play a game for fun, the achievement points are sort of cool when you get them as your playing but I never actually took the time to "get certain" achievements. I just get them as they come and to be honest achievements are not really achievements unless they are secret. I think you shouldn't even be told what you unlock. Maybe a quick hint in the title of the achievement after its earned but not the exact goal of it. It makes it so people earn achievements rather then grind for them.
DibbityDan's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/02/2008 02:24
DibbityDan
I played through HL2:episode 1 firing only one bullet because it challenged me... it was far more fun than just raising the difficulty could ever be, because all that serves to do is piss me off. It was more, "damn, where the fuck is all the shit I can throw?" then laughing as I am eaten alive by fast zombies.
ajaxender's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/02/2008 04:29
ajaxender
Arttemis, i think you may be an extreme case... :P. Like my friend who played through FEAR on second hardest without taking any damage. I agree with you that self made challenges are more fun, normally. I guess if achievements are well designed, you'll think of doing them yourself without knowing about them.

I have no problem with achievements - as long as they dont affect the game im playing in any way other than "oh, i got an achievement for doing that, how nice".
Ironically my favourite game at the moment, Team Fortress 2, fails that rule, since you need them to get unlocks... and theyve almost perfectly balanced it such that its fairly easy to farm them, but it takes just long enough to be annoying... i really hope no-one else starts doing that.
Josh Tolentino's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/02/2008 10:41
Josh Tolentino
I don't mind the presence of achievements as they add perceived value to a game experience for munchkins, but it's unconscionable if a developer decides to attach ACTUAL in-game value to them, as Valve did with unlocks in TF2. That was fucking stupid and should never be done under any circumstances, for any reason.

If you EVER need to "farm" an achievement or create an "achievement map" or compromise a multiplayer game because you HAD to heal a heavy who was killing people solely by punching, YOU'VE FUCKING FAILED.

I don't care that the game is "just fine" playing without them, that the game is "properly balanced" for players that don't want to spend time or behave differently to earn them, LOCKING ENTIRE SEGMENTS OF YOUR PLAYERBASE OUT FOR ARBITRARY REASONS is one of the dumbest things you can do in game development.
whormongr's Avatar - Comment posted on 08/02/2008 11:23
whormongr
I never care about the achievements/trophies, because normally I want to play a game, pretty much to play it- the time when I don't is if I am playing an online (I was huge into battlefront/battlefront2 I lump on TF2 a lot, etc etc) and if I am playing those, there are usually leaderboards.
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