A little context for this post. This post was originally written for a secondary, personal videogame blog/journal I keep for myself at the website trueachievements.com. True Achievements is a site that tracks Xbox achievements for Xbox players and gives them in-depth analysis of their achievements.
What’s an achievement, you may ask? Each Xbox game comes with 1000 points in achievements. Achievements are won for performing various tasks within specific games. Some of them are easy, for instance The Simpsons Hit & Run game has one called “Easiest Achievement Ever” (Cue Comicbook Guy) and is won by simply pressing the start button for the first time as you start the game. Other achievements can be time-sucking nightmares and completely luck based such as a recent one I got in the racing game Forza Horizon 5 for winning 80 events. On top of all the other things to do in that game, actually winning 80 events can take, literally, days of game play. (Of course this isn’t all done at once, its done over a year of gameplay as you jump in and out of the game.)
So this post is about gaming, and specifically about achievements. The post ends on kind of a downer and I have a hunch there will be a part two to this, because even though its about achievements on the surface, its actually about the value of time. Our lives are finite, and gaming is often seen as a waste of time, of life…. This post is trying to come to grips with that.
If you scroll down my profile to the Achievement Streaks you will find that I’ve recently completed my 4th streak of 69 days. Derp. These are topped by my single 365 day streak where I got exactly one year of achievements daily, back in 2020.
Yeah, so 69 days, and then each time, I purposefully stopped getting achievements for a single day so the streak would stop and I could start again.
If you’re on this site there’s a good likelihood that you, like myself, may suffer from A.O.S, or Achievement Obsession Syndrome. Symptoms include:
*Playing and purchasing games specifically for Gamerscore
*Obsession with completing all the achievements in game
*Looking at the TA score of a game prior to purchase in order to determine the ease of the achievement list
*Not playing games you actually want to play due to the achievement list being too difficult or too easy – depending on the nature of your particular AOS
*Looking at the Gamerscore of other XBoxers first and foremost
*A Pavlovian reaction to the “bloonk” sound of achievements
*Getting a brain-tickle at the shiny, ringy sound of a rare achievement popping.
*Quitting a game as soon as you get all the achievements even though, within the game, there’s still a lot to do.
I’m sure there are many more symptoms and if you think of any more, feel free to comment what they might. But the point remains for many of those in this community, this is a real thing.
My newest achievement goal for this year, after completing all of the 69 day streaks, is to try to surpass 300k by the end of the year. I’m currently at 253K and that has been since my start in 2010.
Since I’ve decided on this new goal, my main path forward has been to wait for the weekly Tuesday sales list on TA, reorder the sale games by price, low to high, and review all the $4.99 or less games for their TA score.
Anything less than 1500 TA is up for potential purchase. I then quickly research each game and if any of them seem fun, I’ll purchase them. (For the record, because of the MS Reward program I have yet to spend any actual money for these games which is a bonus)
In choosing the games I buy, I really try to make sure I’ll enjoy them. I follow another blog by a UK gent who is a real “whore” (his word, not mine) when it comes to easy gamer score. He documents his travails with all sorts of games he wishes he never played, but did so and continues to do so for the achievements. Such is our malady – AOS.
Most of the ones I’ve picked so far have actually been very fun. “Void Gore” something I never would have played has been a joy. Part Defender, Part Vampire Survivors, its a quick pick up and play.
“Speed or Death” – at first a little wonky and glitchy, but some good humor and fair challenge, it has been an enjoyable way to spend a few hours throughout the week.
“Super Blackjack Battle: Turbo Addition” – again, this Blackjack game would never have never caught my eye due to its bizarro title, but basically its just Blackjack with a non-sensical plot built in that comes out of left field. Again, enjoyable.
In fact, the only purchase so far that’s come up short and made me feel like a whore has been, “Disney Classic Games: Aladdin and the Lion King”. It was on sale and I glanced at the TA ratio which made it look pretty easy.
I had actually played The Lion King on the Gameboy Advance back in the 90s for a few hours. I recall that it was extremely difficult and not a lot of fun. Games back then had about an hour or two worth of actual content, but they ramped up the difficulty in order to extend the games to hours upon hours. They weren’t fun. They were exercises in frustration. That said, there is satisfaction when completing something extra hard, and some games thrive on that. Dark Souls, meet your pedigree; Almost any Disney Gameboy game from the 90’s.
I should have been suspicious of the easy TA ratio of the Disney Classics game due to my past experience. Turns out, the game is still harder than hell, but using the TA walkthrough, in these versions you can literally fast forward through the entire game in “Watch” mode, stopping at the moments of achievement popping, spend one minute of playing, pop the achievement, then continue in “Watch” mode to the next area where a ‘cheeve pops. It feels like cheating. It is cheating. But you know what? I don’t care. That’s how I will be getting all the achievements on this one. When I jumped in and attempted to play it for real, it wasn’t very fun.
In the end though, this post is about more than these particulars and these goals – juvenile 69 day streaks, hitting 300k by end of year…
Playing videogames and my own case of AOS is always accompanied by the nagging purposelessness of this hobby. When I die, no one is going to to visit this TA page and be impressed. When I die, my children won’t be visiting my Xbox profile and reviewing all these games I’ve played and say, “Remember when Dad whored his way through Aladdin? Good times.” When I die, this will be meaningless. Yep – depressing.
But, that gets us down a rabbit hole, doesn’t it? For most folks on this Earth, what will be their stamp when they die? For a fortunate few, they will receive accolades in the NYTs upon their deaths. Their creations and impact on the world will live beyond them – but for most of us that won’t be the case. Go ahead, take a moment and Google up some obits. Most of them highlight a persons achievements with their families – their accomplishments as a parent, a sister. Some include their success in their vocation – small successes compared to those we see write ups for in the papers of record.
Most of us are very small, and when we die, except for those close to us, the world essentially doesn’t care. We are one of billions. So, who’s to say that these Xbox achievements and goals are worthless, when to the rest of the world our entire lives are worthless? Playing a few hands of videogame blackjack between calls at work, prepping my mind for the next thing, is that such a wrong thing?
I like this blog. These words I’m writing will be there for my kids and ancestors for a while after I’m gone (assuming TA keeps up their banging business and servers, and blog feature) – This feels semi-permanent, like I created something.
The act of getting achievements isn’t an act of creation, but it is a hobby that puts my brain in a place to create. Let’s me rest. Gives me some distance. Acts as a reset.
My life is better because of achievements. And as the waters get too deep, you may be tempted to ask me, ‘are you trying to convince me, or yourself?’ These games we play can be a solace, a diversion into a shallower place where things aren’t quite so uncomfortable.
So, ummm, 69 day streaks, right? Heh, heh, heh.