Does trophy hunting enhance a game or is it a burden?

[BedlamLugosi]

For me it comes down to the creativity of the trophy list, if it’s a fun list like the South Park games it actually makes the games better, but it can also turn a great game into a slightly miserable experience like red dead redemption 2 was for me. 

[Misshandlad]

It's a fine line to balance on as a trophy hunter.

 

More than once I have found myself keep playing a game I dont like purely because of obsession of trophies.

Which made me kind of burn out in the end, result is not a single platinum in over 6 months now.

[Bluefalcon2210]

It all depends on the game and the trophy list really, some games can be a joy to go for all the trophies and others and be a massive chore and it's just not worth it at least in my opinion.

[BedlamLugosi]

7 minutes ago, Misshandlad said:

It's a fine line to balance on as a trophy hunter.

 

More than once I have found myself keep playing a game I dont like purely because of obsession of trophies.

Which made me kind of burn out in the end, result is not a single platinum in over 6 months now.

I’m definitely starting to experience the burn out. I feel like it’s a great idea to take 6 months to a year off but I just don’t have the intestinal fortitude to do it.

[HuntingFever]

1 hour ago, Bluefalcon2210 said:

It all depends on the game and the trophy list really, some games can be a joy to go for all the trophies and others and be a massive chore and it's just not worth it at least in my opinion.

This^
 

It depends very much on the game, because some are enhanced by trophies but others are detrimentally affected to the point they become a chore and any enjoyment is destroyed.

Edited February 23, 2021 by HuntingFever
Update.

[TalalHmd]

Depends on the trophy list 

 

some lists make me not want to do anything with the game after I’m done, while others leave me wanting more 

[ladynadiad]

I think it very much depends on the trophy list and that the majority of devs don't know how to make a trophy list that would actually enhance the experience.  My personal favorite lists are the sort that have you go find all the extra little tidbits that players typically would miss, but not so much stuff that is extremely missable or requires numerous additional playthroughs to access it all.  Something like the trophies for all titles in Tales of Symphonia was not a good example of this because it required too many additional playthroughs for very little additional content.  A better example of this would be something like NieR where doing a NG+ run is pretty quick overall and actually adds a significant chunk of story to make it worth the player's time.  Some of that game's trophies were annoying, but I'd not say the ones for the endings were.

 

However so many devs opt for obnoxious grindy trophies or stuff for finding a bunch of collectables when doing so does nothing to enhance the game.  I don't mind things like finding all the character notes in an Ys or Trails game because those do give some good additional content and further develop the characters.  I mind stuff like MeiQ's trophy for getting all the guardian parts when one has an unlock condition of beating 30,000 monsters.  For a point of reference, I had barely hit 10,000 after finishing up the necessary three playthroughs for the plat.  I spent likely a third to half of my time for that plat doing an additional 20,000 monster kills that were completely unnecessary because all my characters were already max level and I'd done everything else.  If a grind is needed, I'd rather it be something that will be useful towards another trophy or challenge at the very least.  For example a trophy to max the level of a character isn't terrible if max level would be useful for an optional challenge boss.  But if I can beat said optional challenge boss at half the max level then I'm not going to be pleased by the excess grind needed for no purpose.

 

So pretty much I prefer it when trophy lists either enhance the game by developing the plot, characters, or world more with optional content or when the trophy tasks aid you in completing other tasks rather than pad play time beyond what is needed to wrap up the content in the game.

Edited February 24, 2021 by ladynadiad

[DrBloodmoney]

That depends entirely on the type of game, and on the implementation of the trophy list.

 

In some cases, a good game can certainly be marred by the trophy list - or even by a single trophy - for people who want that 100%, usually by the inclusion of a long, post-game grind trophy or trophies that far eclipses the timespan of enjoyment for the rest of the game.

 

Two I can really remember were Final Fantasy XIII & Ni No Kuni - both great games with a lot of content and already featuring a very long - but enjoyable- road to the end credits, but all I really remember looking back on them was a slow, dull, post-game grind to finish off a trophy list.

 

 

In other cases though, the trophies can help the game enormously, as I see it, in 3 distinct categories:

 

1. By encouraging the player to see different content they might not otherwise see 

David Cage games (Heavy Rain / Detroit / Beyond: Two Souls) for example. not many people would purposefully have all characters die, or lose at an easy QTE, but in those games, a lot of interesting (or at least, different) content depends on different story elements happening, and the trophies encourage the player to really see much more of the game than they would in a single play through.

 

2. By giving an 'End Point' to 'endless' games

I know part of the appeal of games like Cities: Skyline or The Sims is that you can essentially play them forever, but having a trophy list give a bit more structure to games like that, which some players like. (Me included). Personally, I like having a target - a goal to reach.

Even games like Skyrim or Fallout, while they do have and 'ending' and you see a credits roll, are essentially endless in some respect, and so having a trophy list not only encourages varied play, but also gives a natural stopping point once the 100% is achieved.

 

3. By giving additional 'meta-game' challenges, and/or encouraging new & interesting ways to play

An example of the 'meta-game' challenges would be Cuphead - I'd bet very few players would ever go for the 'Pacifist' challenges of completing the run and gun levels without killing anything without the trophy, but the trophy encourages people to try, and those levels are at their most interesting and challenging in that way.

 

A good example of just encouraging varied play is Hitman, where the trophies encourage you to see / try some of the more outlandish methods of assassinating the targets, helping with overall mastery of the levels - and the 'level mastery' trophies encourage players to try poking and prodding at every aspect of each map, encouraging varied new ways of playing.

 

It's not always about a silenced Silverballer and a suit, y'know.

Sometimes, you just need to put on that Hippies clothes, throw a fish at your target, then dump them in a woodchipper ??

 

Edited February 23, 2021 by DrBloodmoney

[Dodolis]

Enhance ! Enhance ! ENHANCE ! I personally only play games I like , so for example doing ng+ or ng++ runs of dark souls would never cross my mind normally but i need it for trophies and its just so much fun , thank you trophies !

[FawltyPowers]

I think trophy lists are both a burden and and enhancement on pretty much every game I've been on.

 

The positive (enhancement): Pushes you to play every facet of the game that you may not have ever thought of doing if it wasn't for the trophy list.

The negative (burden): There is always the final one or two trophies that become either a grind or frustrating.

[JediKnight_327]

Its a burden when there are missable trophies and you have to keep them in the back of your head while trying to enjoy the game, knowing that if you make one mistake you'll likely have to start a whole new playthrough.

 

It's especially annoying in games where the trophy isnt even for something you were supposed to have accomplished, but for a choice you have to make, even though the game is about free choice e.g. Until Dawn.

[BedlamLugosi]

22 minutes ago, DrBloodmoney said:

1. By encouraging the player to see different content they might not otherwise see 

David Cage games (Heavy Rain / Detroit / Beyond: Two Souls) for example. not many people would purposefully have all characters die, or lose at an easy QTE, but in those games, a lot of interesting (or at least, different) content depends on different story elements happening, and the trophies encourage the player to really see much more of the game than they would in a single play through.

 

2. By giving an 'End Point' to 'endless' games

I know part of the appeal of games like Cities: Skyline or The Sims is that you can essentially play them forever, but having a trophy list give a bit more structure to games like that, which some players like. (Me included). Personally, I like having a target - a goal to reach.

Even games like Skyrim of Fallout, while they do have and 'ending' and you see a credits roll, are essentially endless in some respect, and so having a trophy list not only encourages varied play, but also gives a natural stopping point once the 100% is achieved.

 

3. By giving additional 'meta-game' challenges, and/or encouraging new & interesting ways to play

An example of the 'meta-game' challenges would be Cuphead - I'd bet very few players would ever go for the 'Pacifist' challenges of completing the run and gun levels without killing anything without the trophy, but the trophy encourages people to try, and those levels are at their most interesting and challenging in that way.

3 very good examples, totally agree.

[SSenpai_I]

In all honesty it depends on the game. If its a very story based or dialogue heavy game i don't focus on the trophies and play through the game first. Then i come back to the trophies after the story. It would be fun if earning trophies in a game would also give you a reward in game. That would really enhance the experience.

[HuntingFever]

A great example, IMO, of a fun game that's hurt by having a bloated trophy list, is a little title called Dusk Diver. I co-wrote the Guide for this on .org and both myself and my writing partner agreed there were far more trophies than there was end-game content to justify such a lengthy list. The final grind, adds at least 10-15 tedious hours onto what is essentially a fun 10-12hr game. The Lottery trophy is completely pointless because the lottery literally does nothing, you can defeat the final boss whilst only you're 1/2-2/3 upgraded so maxing out all 4 characters is pretty pointless and also renders getting all the Dragon Stones pointless since you don't really need all of them. These are just some of the 7 or 8 pointless trophies that really bog down this game and make it decidedly less fun than it should have been.

 

Atelier Ryza is another one. It's a fun game but the weak endgame doesn't have enough content to justify the additional grinding you have to do for 4 specific and incredibly tedious trophies that ultimately don't add anything to the experience.

Edited February 23, 2021 by HuntingFever
Update.

[BedlamLugosi]

15 minutes ago, OmerSenpai said:

In all honesty it depends on the game. If its a very story based or dialogue heavy game i don't focus on the trophies and play through the game first. Then i come back to the trophies after the story. It would be fun if earning trophies in a game would also give you a reward in game. That would really enhance the experience.

Good idea, it would make trophy hunting a lot more popular if you were rewarded exclusive weapons, gear, or in game cash for achieving certain trophies.

[xItsLesterx]

At the end, it's both a bless and a curse. 

[jg91335]

I think it’s a bit of both. I find getting trophies fun and satisfying once you finally get the 100%. But I also find myself not wanting to play any new games until I complete the ones I already started.

[PostalDudeRus]

For me, most of the times its opportunity to enjoy game I like more. I mean,100% of experience 60% is base game and 40% is trophy hunting progress.

[Lava_Yuki]

I think it's fun and enhances a game when it's not insanely grindy or frustrating and makes the player explore more of the game, such as seeing all the endings in a game with multiple endings or completing a certain number of side quests. Like I really enjoyed the platinum for FF12 TZA, not grindy but challenging enough at the same time and did not have any stupid mini games which I hate. 

 

It becomes a chore and decreases enjoyment when the trophies are too grindy and repetitive, requiring you to do the same thing over hundereds of times (all the grinding for the spheres in FFX, finding all pirate ship pieces in Disgaea 4), or having frustratingly difficult mini games (FFX, FFIX, Kingdom Hearts BBS).

 

So yeah, some games seem to have enjoyable trophy lists while others are brutal. 

[TomataEighty9]

If i play a game, and i think it's "ok", i just play the story and move on.  If i play a game and i love it, i will try and get as many trophies as i can (my skill allow). Platinums for me, is something i go for, for games that i think are really awesome. So i guess i'm not really a trophy hunter like many others. I'm not a completionist, that's for sure, since i don't mind unfinished games, if i don't think they are exciting enough.

Edited February 23, 2021 by TomataEighty9
spelling

[peffsi]

If a game has a bunch of missable trophies but can otherwise be done in a single playthrough, I just end up playing the game with a guide on a second screen. Clearly this is a worse experience (but I do it anyway). 

 

Also, I think stressing about trophies (and being forced to listen to the English dub) ruined Persona 4 Golden for me. I was so worried about min-maxing my relationships that I came to hate making the choice of what to do each day. I didn't finish it and I refuse to play Persona 5.

 

Having said that, a smartly designed trophy list CAN enhance a game.

[TalalHmd]

4 hours ago, JediKnight_327 said:

 

It's especially annoying in games where the trophy isnt even for something you were supposed to have accomplished, but for a choice you have to make, even though the game is about free choice e.g. Until Dawn.

Also The Witcher 3. the game encourages you to make your choices and have your ‘own’ story, and the devs kept insisting that there are no clear rights or wrongs in the choices you make, but there are trophies for making certain choices 

Edited February 23, 2021 by TalalHmd

[lpgcavazos]

13 hours ago, Dodolis said:

Enhance ! Enhance ! ENHANCE ! I personally only play games I like , so for example doing ng+ or ng++ runs of dark souls would never cross my mind normally but i need it for trophies and its just so much fun , thank you trophies !

Completely agree!. Games as Dark Souls are sooo much fun to play that you really want to do the trophies.

 

This actually varies depending on the game; for example I HATE to search for boring things like some Tomb Raider platinums, or doing things that are not interesting enough.

[Z1MZUM]

Enhance for sure, they also aren't mandatory.

 

It's a rinse repeat cycle for me, finish a game with no guide. If I like the game enough then read through a guide and play through again. Example for me would be P5 Royal and the extra content which happens to be trophy related as well. Even though I've had strikers since the 18th I wanted to plat Royal before and the extra content is an enhancement which just happens to be trophy related as well.

[DesmaBR]

Gonna go with both.

 

Some games I'd have a worse experience if I went for trophies (Like Danganronpa), but I just play those somewhere else