Trophy hunting kinda ruined "casual Playstation gaming" for me

[Wurstmann69]

I am pretty new to this hobby. I started trophy hunting 9 months ago and got up to almost 40 platinum trophies and so far I am loving it.

I love the community the website and the feeling when the next big title is conquered. I am 3 hours away from finishing GTA V and am already thinking of the next game that I'll play.

 

Long story short I am having a blast collecting these trophies.

 

But I started to notice that this comes with a downside. 

 

Whenever I play a videogame that isnt on the PS, I am feeling like I am just wasting time. Valuable time that I could "invest" in getting trophies to get rid of my backlog.

Whenever I see a game that I am interested in playing casually on the Playstation, I am first going to check if I like the trophy list and if I don't I often just don't buy the game.

 

I can't be the only person that evolved such a behavior. How do you handle that? 

Also is it worth to get a second "Just-for-fun"-Account? I mean that would also at least need PS+ or doesnt it?

 

 

Edited April 29, 2022 by Wurstmann69

[HamiTosh]

I m kind a victim to this hahaha.

But its more because of online trophies I absolutely hate online trophies plus its not like on PS3 where online was free,no you need to pay 60€ extra just to be able to plat a game with online trophies.

I see a lot of games which have forced online trophies,poorly maintained online services or shut down servics ( sports games are an excellent example for this) or games which are glitch/buggy/killing save files ( WWE2K20)

So of course checking the lists before hand.

If its just single player and has missable trophies well,I dont really care because i have the option to plat now, later whenever.

There is games i played frequently after platting them, because trophies are a nice extra for me not the quint essence for my gaming.

Games I playe hundreds of hours after platting: GTA V, Uncharted,R6;Rogue Company.Tho then I try to unlock as much as possible in multiplayer, I always need a goal either leaderboards,new guns,perks or characters.

Without trophies most games would maybe not even last 10 hours for me, if you just "played through the game" which some define as beating the boss

[TomataEighty9]

I experience the same thing. 

 

The way i work on it, is by keep telling myself to play games i wanna play. Even if i can't platinum it. So i don't stay away from a game, because it's hard or unobtainable. I just play what i want, and my profile is already impossible to 100%, so that's a good thing. 

 

I also played over 2000 hours of CS:GO on PC, and i keep going in for a few competitive matches once in a while, to play something that i don't play for trophies. 

 

But i don't mind playing for trophies. It gives a goal in a game, and the games i don't wanna plat, i just leave when i don't have fun anymore  

[GothGirlMaxine]

I'm more in the just-for-fun boat myself, but without sounding like I'm complaining, I feel like playing for fun is just much nicer and relaxed. I give myself more time to just play whatever I like and not force myself to earn trophies.

[TheAbyssWalker61]

This is dangerous, I like to trophy hunting but it's okay to take a rest, I did Dead by Daylight and Gta V in the last months and the grind was so hard that I decide to play on switch and play on ps4 to complete platinum to don't get bored of the hobby, remember that the idea it's playing the games not for trophies and you will be happy

[DrBloodmoney]

Trophies do tend to keep me focussed on games that I've still to earn in, rather than replaying old stuff, however, really good games I like a lot are pretty  much immune to that.

 

I like having a goal to work towards, but in something I really like like Hitman, or Dead Cells, those goals might not be trophy related - I still jump into those and try to unlock new weapons or complete new challenges after all the trophies are done.

 

There are also some games i'll repeat just for the kicks - usually ones that had a real impact on me the first time round.

 

 I still play Super Mario World / A Link to the Past / Chronotrigger every few years, and that's since long before trophies existed, and I replayed Portal 2 not that long ago, just because it's awesome. Plus, of course, there are games like Tetris Effect, which I know I will never platinum, but that hasn't stopped me sinking like 200 hours into this year alone ?

 

I'm actually really looking forward to replaying The Witness at some point... just need to wait until i've well and truly forgotten all the puzzle solutions though!

 

[Tirmata]

I think this is a personal behaviour beyond the trophies (yet trophies cause to surface it a lot) and I experience it too. Before trophies (PS, PS2) I was trying to 100% games like GTA, Crash, Spyro, etc. just to achieve this completion rate. Now this shifted into trophy hunting. It kinda disturbs me time to time, especially if I stuck with a game I didn't get to like in the middle or get bored but need to finish it or just suffer for the few last trophies. To fight with that feeling, when there is a game I am really excited about I never open any trophy guides or normal guides and only come back when I am done with the game even though I'll miss some trophies (Looking forward to Elden Ring run for that). 

 

Another thing I'll do is to buy a Switch later this year which has no achievement and trophies tied at all. I think it will be a nice change to play something without any direction/distraction to earn something.

[kinnyman]

I think you're becomming borderline OCD about it.  I had the same issues when I started.  Fine line between OCD / addiction vs enjoying a hobby.  Your profile isn’t going on your tombstone.  When you are dead and gone, your loved ones will remember the person you were, not your trophy card.  Don't forsake your real life for a virtual one.  So no need to obsess over this shit.  Have fun.  Keep it fun.  When it starts to go the way of addiction, take a break and get away. 

[VigilantCrow]

Sounds like you're taking that great step into playing trophies, not games. Welcome to the addiction. 

[AJ_Radio]

11 hours ago, VigilantCrow said:

Sounds like you're taking that great step into playing trophies, not games. Welcome to the addiction. 

 

This isn't the right approach. You should be enjoying the games while collecting trophies, not the other way around.

[Raidou Kuzunoha XIV]

I've definitely fallen into this mindset before. Collecting trophies becomes an addiction to the point I forget to how to have fun in games that don't have them at all, or games where I've already earned all the trophies (but they're otherwise still enjoyable to play). I've never been that hardcore into it, I don't care about having a low percentage, or making a new account to try and have as close to 100% percentage of trophies earned as possible or whatever, but there were definitely games I chose to play over others because of the trophies, and some I put on the backburner because they lacked trophies, or their trophy lists seem too difficult/annoying/time consuming/etc. or were simply impossible (because they had online trophies and the servers had since shut down or something).

 

As for how I handled it? I kinda hate to say it, but I think it was just the slow realisation that I'm only getting older and games I have on non-trophy consoles are not gonna play themselves, lol. There's been tons of games I've neglected simply because they don't have trophies, despite being very interested in them otherwise. I did initially try to keep myself to only playing one of these kind of games at a time, while still primarily playing games with trophies most days/most of the time. I eventually kinda just got bored of trophies when I noticed how often I actually wasn't having fun collecting trophies, because so many of them require you to do things that seem pointless or even irritating.

 

I've also kinda set up my own little goals for myself in regards to non-trophy games, such as "try and complete X amount of games this year" or "try and finish X series of games this year", etc. I think having loose goals somewhat helps with my achievement obsessed mind; having that little sense of pride what I do manage to complete my "goals" is similar enough to me to getting a platinum or 100% in a trophy based game.

 

The most important thing to remember though is to just have fun, that's what games are primarily for at the end of the day - entertainment. If you've having the most fun trophy hunting, then don't worry too much about games that don't have trophies. If you have more fun playing games that don't have trophies, don't worry too much about playing games that do.

 

I can definitely relate with feeling like you're "wasting your time" with games that don't have trophies, but when it comes to entertainment, the only true waste of time is when you continue to do something you're not getting any or much enjoyment out of for far too long. We all have a finite amount of time, none of us are guaranteed to be alive tomorrow, so it's not worth wasting too much of your precious free time on things that don't bring you some kind of joy or satisfaction.

[Arzoden]

Ahh my friend i feel your pain, i am also quite new to trophy hunting. But unlike you i have a just for fun account that i play games on, mainly with my brother.

 

 

You might want to lay off the big titles like GTA V though. If you do not want to burn yourself out on one game. I mean that game is hella hard to platinum so big respect to you for managing that but sometimes you gotta ask yourself, is it worth the mental stress? This is something i always do before hopping on a new game, of course it is different if games like GTA V is something you really enjoy playing! Then it is totally fine, but all in all you gotta look out for yourself as well. 

 

That being said i have an addiction to 100% all of my games. So i can not just hop into any game, i have to like you do research on it and find out if i am able to do it. I no longer scout mainly for games i would enjoy the most if i think i can not get the platinum, i also try to keep away from DLC games but it's not totally off the table.

 

My main advice if you want to get rid of this attitude towards buying games would be this, buy games you know you can platinum when they are on sale. Buy games you really like to full price if you have to, only if you know you are capable of platting them. Also get a second account to play games you like but are pretty much impossible to platinum.

 

Of course this is totally up to you, but some free advice is never a bad thing  I could use some advice myself to be honest.

[JusttJD]

I pretty much had the same experience as some of you a couple years ago when I used to game on my previous account.

 

Before I even opened a game, I would open up the guide and make sure I knew everything and had a clear plan before even starting a game.

I wasn't playing games for the games anymore, I was playing the purely because of the trophies.

I save scummed the hell out of everything to avoid multiple playthroughs and used glitches like no other.

 

And, it drained all the fun that I had after a while.

No matter what I played, I didn't enjoy it and it became more like a job and even an addiction.

At which point I took a long break from gaming completely, and when I came back, I made a completely new profile (This one).

And, I set some clear rules for myself.

 

1. Just have fun and play the games how they are meant to be played.

(Some exceptions here and there like Minecraft Dungeons DLC)

2. No more looking at guides until I actually play through the game once.

3. And, maybe the most important one. Playing the games that I actually want to play.

 

And, since I've done that, I'm having a lot more fun with gaming again.

Sure, my profile isn't going up the leaderbords that fast anymore.

Sure, I only collected like 4 platinums last year.

But, I actually enjoyed those platinums.

And, I don't look at the leaderbords anymore, I just look at my own profile and see the journey I've been on the past few years.

 

Having my own personal goals of things that I'd like to accomplish.

And, actually playing the games that I really like, it made me motivated to actually complete all of them.

When you have fun, it's not a job after all, it once again, becomes a hobby.

 

And, I see that a lot around me, friends that are not trophy collectors, but, trophy addicts.

They NEED to have one platinum each day, otherwise it affects them in real life.

They play 5 minute games all evening long for the easy trophies, and when you talk to them, they sound depressed.

And, when you ask them "Hey, why don't you play Elden Ring?"  You'll get the answer

"Fuck, I really want to play that game, it looks like so much fun, but, I could get 100 other platinum's in that same time, and I have to do that"

 

People that forgot what gaming is about. About... having fun.

And, that's why I always say the past years.

"Trophies are the best and worst thing that happened to Playstation gaming."

 

It can add so much to your gaming experience, but, it can take so much away from it as well.

Edited April 30, 2022 by JusttJD