Why do you hunt shovelware platinums?

[diskdocx]

5 hours ago, Walt the Dog said:

I can't really speak to specifics on why people go for the trophy apps in particular since this stuff is well beyond my era of trophy whoring (closest I've gone to them is a bit of Breakthrough and Gamizumi stuff for a trophy competition back in late 2021), but from my experience from the kids' game era to a bit into the Rata games era, there's something neat about seeing an arbitrary number go up, particularly when it's attached to your own actions and it takes some investment/stakes to raise it. Just so happens that easy plats (and I suppose especially the new era of shovelware plats) make that number go up way more than pretty much anything else, so it's easy to get caught in a cycle of just spamming easy shit constantly in between real games to keep getting that dopamine and that feeling of making a number go up until you finally get tired of making the number go up, at which point hopefully you didn't sunk cost yourself into staying in anyway (unfortunately a very real risk given the aforementioned investment feeling like a waste if you just give up now).

 

Also since it's hardly out of place relative to other people in the thread not even answering the question, may as well go into what kept me in when I was still going at it. Prior to the shovelware onslaught and, to a lesser extent, the Rata/Sometimes You assault, keeping up with the EZPZs was a fair bit more... attainable relatively speaking when it was like one or two EZPZs releasing a week if not a month and not the absolute hellspawn of 2022 onwards. The standards for what constituted EZPZ were also a fair bit lower than they are now, so there was also just some stuff that fell through the cracks that would still fit the mold. This all also had the effect of making the EZPZ scene easier to be properly competitive in while there was still the issue of the Vita VN bombardment (if you think having to pay for a bunch of trophy apps is dumb, the Vita VNs are like, full price games and there were probably like half a dozen a month at the peak if you wanted to be a top ranker; knowing people was the only way to really do it 🫠), that was far enough to the side of everything else due to the relative inaccessibility that you could pretty much just split between people who were and weren't willing to go that far. More importantly, actually spamming out a shitload of trophies in a short time was a bigger ask than it is now, which made stuff like trophy whoring competitions actually worth doing since there was some actual excitement in having to plan out what games you're gonna whore out, particularly in shorter competitions where every second counts and your game choices could make or break your standing. Even more recently when I've given up the overall EZPZ race, the ~2 weeks I spent in that aforementioned late 2021 competition doing the utmost to maximize my trophy count (for the most part within the bounds of pre-shovelware hunting) reminded me what made me even care about all the EZPZ spamming in the first place, something that really isn't there now that shovelware has pretty much snuffed out the idea of any trophy whoring competitions on account them being a matter of who has the most shovelware to burn through yet with literally nothing else having a chance of competing. Shit, even in the aforementioned trophy comp, I got snuffed out easily by people just spamming the damn [Theme] Break games to the tune of like 3000+ trophies when I busted ass getting like 1600 trophies from damn near every VN I had left to do from the Vita days + some random other recent-ish EZPZ. Someone who could do all the animal stroking, food jumping, ump jumps, and whatever else showed up would fucking decimate anyone who dared to employ any other strategy, so why even have competitions at that point when the far and away best strategy is about as if not more accessible than doing things the old way?

 

If there's any bright side to the shovelware onslaught, it's that people well and truly do not give a fuck if you do other easy shit now that the bar is so insanely high. Also doesn't help that the most popular games have gotten a fair bit easier to plat to the point that the main difference between something like platinuming Disney's Up and platinuming Spiderman 2 is just time investment and the latter being a lot more polished and socially acceptable to play in the first place.

I feel like this summarizes most of my thoughts on things. I've dropped back substantially on EZPZ shit, apart from specific purposes (more on that in a minute).

 

I still have a ton of physical Vita JPN VNs that I'd bought previously. I agree with Walt, hunting was much easier (and IMO enjoyable) when there were a relatively small number of easy lists. It felt more attainable. Now I just watch my standings on the leaderboards plummet to new accounts that have racked up 3000 plats in a few months, with average trophy rarity of 98+%. I don't see how that's enjoyable, but to each there own.

 

In that regard, I would differentiate pure shovelware from EZPZ. I still maintain that the Rat/Sometimes You games were actually games. And some were quite good, especially on the Vita for a quick trophy fix. They were cheap, they were mostly quality games (a lot had much more content beyond finishing the game). Heck, I just finished Replikator from Rat, and it's a solid roguelite twin stick shooter. It's not even particularly easy, although you can get the plat in about an hour, 2 hours tops. Anyway, I'm getting off topic.

 

So, while I try to avoid much of the shovelware, with so many games now being released, I try to maintain a trophy a day. Sometimes that means a quick EZPZ or even pure shovelware just to keep going. I also enjoy trophy events here and on .org and truetrophies, so using quick games for the monthly TT targets or .org events sometimes helps. Recently TT had a Leap Frog event, where each day you needed a trophy from one additional game. Made it to day 21, not all of those games were shovelware, but it's hard to earn at least one trophy from 20 different quality games in a given day.

 

Lastly, sometimes I have a milestone target coming up, and using a few spam games to fill in the gap so the milestone is from a specific game can be handy.

 

So I guess I would say I use trophies now more for specific gaming tasks. I couldn't imagine playing nothing but Jumping/Stroking games non-stop for trophies, but if others enjoy that, have at it. Otherwise just make sure you're enjoying the hobby however you see fit.

[colia100]

It's not elitist to say they those plats are absolutely worthless, they literally reflect 0 skill and 0 dedication.

 

Those that play it may feel a rush of moving up the leaderboard, but when has anyone looked at such a profile and thought, wow! what an achievement... So sorry, 0 respect from me, and I'm guessing from most other trophy hunters

 

And it's not cheap if I may argue, count up all the costs for all the literal trash games on an account, and I find that quite expensive.

[Fallout795]

12 hours ago, Trumpet_Boi_208 said:

For the past couple of years, I've been constantly wondering: If you're not attempting to compete on the leaderboards, why do people hunt for easy platinum trophies? I'm not talking about high-quality games with easy platinums (I.E. OneShot, Severed Steel, etc.), because in that context, the platinum serves to cap off a wonderful and memorable experience with a game. I'm talking about the games that look like they were specifically designed for trophy hunters; ones that are dirt-cheap, quite poor in quality, and generally completed in less than an hour. I know there exists the argument of a quick dopamine rush, especially if it follows an especially grueling platinum or day, but is there ever a point of inflection where you feel as if it becomes a job? Is it the case with money where it feels good to watch the numbers go up?

 

I really hope I make it clear that I harbor absolutely no contempt with this question. While I personally prefer each of my platinums to be distinct and memorable experiences, whether they be breezy or brutal, I obviously understand that preferences differ. I'm just interested in finally answering that question for myself, and perhaps many others. 

it's an addiction and people like to see the numbers go up as fast as possible

[DaivRules]

This thread was supposed to be people who self-identify as hunting shovelware responding to the opening post and has devolved into other people without impulse control getting their dopamine hits with their same derogatory comments that keeps their ego inflated.

If that's going to continue, we've already got dozens of threads treading that ground and we'll just close this thread out.

 

[LukeTheGooner]

11 minutes ago, DaivRules said:

This thread was supposed to be people who self-identify as hunting shovelware responding to the opening post and has devolved into other people without impulse control getting their dopamine hits with their same derogatory comments that keeps their ego inflated.

If that's going to continue, we've already got dozens of threads treading that ground and we'll just close this thread out.

 

 

leave threads alone that don't need tampering with, my comment was deleted and it didn't take a shot at anyone

[JCP3953]

1 hour ago, colia100 said:

It's not elitist to say they those plats are absolutely worthless, they literally reflect 0 skill and 0 dedication.

 

Those that play it may feel a rush of moving up the leaderboard, but when has anyone looked at such a profile and thought, wow! what an achievement... So sorry, 0 respect from me, and I'm guessing from most other trophy hunters

 

And it's not cheap if I may argue, count up all the costs for all the literal trash games on an account, and I find that quite expensive.

I get most of mine from free codes that I trade to people with, many trade them for event pokemon codes, so no it doesn’t cost much 🤷‍♂️, it’s still funny watching elitists rambling at it, with that said tho, I do find it cringe when people brag about having 1000 plats from shovelware as like you said there’s nothing to these games 

Edited February 29 by JCP3953

[pyrotempestwing]

As someone mentioned earlier, My Name is Mayo did an easy Platinum as a joke, however, I bought it because it was memetic at the time. It basically turned my Vita into a fidget button for a while. Being autistic (Asperger's specifically), It was actually kinda therapeutic.

 

As for actual shovelware, I usually don't partake, but if a game is "interesting bad", I may give it a shot in the future. That's why I bought Sonic '06, after all. (It's not really shovelware, and unfortunately [or fortunately, depending on your POV] it has no trophies, but if you have a group of friends willing to take turns playing and lampooning the game, it's an... interesting time).

[Dry]

Me buying a shovelware product from the PlayStation Store and unlocking the platinum trophy from it can be compared to ordering and consuming a large triple cheeseburger meal from McDonalds.

 

I'm (almost) sick of doing so.

Edited March 1 by Dry

[ElektrickRage]

Rarely I will have some sort of masochistic urge to play shitty games while getting easy trophies as a bonus. Some in a way give me a nostalgic feel to flash games but most end in a sense of wanting it to be over already and the inevitable frustration. I only will get the ones that are dirt cheap but even then it’s like a surge of shame overcoming me hahaha. They shouldn’t even exist tbh, they are not fooking games.

[Jelly Soup]

The last few times I've indulged in a few quick games, it was mostly to pad out PS Stars. Every level requires four full game purchases, but I don't really buy many games. Quick leveling for about $5, and then getting the trophies because, well, I paid for it.

[NinjaMJD]

More power to those that do but I gotta have at least some passing interest in the game. Some of you are out there playing Hannah Montana and Barbie’s adventures bet the plat only takes an hour, but I got zero desire for any of that. 

[JCP3953]

20 minutes ago, NinjaMJD said:

More power to those that do but I gotta have at least some passing interest in the game. Some of you are out there playing Hannah Montana and Barbie’s adventures bet the plat only takes an hour, but I got zero desire for any of that. 

How dare you shit on Hannah Montana, it's clearly a 10/10, gameplay of shake the controller is absolutely phenomenal, you can't call yourself a trophy hunter without it!!!!

 

 

 

Edited March 6 by JCP3953
Obv being sarcastic

[Teh_Zombz]

I used to do it because i intended to compete on the leaderboards but it burned me out quicker than going for 100hr+ plats. it got so goddamn boring and realized i didn't actually care about the leaderboards that much 

[Devil_Max]

Hi Everyone!

I only play easy games because I'm keeping a big secret that a lot of people would be proud of me if everyone found out, but I prefer to stay that way without telling anyone.

[Rockstar-Suicide]

It's a nice little endorphin hit when you get the pop. I enjoy some simple puzzle games, but sadly a lot of that can be hidden behind fanservice-like titles. I'm not really bothered by it and kept going.

 

However, a little while ago, I actually decided to hide a ton of them, which dropped me heavily in points and standing, but navigating my trophy list on the site was becoming a real pain in the ass due to just how much stuff was on there. I kept the autopop ones though lol. Haven't really gone after any since... now and then I'll do a simple puzzle one to break up the gaming between the bigger/longer titles. though.

[SmileSlice]

I don’t exactly hunt shovelware plats, but I have found them useful if I’m getting close to a trophy or Platinum milestone.

 

Makes it a lot easier to plan out other individual trophies to make sure I get a milestone I want, especially if I need a quick ten or so.

 

Usually the Sakura games are the ones I choose (thanks in large to the Game Grumps, I decided to check out the series after their Steam Train episode of Sakura Spirit, which was hilarious).

Edited March 6 by SmileSlice
Corrected spelling and grammar.

[Super-Fly Spider-Guy]

I don't personally...though I have probably a good hundred or more of them, my reason is during Covid I tried to get back into Vita and @RatalaikaGames was the only one pumping stuff out for the Vita. So I bought just a shitload of their games, anything even halfway interesting. Some of them were genuine bangers, like Super Destronaut, the entire series of them, is a bop and a half, I would play them without trophies happily. There's a bunch of good games in their library that I'd genuinely recommend for a couple bucks. 

 

I stopped giving a shit about the leaderboards fucking years ago. Trophies mean nothing to me these days. I'd be lying if I said there isn't still fun to be had in completing a list, like we have played Hogwarts (finally) recently over on Xbox and I'm a little miffed because if not for the achievement for collecting *everything* I'd have the 1000GS, but like, I'm not gonna go and do hours of grinding I don't want to do for some stupid trophy

 

The italics bit is the true answer to your question, OP.