The Fastest Achievers List, Is There a Point?

[AJ_Radio]

A good while back I made a topic titled "Trophy Speedruns are Pointless" which I made my opinion on why I felt speeding through the game just to earn a spot on the Fastest Achievers List is utterly pointless.

 

This will take on a similar angle but I feel that having a Fastest Achievers list is pretty much unnecessary.

 

I will admit that I am far from a skilled player at heart. I am merely average at best. Like most of you I enjoy trophies but every now and then we like to take them a step too far. Grinding out a game just to get trophies quicker, or playing nonstop for 24 hours, 48 hours or however long somebody plays until they get to that top rank in a specific game. Or bashing our heads against a wall until one trophy finally pops due to RNG working against us.

 

I value those who can complete a difficult game quickly, but I tend to look at open world games as mostly time consuming. Being #1 on the Fastest Achievers List just means you did your own research ahead of time and basically played nonstop for however long it took. I have seen a number of games that take upwards of 40 - 50 hours to finish according to the trophy guide, and while they're generally not always accurate, someone comes along and speed runs through a game because they like the thrill of it, or because it gives them a sense of satisfaction they can't get just by beating the game normally.

 

That's really all I see the point of it.

 

I can't ever see myself getting all the trophies in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in under five days. Even if you know the in and outs, how to speed run through it all, it will still take a few dozen hours and that basically is unhealthy playing. But who am I to judge how somebody else plays?

 

Some guys spend 10 hours every day playing video games, I can't ever see myself doing that. Even if I was to be paid the big bucks on a Twitch.tv livestream with thousands of followers and subscribers supporting my Patreon and giving me donations.

 

How do you see it?

[Sir_Bee]

9 minutes ago, Spaz said:

A good while back I made a topic titled "Trophy Speedruns are Pointless" which I made my opinion on why I felt speeding through the game just to earn a spot on the Fastest Achievers List is utterly pointless.

 

This will take on a similar angle but I feel that having a Fastest Achievers list is pretty much unnecessary.

 

I will admit that I am far from a skilled player at heart. I am merely average at best. Like most of you I enjoy trophies but every now and then we like to take them a step too far. Grinding out a game just to get trophies quicker, or playing nonstop for 24 hours, 48 hours or however long somebody plays until they get to that top rank in a specific game. Or bashing our heads against a wall until one trophy finally pops due to RNG working against us.

 

I value those who can complete a difficult game quickly, but I tend to look at open world games as mostly time consuming. Being #1 on the Fastest Achievers List just means you did your own research ahead of time and basically played nonstop for however long it took. I have seen a number of games that take upwards of 40 - 50 hours to finish according to the trophy guide, and while they're generally not always accurate, someone comes along and speed runs through a game because they like the thrill of it, or because it gives them a sense of satisfaction they can't get just by beating the game normally.

 

That's really all I see the point of it.

 

I can't ever see myself getting all the trophies in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt in under five days. Even if you know the in and outs, how to speed run through it all, it will still take a few dozen hours and that basically is unhealthy playing. But who am I to judge how somebody else plays?

 

Some guys spend 10 hours every day playing video games, I can't ever see myself doing that. Even if I was to be paid the big bucks on a Twitch.tv livestream with thousands of followers and subscribers supporting my Patreon and giving me donations.

 

How do you see it?

 

You answered your own question ... Just because you don't like it, doesn't mean others can't or shouldn't.  If you want to talk big picture, the fastest achievers leaderboard is no more or less pointless than any trophy earned in a game for any task.  None of it really means anything or has any value, it is all about what we put to it.  You already said that you enjoy getting trophies, so why is it such a stretch to believe someone else may like getting those same trophies quickly?

[DEI2EK]

i wish i could play 10+ hours a day

curse this having a job and a life thing

[scemopagliaccioh]

I guess?

It's not my style, and I dislike rushing things, not to mention I tend to branch out from game to game before I complete one, my best fast achievement on this account is being part of the top 100 for SoulCalibur 2's platinum, but there are others who take this seriously, so yeah, as long as they have fun.

[PhantomBlade19]

It's even more pointless in Ratalaika games when instead of hours or days the competition for the fastest achievers is in seconds and mere minutes. 

[gerboize]

The same logic can be applied to having as many trophies or points as possible. Leadeboards and records only matter to the people who care enough about them.

[freddie1989]

Pretty sad existence to be honest. At least enjoy what you are playing. You certainly wont be doing that by blasting through as fast as possible.

[fbdbh]

The only weird thing about it is that reviewers and testers will receive games early (and I got games like this), and it's making the entire thing unfair and pointless.

[Sir_Bee]

1 minute ago, freddie1989 said:

Pretty sad existence to be honest. At least enjoy what you are playing. You certainly wont be doing that by blasting through as fast as possible.

 

That is a pretty bold statement to suggest that someone cannot enjoy doing something quickly ...

[Squirlruler]

TL;DR: I don't like a certain playstyle so no one should enjoy it.

 

????????????????????

[FawltyPowers]

I have no interest in competing as a fastest achiever, but I suppose it is interesting to see just how quickly a game can be completed with the correct preparation or skill, within the rules of the site.

 

It's just a shame that auto-popped lists on certain games trivialises this feature.

[PooPooBlast]

Lol... 

 

Trophies are pointless, speedruns are pointless, Hollywood games esque suck, superhero games suck, everything is pointless! We're all going to die anyways so life is pointless?

 

No hold on, there is a point! It's self fulfillment. 

[freddie1989]

7 minutes ago, Sir_Bee said:

 

That is a pretty bold statement to suggest that someone cannot enjoy doing something quickly ...

 

Each to their own I guess pal. In a story based game for example where you are skipping the dialogue to get through it faster it seems impossible to me for someone to enjoy the story.....

[AK-1138]

The only time I personally ever bother to complete a game using as little time as possible is with Cheap Platinum Trash... you know, games that wouldn't even be worth one second of your finite amount of time on this existential plane if trophies weren't as satisfying to get as they are.

 

The appeal of watching or partaking in speed running as a goal in and of itself is something I am unable to comprehend. If time limits and trials are part of a game, i.e. Crash Bandicoot, at least that's something. It just seems to inevitably turn gaming into a job or a chore where the focus lies on exploiting the limits and faults of programming rather than enjoying the sum of the experiences a game can provide. So a guy has spent 150 hours continually playing a game to the point where all he can see are frames and programming physics just to best another guy who's "just" been doing it for 147 hours by seven fifths of a second. That doesn't impress me, that just makes me wonder how much they actually enjoy playing the game in the end. Which is, I'd like to believe, the very point of video games.

[Sir_Bee]

Just now, freddie1989 said:

 

Each to their own I guess pal. In a story based game for example where you are skipping the dialogue to get through it faster it seems impossible to me for someone to enjoy the story.....

 

I would agree with that sentiment to a point, however it makes two rather large assumptions.

 

1 - that this is the first time they are playing this game.  When someone is trying to speedrun something, it can probably be assumed it is unlikely the first time they tried it.

2 - That they are in it for the story.  That may be what drew you (and even many others to the game) but being a game there are lots of different potential draws for players.  As a recent personal example, I could use KH 3.  I just finished the 'story' part of it, and many would argue it is a very story driven game, but it all felt like a confusing mess to me.  I was in it for the gameplay, which I enjoyed immensely.  While I still watched all the cut-scenes (of which there are many lol) I do not feel like I am any better off or enjoyed the game any more because of it.

[kenseizenkai]

For me, speedrunning games is totally useless & unnecessary. Games, like movies are supposed to be fun, enjoyable & not rushed through. I never speedrun a game & I never will, cos what's a point in playing a game, if you only going to rush through it, get a plat & never play it again (unless you make a new PSN ID)? For me, the more a game lasts, the better & I want to have fond memories of games I play.

Edited June 20, 2019 by kenseizenkai

[SwampGas]

27 minutes ago, fbdbh said:

The only weird thing about it is that reviewers and testers will receive games early (and I got games like this), and it's making the entire thing unfair and pointless.

That was what i thought the OP was going to mention... but alas, this right here is why i believe speed-running for a leader-board spot is pointless.

But again as the OP stated, to each their own... but I too will never understand it.

[freddie1989]

15 minutes ago, Sir_Bee said:

 

I would agree with that sentiment to a point, however it makes two rather large assumptions.

 

1 - that this is the first time they are playing this game.  When someone is trying to speedrun something, it can probably be assumed it is unlikely the first time they tried it.

2 - That they are in it for the story.  That may be what drew you (and even many others to the game) but being a game there are lots of different potential draws for players.  As a recent personal example, I could use KH 3.  I just finished the 'story' part of it, and many would argue it is a very story driven game, but it all felt like a confusing mess to me.  I was in it for the gameplay, which I enjoyed immensely.  While I still watched all the cut-scenes (of which there are many lol) I do not feel like I am any better off or enjoyed the game any more because of it.

 

Like I said this is very much each to their own.

[djb5f]

Yes, no real value in it but same could be said of any trophy hunting.  Your arguments apply to getting platinums, chasing leaderboards, etc.

[ahmedelebiary]

Don't really care about being in the fastest achievers list, I like to take my time with my games  Also as long as you get the plat eventually is what matters imo, whether it took you hours or years ?

[TheYuriG]

56 minutes ago, freddie1989 said:

Each to their own I guess pal. In a story based game for example where you are skipping the dialogue to get through it faster it seems impossible to me for someone to enjoy the story.....

That's assuming speedrunners have never played a game before on an alt, which is kinda stupid since a brand new player will always, 100% of the time, play any game slower than someone that already has played the game before on any other platform or account. Speedruns are mostly never done on the first playthrough, unless it's something that requires no skill, like Steins:Gate.

 

For me, personally, hunting fastest achievers adds an extra layer of entertainment for trophy hunting. Look at Flower and Diablo 3 per examples. Those are both games I've already done before and therefore was no actual "challenge" in completing them again. Trying for a fastest time fixes that lack of challenge for me.

 

However, I don't do it competitively, because I find stressing to research and optimize routes, that's not why I game for. God forgive me if at some point I turn into someone like those BEST_XXX_GAMER that you can see in some leaderboards like Alien: Isolation.

Edited June 20, 2019 by TheYuriG

[KennethMcCormick]

7 minutes ago, SwampGas said:

36 minutes ago, fbdbh said:

The only weird thing about it is that reviewers and testers will receive games early (and I got games like this), and it's making the entire thing unfair and pointless.

That was what i thought the OP was going to mention... but alas, this right here is why i believe speed-running for a leader-board spot is pointless.
[...]

 

That would be for the First achievers leaderboard, which is in fact rather problematic with all the early prints and some games already platted even before the street date, or games with a single list but different release dates depending on continents.

 

On topic : I'm 2nd Fastest achiever on Phantom Doctrine, and first on Rugby League Live 4, and didn't rush through those games. I even felt like I was taking my sweet time with the first one, just was in a bingeing mood at the time, and as for the second one, it was just a lonely end of the year week end during which I was so close to the plat after a while that I decided to try it in three or four sittings. For the records I still play the games even after getting the plat. Don't have the feeling of waste here.

[lilpain97]

Just because you think something is useless doesn't make it useless to someone else. I thought hobbies are for your own enjoyment? I don't like Football or sports but I wouldn't go around saying useless to everyone who enjoys it.

  

I don't even really like speedrunning plats on my first ever go, but useless?  

Edited June 20, 2019 by lilpain97

[Smashero]

1 hour ago, fbdbh said:

The only weird thing about it is that reviewers and testers will receive games early (and I got games like this), and it's making the entire thing unfair and pointless.

Yyy... I think you are mixing "First achievers" with "Fastest achievers" list...

"First achievers" - yes, reviewers and testers will be always at the top, since they can play the game before the official release, get the trophies, and sync when the list is uploaded on servers, but not necessarily "Fastest": you can always "try" the game on your alt. account and then, after discovering the optimal way, make the speedrun on your "main" account and then you have a chance to be on top of "Fastest achievers" list.

Edited June 20, 2019 by Smashero

[Charizarzar]

1 hour ago, freddie1989 said:

Pretty sad existence to be honest. At least enjoy what you are playing. You certainly wont be doing that by blasting through as fast as possible.

 

I think those types of people generally do enjoy it though. Some people only do speedruns because it suits their style and they like to challenge themselves. It’s not really for me but more power to them. Some YouTube channels are totally dedicated to speedruns.

 

And this wouldn't be the case for all games but I imagine in a lot of cases more work goes into it than it might appear.