Upgrade Complete, and Achievement Unlocked

Of course, some might say the argument backfired as they showed just how fun these reward systems could be.

On a different note: The fact that you can upgrade the menu and "shop" is interesting...It seems like a collision between the gameplay and the user interface. Usually those "layers" are kept separate. (One exception I can think of is the Suikoden series, where each game has a recruitable character who will change the style of your menu screens.) Anyway, maybe there's some space for exploration in this mingling of layers.

When I played Achievement Unlocked, I originally took it as a lighthearted joke at Achievements, one made with love that acknowledged how fun Achievements can be. (This Escapist article makes the only compelling point I've seen against Achievements, at least against mandatory, invasive ones.) If the message is that Achievements are bad, it's a complete failure, as it's a lot of fun. Ultimately all games inherently present artificial goals. "Complete this checklist of items" is not inherently better or worse than, "Save the princess." Arbitrary tasks are indeed the hallmark of some successful, fun games, like the Warioware series.

Upgrade Complete is similar. It's constantly fun to find out what amusing new graphics there are, and the equipping your ship turns the game into a bit of a tower defense game. Apparently the author realized that he might be completely failing to get his message across, so he slapped a big old moral message at the end. Complete failure, as telling me that I shouldn't enjoy the thing I just enjoyed playing for a few minutes isn't very compelling.

However, both games are amusing, and I recommend them.

While the message was that meta-gaming is bad (at least the message was explicitly that in Upgrade, I don't know about Achievements), I don't think they really got their point as both games were fun. It was fun to collect all the upgrades and it was fun to try to find out what achievements could be unlocked.

Upgrade's ending said "You should judge a game on how fun you had playing it, and not on the upgrade system", but I had fun BECAUSE of the upgrade system.

Personally, I really love meta gaming, it gives something to do even after you beat the game, and you can get the feeling that you "beat it even more".

However, the only thing I hate is about achievements in particular. I think when they pop out on the screen (especially the XBox ones with the theme that is always the same no matter what game you're playing), they not only disturb the player, but they break the mood of the game. Achievements should not break the flow of the game, they should, for example, be shown only at the end of the level or something like that.

Kongregate.com has successfully mangled the message of both games by adding IT'S OWN achievements on top of those featured within the games. I found that this enhanced both of them! Jesus, could this process go on indefinately??

In the case of Upgrade Complete, I'd never have played it through if it hadn't been for the 50 Kongregate points I got for playing it. 50 Kongregate points make me a BETTER PERSON and I will gladly play worthless games to get them! (True. Don't ask me why. ) And I found Upgrade Complete pretty worthless... there's no fun to be had in the playing of the game itself, and the humor of having to upgrade everything is tired and forced.

The game industry has changed, as a lot of others based on entertainement. People don't want just their video game, or their movie on DVD, they want extras. Or at least that's what the industry gives them, telling them that's what they want.
As for video games, what people "want", because it sells, is achievements. They bring nothing to the game, but like special editions containing a lump of the developer's shit, they make people feel special, and are a cheap way to hype up your game.
These two games are fun, sure, because they don't just slap extras on a previously existing game, they make it the very core of the gameplay. That's why "save the princess" could as well be an achievement, as the tanuki suit is just an upgrade. But the difference is that they are part of the game, not extras that people farm for.

"The game industry has changed, as a lot of others based on entertainement. People don't want just their video game, or their movie on DVD, they want extras. Or at least that's what the industry gives them, telling them that's what they want."

I suspect this mania comes more from marketing reactivity (lets backstop this loss of sales by offereing people marginal added value for money!). Perhaps it is just another support that will in turn collapse and give way to information wanting to be free and getting it. Or maybe not, here´s an interesting article on the subject:

http://www.newyorker.com/arts/critics/books/2009/07/06/090706crbo_books_...

I´m behind an interesting experiment in this regard, I´m taking four of the works of an individual game auteur, all available free on the net, and putting them on the DSi Store for like $5. The extras (beyond the ease of interface and the cool factor of playing on a handheld) will include an interview, some added multiplayer value for one of the games, and interactive commentary that you can unlock, so I´m basically trying to take as high-brow an approach to this achievements kludge as I can. I want to see if people will buy it but also if people will indicate positive response to the added features. Expect an announcement in maybe a month.

I stumbled across Upgrade Complete a while back and very nearly e-mailed Greg proposing someone mention it here...

In addition to what has already been said, I'd like to add that the "better graphics" actually make the playability of the game worse - explosions prevent you from seeing enemies. A deliberate feature added by the designer?

Sometimes achievements work well, sometimes they don't. Mostly these days I'm feeling they don't. :(

I agree with the poster above: Upgrade was fun *because* of the upgrade system. I never would have played for more than a couple minutes otherwise, but I got sucked in by being able to see what felt like an evolution of one game through multiple different modes. It was a little like playing through successive demos of a game. It would have been entertaining to be able to start off with game elements that you can sell for cash (instead of muting, sell the music) but that would have muddled the point they were making.

They did get that point across in one way, I should mention - the fully upgraded fighter was kinda dull. I basically sat with my finger pressed on the fire button in the last level or two and won like that.

Upgrade is a lot of fun!!!