After reading this post from one of my favorite places to read posts, I realized that my gaming has changed.  I am older now than I have ever been before and I still play video games.  I plan when I play video games.  The fact that I use the phrase ‘video games’ means I’m old enough to plan my day around them.  Back to my point, which is, I don’t use my Playstation 2 anymore.  I used to play FFX and SSX3 like it was going out of style and then…it went out of style.  Jackie Chan’s Stuntmaster is one of the most exciting games I’ve ever played and its on the PS2 as well.  I never pick up these games anymore because they don’t allow me to broadcast my achievements to the ‘net.  Gaming achievement rewards have utterly changed the way I play.  I deliberately searched for a SSX3 replacement on the XBox360 and found Pure.  Totally fun and addictive, I’m liking it a lot right now.  Its not quite SSX3, nor is it SSX Tricky, but its an XBox equivalent that gives me the gratification that I crave, those stupid XBox Gamer Points and Game Achievements.  Anyone on XBox Live can see my achievements per game and see my total Gamer Points.  They don’t translate into cash or change the initial game strategy in any way, but they affect my play all the same.  I deliberately fail at a task several times within a specific timeframe to get the achievement.  I will change my strategy in a game to gain a virtual merit badge and I think I’m OK with that.  As we come to the holiday season, wait we are in the middle of it, I expect that post-Xmas sales will draw me to pick up some newer games, but they will be for XBox360 only.  I still like SSX and FFX, but beyond bragging about the games on this page, I have no impetus to pop the game in.  Fable 2 has expansions that offer additional Game Achievements that draw me in and make me plan to buy them in the future.  Its compelling that I check the total points and achievements I can get on a game before I buy it.  I never thought I would turn into a social-type of gamer, but I care about it.  I almost can’t help it.  It gives me a great sense of pride when I achieve a goal without knowing it and I see the achievement badge pop up on the screen.  It connects me to the programmers who made the game and it broadcasts to others that I am worthy of existing in the digital world of gaming.

I’ve been on WoW for a couple years now and I can’t tell you how many times I check the Achievements section to see if I could gather just one more before I log off.