I’m a complete sucker for points, and I know I’m not the only one. Just look at MMO’s, all those games are is getting more points. More XP, more HP, more MP, more Strength Points, more DKP with their guild. Improve this stat, fill that green bar, feel that split-second satisfaction of leveling up then start all over again. But why are we such suckers? Why does incremental positive reinforcement hook us so easily? It’s not like we really get anything out of it, imagine if we took all the time we ever spent getting XP and applied it to getting in shape, or learning piano, or whatever. Its because it gives us instant gratification, and then dangles the next goal in front of us like a carrot on a stick. The worst part is that, these days, no genre is safe. My most recent addiction is Call of Duty 4 multiplayer. Wait, I get xp for shooting other players in the face? Sign me up. Now instead of lame MMO combat, I’m playing an excellent FPS and unlocking new guns, new abilities, and leveling up! I’m helpless against this sort of temptation. And that’s before you factor in leader boards. Leader boards are just another way of distributing points, and COD4 does it so well. There are separate leader boards for overall kill count, win/loss ratio, and several other categories. On top of that, you can organize the leaderboards based on your overall rank or just with your friends. This sort of thing should be illegal. Not only am I pining for that next level, I’m struggling to climb the leaderboards. God forbid I stop playing for a day and drop down the ladder. There is really no light at the end of the tunnel for me and this game. Plenty of other genres are being infected by this RPG plague, Madden’s career mode is more or less an RPG now. Virtua Fighter 5 has you earning cash (points) to buy (unlock) new content to customize your character with. You say you want some new abilities in God of War or Devil May Cry? I’m gonna need to see some points first. It’s everywhere. The “points” aren’t just taking over other genre’s, they are invading consoles themselves. Everyone’s heard of achievements on the 360, which you get for accomplishing defined tasks in every single game on the system. Achievements then give you gamerpoints, which increase your gamerscore, which then puts you higher on the leaderboard. There are people that actually buy games based solely on the fact that they have easy achievements. My wallet thanks me for not getting hooked on my Gamerscore. Sony is putting their spin on this sooner or later with “trophies.” Where does it end? Really, points are one of the core defining experiences of gameplay in general. The concept isn’t just limited to clearly defined “points,” either, if you think about it on a more abstract level. I’m sure most people have craved finding that next heart piece, or unlocking that next track, or getting a better star rating in guitar hero. All of these things are based around rewarding players for playing the game for extended periods of time, just like points. It’s a gimmick that works really well, because there is something inside most of us that loves feeling a sense of accomplishment for killing a goblin and seeing “+50 XP” pop up above its head, or whichever way the game decides to reward us for playing it. I love points, don’t get me wrong, but I would love to see more games like Portal or Shadow of the Colossus that focus on doing one thing really well and making it an unforgettable experience, no points involved. You can fill up that XP bar all day but you sure as hell won’t be saying a month later “man there was this time when I had to kill two orcs instead of one, it was awesome!” Points will always have their place in video games. There is a simple, addictive quality to them that will never really get old. I like that the idea of points is expanding into other genres, which makes the entire experience seem fresh, even though I’m fundamentally doing the same thing in COD4 that I did in Final Fantasy VII ten years ago. I don’t want to see points go anywhere, and I want to see developers keep implementing the idea in creative ways, but the day I have to level up Mario to jump higher is the day I quit gaming.
December 3, 2007...10:00 am
What is it about points?
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