Achievements coming to StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3

[AlwaysOn222]

Over at Diii.net (http://www.diii.net/n/679962/achievements-in-diablo-3-and-starcraft-2) you can read that achievements will come to StarCraft 2 and Diablo 3. As you should know by know they will first appear in the upcoming expansion Wrath of the Lich King. It seems now that Blizzard's goal is to make a universal account spanning all Blizzard games with achievements much like the gamercard works for Xbox Live. Below is more information about it: When I spoke with lead “World of Warcraft” designer Jeff Kaplan yesterday about the game’s new Achievement system, he revealed that eventually players will have a Blizzard Account that shows Achievements from other Blizzard games they’ve played, including the upcoming titles “Diablo III” and “StarCraft II.”

“Eventually, our plans are for the Achievement system to become an account-based system,” he explained.
[...]
“Your ‘WoW’ score would be just one factor that will go into your Blizzard Level. And rather than call it a ’score,’ we just wanted it to be like you’re leveling up on Blizzard games… You’ll have this Blizzard identity, and you’ll be able to see things like ‘Oh, this guy was great at Diablo III, but he never played Starcraft and he was mediocre in WoW. That sort of thing.”It will be interesting to see how this works out for Blizzard. Maybe they will give rewards to people that complete achievements like special beta keys, items and stuff. So what do you guys think about it?

[Nura]

Goddamnit! Need more hours in my days to be able to keep up soon. Achivements all over the place needing to be unlocked :/

[Blue]

I don't really see how this could be a bad thing. While achievements isn't something that excites me either way, there's nothing harmful about having them in as a way to reward players and give others something to strive for (depending on what they happen to be). I like this idea.

[dfr]

i don't quite get the blizzard achievements yet. especially since they are scattered across multiple games to combine one global "profile". all those games take serious one game dedication to achieve anything (based on loot / ranking). who in the world would have enough spare time (talking of the average hardcore gamer joe, not the 2 people that will do it) to play multiple titles (since wow seems the most likely to add constant achievements) ?
i know i'm going to crave the diablo 3 stuff from day 1, but there is no way i'll go back to sucking even more in life because i need to be playing wow at the same time ;)

[ferr]

i don't quite get the blizzard achievements yet. especially since they are scattered across multiple games to combine one global "profile". all those games take serious one game dedication to achieve anything (based on loot / ranking). who in the world would have enough spare time (talking of the average hardcore gamer joe, not the 2 people that will do it) to play multiple titles (since wow seems the most likely to add constant achievements) ?
i know i'm going to crave the diablo 3 stuff from day 1, but there is no way i'll go back to sucking even more in life because i need to be playing wow at the same time ;)

Well that's exactly why they're doing this globally. It's just another drop in the ocean of attempting to get their current WoW install base to play their other games.

[Primus]

Release these three games on the 360 and make it so they add to my GS, and I will care, somewhat.

[TrackZero]

Sorry Blizz, I ain't buying it. I've only got enough time to try to work on one achievements system, not all the others cropping up. Add to my XBL score, or don't bother.

[jeffbax]

Sounds cool to me, I'm always for achievements.

[Telefrog]

Sorry Blizz, I ain't buying it. I've only got enough time to try to work on one achievements system, not all the others cropping up. Add to my XBL score, or don't bother.

Yes, a good idea should only belong to one company. :rolleyes:

[Magnanimous Gnome]

I hate the day achievements were unleashed upon our world. They are addictive, and I feel stupid for going after them.

My meek XBL gamerscore makes me feel like a loser. :p

[TrackZero]

Yes, a good idea should only belong to one company. :rolleyes:

Didn't say that. Just said I don't have the time to have any interest to follow it with other companies.

Edit: So *rolleyes* back at you.

[Talon-]

My meek XBL gamerscore makes me feel like a loser. :p

Well you should feel the exact opposite. :p

[Mortis]

Achievements in D3? My life will officially be over the day of it's release.

[Deadend]

Everyone has a fucking achievement system now, but none of them share. The whole point of e-peen is that it's universal, now I have 20 different shorter e-peens instead of a single giant one.

[Primus]

Yes, a good idea should only belong to one company. :rolleyes:

Keeping track of 60 different achievement systems is lame, and counters what those into achievements are trying to obtain. Having one large sum is what we want. I don't know if this is even possible between different companies, but I believe the majority of gamers will just stick with their 360 achievements.

[oldjadedgamer]

Everyone has a fucking achievement system now, but none of them share. The whole point of e-peen is that it's universal, now I have 20 different shorter e-peens instead of a single giant one.

iPhone games even have them now too.

[TeeCakes]

Everyone says that the Wii and it's casual gaming has killed the industry, I say the stupid Achievements system unleashed by XBL does far greater damage to this industry, robbing meak-minded gamers of the independence to choose what they want to play.

No, they'd rather fall prey to a Jedi-Mindfuck marketing trick to get them to pony up more paid months (i.e. XBL Gold membership for multiplayer Achievements, or soon any of the Blizzard monthly subscriptions) into constantly playing a game they really don't want to play, but just have to get...one...more...Achievement before...they start on the next useless one.

It's a sad way to turn your own friends' list, and the social nature of online gaming against the gamers, themselves. Sure, build up that buddy list! But if you're at the bottom of the barrel in terms of Achievement points, nobody's gonna want you on their Madden team-- or soon to come, in their WoW Raiding Guild. It's like a high-school popularity contest has somehow infected it's way into the hardcore-gamer's arena. Sickening, mostly because it's actually working like a dark charm on you fools. (Mortis, I'm talking about you here!)

Watch out for the hackers to climb to the top of the charts on day one of D3 and S2's release. And watch out for me laughing my Cake-filled ass off as the Achievement Addicts post up thread after thread whining about how their scores are 'compromised'!

[Telefrog]

Keeping track of 60 different achievement systems is lame, and counters what those into achievements are trying to obtain. Having one large sum is what we want. I don't know if this is even possible between different companies, but I believe the majority of gamers will just stick with their 360 achievements.

If the "majority of gamers" includes the 10 million plus people currently playing WoW that will inevitably get WotLK, then I'd say a large number of achievers will be playing with Blizzard's system.

[ShivaX]

Keeping track of 60 different achievement systems is lame, and counters what those into achievements are trying to obtain. Having one large sum is what we want. I don't know if this is even possible between different companies, but I believe the majority of gamers will just stick with their 360 achievements.

See, I would argue that achievement systems themselves are lame. Who cares how well you play Madden when I'm playing an FPS/RTS with you? Of course achievements don't have anything to do with ability 99% of the time anyway, its typically more about luck/reading a FAQ.

Oh wow you found all the widgets in some FPS? Well that relates to... nothing at all. Seriously a high gamer score typically means you either own more games or rent a lot of them. You also probably have multiplayer access of some sort.

I mean they're great as a personal goal setting thing or even some sort of weak competition thing, but for somehow rating people its a universally pointless system.

[Disgustipated]

Everyone says that the Wii and it's casual gaming has killed the industry, I say the stupid Achievements system unleashed by XBL does far greater damage to this industry, robbing meak-minded gamers of the independence to choose what they want to play.

No, they'd rather fall prey to a Jedi-Mindfuck marketing trick to get them to pony up more paid months (i.e. XBL Gold membership for multiplayer Achievements, or soon any of the Blizzard monthly subscriptions) into constantly playing a game they really don't want to play, but just have to get...one...more...Achievement before...they start on the next useless one.

It's a sad way to turn your own friends' list, and the social nature of online gaming against the gamers, themselves. Sure, build up that buddy list! But if you're at the bottom of the barrel in terms of Achievement points, nobody's gonna want you on their Madden team-- or soon to come, in their WoW Raiding Guild. It's like a high-school popularity contest has somehow infected it's way into the hardcore-gamer's arena. Sickening, mostly because it's actually working like a dark charm on you fools. (Mortis, I'm talking about you here!)

Watch out for the hackers to climb to the top of the charts on day one of D3 and S2's release. And watch out for me laughing my Cake-filled ass off as the Achievement Addicts post up thread after thread whining about how their scores are 'compromised'!

I'm so glad we have alarmists like you that overreact about absolutely nothing.

You make it sound like achievements are brain-washing people.

Newsflash: These people obsessed with achievements would play the games with or without achievements regardless. It's their own choice to play shitty games for achievements, and nobody else's.

oh noes the big bad xbot live maed pppl dum and is evil becuz of the achievemtn!!

It's robbing weak-minded players of their independence of choosing what to play? KEY WORD: Weak-minded. These morons play shitty games anyways.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Well you should feel the exact opposite. :p

Thanks!! That honestly made me feel better. :D

[drakkarim]

So what do you guys think about it?[/I]

'yawn' for me, but if it makes someone's epenis bigger, by all means, chase those achievements.

[Mephistopheles]

I'm on the fence with achievements. Personally I think they're a waste of time but I'm sure plenty of people enjoy them. Different strokes and all that.

For a multiplayer FPS it seems like a decent idea (so long as it doesn't involve unlocking new weapons or abilities that impact gameplay) because the model for that kind of game is limited content that you play to death. Along those lines I suppose it also makes sense for Diablo style games and RTS games as repeat playing of a limited set of content is already part of the game. Same goes for MMOs (although I think it's hard to make a case for WoW needing more grind).

The only thing that would bother with me this achievement fad is if developers use it as a substitute for actual content as far as single player games are concerned. It seems like it would be tempting to cut some content and slap in an achievement system that you can spin as adding replay value. I'd rather they put some thought into meaningful in game achievements that work in the context of the game.

I'll wait to pass judgement but based on what has been seen of achievements in the PC market so far (Valve's efforts in TF2, for example) I'm not expecting great things.

[net7runner]

Mmmmm....DRM. Oh, I'm sorry, is this not what we're talking about?

If you need a "Blizzard account" to play your games then that means you have to be signed in. Hmm. I just don't want to be locked out of a quick Starcraft match when their servers inevitably crash and burn.

No, it won't start out that way. But they'll get people used to the idea of having a Blizzard account and interacting with their servers. Then it's only a matter of time. *shrug*

[Hemalin]

Mmmmm....DRM. Oh, I'm sorry, is this not what we're talking about?

If you need a "Blizzard account" to play your games then that means you have to be signed in. Hmm. I just don't want to be locked out of a quick Starcraft match when their servers inevitably crash and burn.

No, it won't start out that way. But they'll get people used to the idea of having a Blizzard account and interacting with their servers. Then it's only a matter of time. *shrug*

This is different from how Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo currently work in which way? Oh that's right, instead of needing 3-4 accounts, you only need one. Those evil bastards.

[Bahamut]

This is different from how Starcraft, Warcraft, and Diablo currently work in which way? Oh that's right, instead of needing 3-4 accounts, you only need one. Those evil bastards.

You only need one account to currently use Battle.net across the games, excepting WoW.

[TeeCakes]

oh noes the big bad xbot live maed pppl dum and is evil becuz of the achievemtn!!

Downplay it all you want, DP. You know that the only reason Blizz is even putting in Achievements is to make people want to play more, past their usual limits, even. As far as how 'alarmist' I sound in my comment, that's just how I always roll, baby.

[f1sh3r]

Everyone says that the Wii and it's casual gaming has killed the industry, I say the stupid Achievements system unleashed by XBL does far greater damage to this industry, robbing meak-minded gamers of the independence to choose what they want to play.

No, they'd rather fall prey to a Jedi-Mindfuck marketing trick to get them to pony up more paid months (i.e. XBL Gold membership for multiplayer Achievements, or soon any of the Blizzard monthly subscriptions) into constantly playing a game they really don't want to play, but just have to get...one...more...Achievement before...they start on the next useless one.

It's a sad way to turn your own friends' list, and the social nature of online gaming against the gamers, themselves. Sure, build up that buddy list! But if you're at the bottom of the barrel in terms of Achievement points, nobody's gonna want you on their Madden team-- or soon to come, in their WoW Raiding Guild. It's like a high-school popularity contest has somehow infected it's way into the hardcore-gamer's arena. Sickening, mostly because it's actually working like a dark charm on you fools. (Mortis, I'm talking about you here!)

Watch out for the hackers to climb to the top of the charts on day one of D3 and S2's release. And watch out for me laughing my Cake-filled ass off as the Achievement Addicts post up thread after thread whining about how their scores are 'compromised'!

this entire post makes absolutely no sense.

[Disgustipated]

Downplay it all you want, DP. You know that the only reason Blizz is even putting in Achievements is to make people want to play more, past their usual limits, even. As far as how 'alarmist' I sound in my comment, that's just how I always roll, baby.

I just think if people are as stupid as you claim, it's their own fault. You make it sound like a drug, but the addiction was already there.

[Hemalin]

You only need one account to currently use Battle.net across the games, excepting WoW.

You may may be able to use the same username and password, but the accounts between games are completely separate.

[Kem0sabe]

All blizzard does these days is copy into WoW every good idea they can get their hands on.

Their UI for example, has had several updates where they basically took community mods and integrated them without giving any credit to the original authors.

This achievement business is just a desperate measure to compete with Tome of knowledge unlocks from WAR Online.

I think these guys haven't had an original idea in years.

[SonofSeth]

All blizzard does these days is copy into WoW every good idea they can get their hands on.

Their UI for example, has had several updates where they basically took community mods and integrated them without giving any credit to the original authors.

This achievement business is just a desperate measure to compete with Tome of knowledge unlocks from WAR Online.

I think these guys haven't had an original idea in years.


True, it looks like they only use good ideas. Bastards!:eek:

[Rommel]

True, it looks like they only use good ideas. Bastards!:eek:


Youth these days. They seem to find evil in making advancements and implementing the lessons of the past, because somewhere, sometime, someone told them copying from your neighbor was wrong. Oddly, they also seem to think legitimate patents are bullshit. It is a weird dichotomy.

[Kem0sabe]

True, it looks like they only use good ideas. Bastards!:eek:

Youth these days. They seem to find evil in making advancements and implementing the lessons of the past, because somewhere, sometime, someone told them copying from your neighbor was wrong. Oddly, they also seem to think legitimate patents are bullshit. It is a weird dichotomy.

You both seem to make several assumptions.

I dont mind Blizzard improving their games, but they should give credit where it due, especially the mod community from whom they "borrow" most of their UI advancements.

[Variable Gear]

You may may be able to use the same username and password, but the accounts between games are completely separate.
Isn't Blizzard working on a new version of Battle.net to accompany Diablo 3 and StarCraft 2? I am sure that a single logon and password for all games would be one of their priorities for the new surface.

[TeeCakes]

I just think if people are as stupid as you claim, it's their own fault. You make it sound like a drug, but the addiction was already there.

You have a point, and of course most game designers go about to create the most addictive, even drug-like experience (especially for online gaming) to keep people glued to their couches for as long as possible.

Now that you mention it, there was always that 'hi-score' in the old arcade games, that made players want to put one...more...quarter into the Donkey Kong unit in hopes of being the King of Kong.

I guess Achievements can be seen as more of a return to the heart of the classic, addictive, 'unhealthy' gaming love more than a new, deceptively simple marketing rouse.

Dammit, I dislike having to let go of a bit of my irrational XBL hate!

[SonofSeth]

I dont mind Blizzard improving their games, but they should give credit where it due, especially the mod community from whom they "borrow" most of their UI advancements.

Since imitation is the best form of praise I don't see how Blizzard owes anyone anything.

If you read the latest interview with Rob Pardo you see he mentions that some of the poeple they hire are actualy people from the mod comunity, so I wouldn't worry about poor moders because if they realy are that good, they can end up working at Blizzard.

[f1sh3r]

http://www.ctrlaltdel-online.com/comics/20080804.jpg

[Variable Gear]

I think that's playing the game how it's meant to be played, but then again my mother was a Zerg Queen.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Blizzard accounts already exist to some extent. You can register/buy your games with a single account and then re-download them as much as you like, ala Steam. It's not as tied together as Steam is yet, but it's obvious that Blizzard has been heading in this direction.