Game achievements have come to affect our favorite pastime on many levels. Achievements are being added to a growing list of game genres, and their rise is leading to raging debates on both industry and enthusiast fronts: What in-game objectives ought to merit achievements? How can games best be designed with achievements in mind? What further rewards can be tied to achievements to enhance their effective use in games? How much worth do game achievements truly have? In order to better approach these and other questions, GameCyte consulted a professor of psychology and a game designer, whose research into defining player types and motivations in modern gaming may help us all understand why achievements have become such a massive phenomenon.
Continue reading...Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Honestly, when Valve announced yesterday that the all-new gameplay mode for Team Fortress 2 was nothing more than a team deathmatch mode, I was a little disappointed. Especially given that the new mode is one-death-and-you’re-out, which is really kind of a detriment to those of us who aren’t that great at staying alive for more [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, August 19, 2008
As prevalent as game achievements are lately, it’s only natural to see them being applied in new and intriguing ways. Sony is using them to stock your virtual house with shiny trophies. Valve is using them to unlock new ways to hurt people. And now, Kongregate is using them to give away actual material rewards. [...]
Continue reading...Monday, August 18, 2008
On Friday, Valve updated the post on their Heavy Update page which listed the new achievements for everyone’s favorite minigun-wielding Team Fortress 2 class. This new update replaced all of the “Coming Soon” placeholders with actual descriptions of what the achievements would entail, thus drawing our speculation contest to a close. All told, roughly 50 [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, August 13, 2008
UPDATE 8/15: Valve has published the full list of the Heavy’s Achievements, and our contest is now closed! Look for our analysis and winner announcement soon! Valve put up a list, this morning, of the 35 new achievements that will become available in next week’s Heavy Update. The official website lists only the names of the [...]
Continue reading...Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Valve’s Heavy Update site has revealed the first new unlockable weapon for Team Fortress 2’s big, cuddly Heavy Weapons Guy: The “Killing Gloves of Boxing,” a new melee weapon which will please pugilism patrons everywhere. That’d be pretty awesome by itself, but if you look carefully at the accompanying image pack that’s included with the new site, [...]
Continue reading...Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Though this latest update to Team Fortress 2 has taken a bit longer than Valve originally anticipated, the TF2 Official Blog dropped the news today that it will all have been worth it. In addition to new achievements and unlockable weapons for everyone’s favorite gun-happy lunkhead, Valve will be releasing seven new maps, five of [...]
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Tuesday, September 9, 2008
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