Achievement Points Part 2: What do they really mean?

April 19 07:17 2008 by Alexei Rivera Print This Article

Today, in part 2 of our “2 part achievement special”, we discuss what gamerscore really tells us about a person. No BS. Just cold facts we can deduce from the information the gamer profile contains.

Barring any means of gamerscore cheating, what can we tell from a score?

• The person with more games listed (regardless of how much his score is) probably has access to more games, either through buying them or renting them. He is either financially capable of buying those games, or he is renting a lot of them (or borrowing, very unlikely though) and playing them.
• The person with the same amount of games, with a higher score probably means he’s got more time to unlock achievements in his games.
• He can finish harder levels as part of certain achievement goals.
• Basing on the games listed on a profile and how much certain games get higher scores, you can make an informed guess on what that person’s favorite gaming genre is.
• Higher scores tend to mean the person spends a bit of time researching the game and plan for achievements accordingly.

But lets cut the shit – what do you really want to know about a person from his gamerscore?

A person with a high score and decent gamerscore completion percentage is a more credible source of gaming information than a low scoring individual. Why, you ask? Well let’s go back to our previous deductions:

• Player has spent more time playing.
• Player knows enough about games to succeed in finishing hard levels.
• Player spends time researching about the game and how to unlock its achievement points.
• Player might have monetary resources to pursue his hobby or use other forms of game acquisition/s

So basically – we can guarantee this person has spent more time playing. We can also guarantee that he can finish hard levels. Finally, we are sure he’s read up on games a lot to attain such a high score. All of these things can be possible on low scoring profiles, but is a fact on all high profile scores. So in reality, a person with a higher score is guaranteed to have a good opinion about games… since hes spent the time playing them, learning them, and also reading about them.

A low SAT score doesn’t always mean a person is dumb. But a high SAT score is proof that a person is smart. It does not make low gamerscorers any less credible of gaming opinion as it is – But it guarantees that anybody with a high score will have an opinion well worth hearing.

That said, this only really helps if you’re in the business of having your opinions heard. And that is why I think some of us may be compelled to achieve more. Lord knows a few extra points wouldn’t hurt.