Kristen, the No. 4 gamerscore girl

[DirtySyko]

http://kotaku.com/5422154/achievement-ch ore-she-plays-for-gamerscore-whether-its -fun-or-not

It's a pretty long read, so for those who don't want to read it, here is the tl;dr version:

She is a stay at home mom who has a gamescore of more than 165,000, and she is ranked No. 4 overall in the world for females. In the article she talks about how 65% of the games she plays she doesn't even enjoy, she openly admits to being addicted to hunting gamerscore, and she has a Japanese console to get extra points. It also states that her husband has his own business and makes a healthy income to support her addiction and his family, which I think is pretty sad that he goes out and works while she sits around being an addict, even though she claims and he claims it isn't affecting the family.

I particularly like the part where she says "I'm never going to be in the Olympics, so I'll be a great gamer. It's something I know I'm good at." The problem is, sitting around playing games that bore the hell out of you and boosting with other gamescore whores isn't being good at anything. It's all dependent on how much time you can spare. Like most MMORPG games, it's not a skill thing, it's a time thing.

But, that leads me to the actual topic of what I want to discuss. What is it that causes people to want to dedicate so much time to a boring grind? It's a formula that has been present for years, in games like Everquest. I've been a victim of it as well, I enjoy the grind as much as anyone else. I've played my fair share of MMORPG games, and Diablo II is one of my top favorite games, and that game is pretty much just grind, loot and gather.

I think it has to do with two things: People enjoy setting goals for themselves and accomplishing them, no matter how mundane or pointless the goal is. And people like repetition, because generally with repetition you continue to get better at something, and that creates a comfort zone.

What do you think the reason is? Why do you enjoy the grind?

[Rallard]

The fact that she boosts for gamerscore makes it even more meaningless. But yeah, I think you hit the nail on the head when it comes to grinds and whatnot.

I can't help but think this is some ploy for attention, some deep-seated attempt to be good at something like her husband.

[Legionnaire-X]

At 12/9/09 07:57 PM, DirtySyko wrote:

I think it has to do with two things: People enjoy setting goals for themselves and accomplishing them, no matter how mundane or pointless the goal is. And people like repetition, because generally with repetition you continue to get better at something, and that creates a comfort zone.

This plus it's fun to see numbers (level and damage) go up as you go along. Even though the more damage you do just is offset by how much experience you need for the next level.

[36Holla]

Yeah I read that Kotaku article too. There was a period of time where I started grinding my gamerscore and I bought a few cheap old games to try and get some of the easier ones, but the feeling wore off quickly.

Her situation is something I've never heard of especially considering she's got a kid and she doesn't work. The short solution is for her to go to addiction rehab because considering it's not something she enjoys, she should be focusing on her family.

[knuxrouge]

It's a habit/hobby similar to collecting things.
Nothing too in depth.

The real tragedy is that she's not even good looking.

[Chumbawamba]

At 12/9/09 08:43 PM, 36Holla wrote: Yeah I read that Kotaku article too. There was a period of time where I started grinding my gamerscore and I bought a few cheap old games to try and get some of the easier ones, but the feeling wore off quickly.

Same here, though it died for me after I got a PS3.

I think achievements can be a nice addition to a game, but if you're just going to focus on grinding for gamerscore, there's really no fun in that.

The worst part of this story is that she admitted to only actually enjoying 65% of the games she played. I mean, spending so much of your time playing games is unhealthy enough, but the fact that she doesn't even enjoy it really takes the cake.

I dunno, maybe I shouldn't be too judgmental, since it's up to her what she wants to do with her time. I feel bad for her if anything, since it's just an addiction for her that she's not enjoying.

[DM692]

I figured she would be fucking massive, but she's actually alright. She did say in the article that she does enjoy paintballing, though.

Another thing she said is that she would rather go out to a bar or something than play games all night, so I guess her addiction isn't as bad as some people's, she just happens to be better at it.

[ZJ]

If I ever get like this, I want you guys to shoot me.

[SevenSeize]

I can't believe her husband is okay with her sitting at home and doing something so unproductive all day long while he's working hard.

How the hell is she playing video games from her kitchen while she makes his sandwiches?