Tuesday, October 15, 2013
By: Matthew Doucette

I am the first one to comment on the video below:

Xbox One | A closer look at multiplayer for the new Xbox One

And here's my comment, slightly modified:

I am concerned with unobtainable achievements and never-ending games in terms of achievements. I want my games to have an end and be able to be completed. I wonder if they have addressed unobtainables in the Xbox 360 (from shut down servers and coding bugs) as well as separating additional achievements added after the fact (from DLC and now from uncoupled and community achievements in Xbox One) to be "extras", that do not count towards completion of the game. My Xbox 360 shows me DLC achievements that I do not own and it's disrespectful to say I have unaccomplished when I have completed a game completely.

That is all. No sense repeating it.

Achievements, Statistics, DLC, and Never-Ending Games:

Here's a screenshot from my xbox.com profile of a game I have completed, and here is how Xbox showcases it on xbox.com and the Xbox dashboard:

Here is another screenshot from Xbox LIVE (xbox.com):

77% complete? 1000/1280? 46/60? I have completed the entire game. The DLC should be listed separately. Xbox LIVE tells me I have not completed the game when I have. I have not purchased the DLC and it shows up as incompletes on my profile. It's untrue and insulting. TrueAchievements properly respects the player:

100% complete. 1000/1000. 46/46. Clean completion stats and respect. Thank you, TrueAchievements.

The concerns parrallel the disrespectful nature of free to play (F2P) games which never end.

Random F2P Rant:

I have to comment on my distaste for the wording "free" whenever I mention free to play, as F2P games are actually manipulative money sinks which are the exact opposite of free. They should be called something else. I am not sure what. Ideas? Games are great and we do not need to cater to lame marketing. It is like we are becoming the early Internet again with popup ads. Where is the respect for your medium? F2P are not worthy of inclusion in "free" lists, which contain truly free games. F2P games have infested, like a virus, what used to be actual top lists filled with truly free games. Think about that for a moment. Game distributors (Apple, Microsoft, Sony, Nintendo, etc.), it is up to you to set the stage.

Cheers!

About the Author: I am Matthew Doucette of Xona Games, an award-winning indie game studio that I founded with my twin brother. We make intensified arcade-style retro games. Our business, our games, our technology, and we as competitive gamers have won prestigious awards and received worldwide press. Our business has won $190,000 in contests. Our games have ranked from #1 in Canada to #1 in Japan, have become #1 best sellers in multiple countries, have won game contests, and have held 3 of the top 5 rated spots in Japan of all Xbox LIVE indie games. Our game engines have been awarded for technical excellence. And we, the developers, have placed #1 in competitive gaming competitions -- relating to the games we make. Read about our story, our awards, our games, and view our blog.