Is Playing For High Scores A Pain In the Butt?

[VectorGamer]

Don't get me wrong - it can be rewarding when you set a new world record score or the new high score on a particular high score www site. But it can be a pain in the butt sometimes with setting up cameras whether you're doing a live stream or recording it locally for YouTube or even just taking a darn photograph of the TV screen.

 

A lot of times I just want to sit down and play and not be concerned with how high the score is. Just play the game and not have any thresholds that I need to break through for it to be a worthwhile performance. Just play the game and enjoy.

[BydoEmpire]

I like playing to beat my own high score (or an AA HSC), so I don't bother recording anything other than maybe taking a picture of the final score. In that sense, no. If I was trying to constantly record every game for Twin Galaxies or something it'd be a pain the butt, yeah.

[karokoenig]

A bit of friendly competition just for shits and giggles is fine. Like in the 2600 High Score Club here on AA. Everything more serious - not my cup of tea.

[sega_SHARK]

I'm playing to beat my own high score. It's pretty rewarding. I'm not trying to be Billy Mitchell.

[Kwisatz Haderach]

I'm playing to beat my own high score. It's pretty rewarding. I'm not trying to be Billy Mitchell.

I agree nothing beats it.

[fiddlepaddle]

I play a lot of games for high score, but I don't need proof. If I tell you what my score was and you don't believe me, that's YOUR problem, not mine.

[Reaperman]

It's kind of a pain figuring out how to exploit a game for best score. Certainly a lot less fun that sitting in front of a new game for the first time, just trying to survive.

[Cynicaster]

For me, the whole idea of setting up a tripod, going through all kinds of dance steps to meet a standard of authenticity, capturing a video, then having to wrestle with a cumbersome video file is just about enough tedium to suck every last trace of fun out of playing video games.

 

That’s why, when it comes to “online participation”, I stick with the competitions that permit a screenie as evidence. Not because I have anything to hide, but because I have no such time (or patience) to spare.

 

I will say, though, that I definitely view the above as distinct from the concept of playing games for high scores in general. As others have mentioned, if you’re just engaging in some friendly competition with friends or chasing new personal bests on your favorite games, you can track those however you please, with no detriment to your enjoyment of doing so. All that matters is that you’re playing the games and knowing the scores you personally want to beat or achieve.

 

On a related note, I’ve noticed that a lot of people say they “don’t care about score at all”, which, for the life of me, I cannot understand, especially if we’re talking about arcade-style 70s/80s retro gaming. If not for score, then what keeps you playing? Don’t get me wrong, I know it can be fun to walk up and down the aisles of an arcade or go through a stack of Atari 2600 carts and take each of the titles for a quick 2-3 minute boot with no regard for your score, but then what? If you’re going to play a single title for more than a few minutes, how long does rack after rack of spaceships maintain its entertainment value without some sort of overarching goal or purpose to keep you focused?

 

For my tastes, score is the very thing that separates good video games from bad ones. For me, a game with a poorly conceived scoring system (or worse, none at all) is nothing but a mindless waste of time, whereas a good high score run is a waste of time redeemed by an element of fulfillment and gratification for having achieved something.

 

And that makes all the difference, even if I’m the only one who cares.

[TwinChargers]

I play on http://www.retrouprising.com/, so all I have to do after setting a score is hit F12. They have the gameplay footage recorded, they verify it, its quite simple. The amount of games they have is quite expansive also, from the 2600 through the N64, including arcade. If emulation isn't something that completely turns you off, its the way to go. I recommend trying it at the very least.

[TwinChargers]

I also love playing for high scores. I remember as a kid having a notebook beside the 7800 with scores listed between me and my dad. I remember fondly trying to get the highest score on the BMX portion on the 2600 port of California Games. It stuck with me. I love the competition trying to best my own scores, but I also like seeing where others have gotten also. It helps drive me more. I think its made me a better gamer.

 

Even today, I love playing The Pinball Arcade on the PS3. My favorite games are always score driven. Story driven games might be for some people, and I get that, but blasting spaceships for no other reason than to get points is good enough for me.

[Austin]

Playing for high scores seriously, sucks. You have to basically dedicate your life to the cause, and failure is all the more frustrating. And failure is going to happen, a lot. And maybe some broken controllers too.

 

Playing for high scores casually/not so seriously, is fun.

 

On a related note, I’ve noticed that a lot of people say they “don’t care about score at all”, which, for the life of me, I cannot understand, especially if we’re talking about arcade-style 70s/80s retro gaming. If not for score, then what keeps you playing? Don’t get me wrong, I know it can be fun to walk up and down the aisles of an arcade or go through a stack of Atari 2600 carts and take each of the titles for a quick 2-3 minute boot with no regard for your score, but then what? If you’re going to play a single title for more than a few minutes, how long does rack after rack of spaceships maintain its entertainment value without some sort of overarching goal or purpose to keep you focused?

 

I think one of the good things platforms like the NES and Master System brought to the table is the concept of a larger goal--to complete the game, or to see an ending. This gave players a reason to march on even if there was no scoring system involved.

 

I totally agree though, unless a game ends (like, say, Pitfall), I don't see the point of something like Space Invaders without a scoring system. Score gives the player incentive to go after bigger/high-reward enemies (versus skipping them completely in non-scoring games). Scoring is also not just a sign of performance, but endurance as well (e.g., "Holy crap, you got 1,029,910 points? What was that, level 54 or something? That's crazy!")

[TheGameCollector]

Sometimes a no death run on a game that has an ending can be even more impressive than the score in a game like that.

[NinjaWarrior]

I got to 47K on Astromash on my 3DS

 

I took a pic of it

[Slaytanic]

I mostly play classics which are meant to be played for score so for me it's always been natural to keep track of my highscores. I find it fun to compete for scores, it brings an extra element of excitment to the game. If i wanna relax i play some modern crap.