Boo Hoo, I Have No Trophy Room
by Cubehouse, HSM web designer
Back many, many years ago, when PlayStation Home was first prototyped, the infamous Trophy Room was demoed as a proof of concept for a Home apartment where the owner could show off three-dimensional achievements of their victories in games.
Years later, people are digging the Trophy Room concept up and waving it about, claiming that this is evidence of Home’s failure, that we were all “promised” this and thus Sony are all liars.
First of all, let’s point out some essential and basic facts.
- The Trophy Room was never a promised feature
- It was never called “The Trophy Room” – it’s called Hall of Fame. Please get that right during any incomprehensible ramblings
- If it did exist, it would be lame
Just in case you disagree with these important points, let’s pretend that they are all false (they are all true however).
(Editor’s note: just in case you disagree with these important points, Cubehouse actually knows about computers and stuff. Your argument is invalid.)
Maybe if you looked around with some perspective, you would see the Trophy Room is irrelevant now
Let us imagine the concept of The Trophy Room.
Imagine having a private apartment where you can place the trophies you won in full PS3 games on the walls. As obviously PS3 trophies are all 2D, they will have to be in picture frame form. Additionally, as most games use the same image for all their trophies — just in bronze, silver, gold, platinum colours — there won’t be much to distinguish certain achievements.
So far, we can hang 2D images of our trophies on the wall. However, this is perfectly achievable with the current picture frames available in the US Home. So, nothing new here.
Now, there was also talk about comparing trophies with friends. I imagine it would work a lot like the “compare trophies” feature on the XMB. So similar in fact, implementing it in Home would be a waste of time.
One of the features mentioned in the demo: video clips of a user’s special achievements. I’ve yet to see this appear in the vast, vast majority of games outside of Home, let alone as a screen I can freely place in my Trophy Room. Barely any games take advantage of the PS3’s video capture ability anyway; it only works on small games with limited graphical complexity, and even then the result is a relatively fuzzy YouTube video. This will not physically happen with that level of games supporting the basic video capture feature.
So far, I have got no features for my Trophy Room. It is just a room using features already available in Home or functionality that just isn’t possible.
However, let’s turn this around. Instead of looking at the demo and trying to see how it would work inside PlayStation Home. Let’s think about what I would really want to get from PlayStation 3 games to enhance my Home experience?
Currently, a fairly large handful of PS3 games support Home Rewards. By achieving various tasks in the actual game, I get special clothing, furniture and event apartments for my Home avatar. Isn’t that significantly better than the original concept? Who wants a static 3D model of Helghast standing in a generic pose when I could unlock a Helghast Jetpack suit for my avatar?
How much more awesome is that?
February 15th, 2011 by Cubehouse | 35 comments
Cubehouse is a very British computer scientist who loves everything PlayStation Home and serves as HSM's webmaster. He lives and works in Bristol, UK and holds a Masters Degree in Computer Science. Cubehouse is working in the internet security and gaming industries.
Captain, I am detecting large quantities of win in this sector.
I started playing video games many years before most of you were born. There were no trophy rooms -- because there were no trophies -- because no one was so insecure that they had to brag to others about how well they did with a game. In fact, the ‘completionists’, the people who would play the same game over and over and over until they had explored every nook and cranny, were regarded with pity as obsessive/compulsives who had no other life. And don’t get me started on the fanatics who have made it their life mission to collect every freebie in Home.
I think those complaining about not having this need a trophy for never giving up! LoL
Love your magazine. You guys do a great job and bring a real professionalism to journalism as it relates to Home.
Joanna
A great argument for not having a trophy room.
What if they release one now?
As a follow-up to this article, two points:
1) Do you really want to be invited to somebody else’s apartment so they can exclusively show you their game achievements? Sure, we do it now, but we’re in an apartment for other reasons. This would be a place where they can exclusively gloat with no other form of entertainment for the poor guests/victims.
2) Where did “Trophy Room” come from? And more importantly, why does *EVERYONE* call it that? It’s a genuine general consensus that this is the incorrect thing to call it (as it’s actually called the Hall of Fame).
Think about it, the only way for everyone to reach this impossible feat of all being wrong, is if they have all already read a similar post on the forums in the past. Thus, why are people constantly bringing it up if they know it’s been discussed before? Haters gonna hate.
also, special extended edition of my rant in the next edition of The Upload podcast
If such a “space” ever came into existence, I can just see the Home pervs adding it to their ever-so-astonishing (she says with a snerk) array of pick up lines:
“U wanna cum 2 my pad n c my trofees?”
Just another reason why this would be a bad idea.
Never mind the fact that the majority of the trophy “hunters” (their words, not mine; I prefer using the word that rhymes with “ore”) that I know have no use for Home, and thus such a space would be useless to the people actually interested in such digital sword-fighting.
Really?a trophy room?i can think of a dozen things id rather have in home than a room dedicated 2 games i already played.
I agree that unlocking Home content through game activity is definitely the way to go. And also in the other direction: unlocking game content through in-Home activities. This is major win in both directions. (I admit to looking at RDR with more interest since I saw the new unlockable 19th-century costumes.)
However, my wicked imagination is kicking in. Someday, I’ll enter Home to find in my inventory a plain white tee-shirt, bearing the words:
I FINALLY WON A ******* PLAT, AND ALL I GOT WAS THIS SHIRT
And if I did, I would wear it.
But, seriously, what about a shirt displaying the owner’s PSN level number, automatically awarded when the owner ranks up? Something to add to the official request threads on the PSN Forums, perhaps?
Kudos. Lots of em. Would have been more, but some got eated O.O
I’d rather they just give us items or badges when we unlock a trophy or set of trophies that waste all the time building a practically useless space that would constantly need more space added to it!
Indeed! One would likely only be able to display 50 trophies… and nothing else.
For myself I have never been into this trophy collecting mania. I play games for the fun of them, after all that’s what they are, GAMES!! All this stuff about having this or that trophy goes right over my head. If I get one, fine, if I don’t, that’s fine too. All I care about is if the game is fun to play, it’s entertainment, not accomplishment.
Haaaaaaaaahahahahahahaaahaha…hahaa…aahhhaha..ahah…haha…yes.
OK, I have first dibs on stealing that line from TheOtherRainman and using it in the Home Forum!
I’m not much of a completionist and if i did complete a game, then to me it was all blind luck!
Even back in the ’80’s in the golden age of video games, Playing Pacman, Galaga, Outrun, Double Dragon, I wasn’t so concerned about gaining the highest score although I was impressed watching those that can really reach that stratosphere.
They were similar to the Platinum trophy Hunters of today.
OH why not…trophies started with achievements
Well, I do enjoy collecting trophies. To me it’s like collecting action figures. It adds extra game play to a game that you’ve spent anywhere up to 60 bucks on, so I like to try to get my moneys worth out of it. Going for the platinum adds an extra challenge to the game. As far as a space in Home that displays your trophy collection I wouldn’t want it. From my time being in Home I have noticed a trend of people that spend a lot of time in Home bashing those who collect trophies and play games and I’ve also seen people who collect games bash people who stay in Home. For the most part we are all gamers, we bought our PS3 to play games on.
agreed. i bought my first PS3 before there even was a home. I bought it to play games, and at a whopping 65 bucks a pop, you’re darn skippy imma get as much out of a game as i can. and i’ve been gaming for 24 years, HARDCORE.Still holding records on a few, including arcade games. Before we had trophies/ accomplishements on consoles, we had the almighty high score. i remember playing super mario back in the day and trying to get my score to end in 5 so i got more cannon bursts.
so in the end what we’re looking at is two types of gamers. Casual gamers who play to have fun, be social, and just get through the game; And competitive, those who aim higher, shoot for the high score, and try to be the best. and i personally respect both types, as i have been both types.
if people enjoy these things, who are we to judge them for it? if you yourself don’t game that way then great, go play your game and have fun. but this looking down the nose perspective seems wrong imo.
Embracing gaming is not the same thing as embracing the juvenility of some of the whining over a feature that would serve little useful purpose in Home, even if it was feasible to develop.
Cubes’ article is a direct response to a thread which appeared on the Sony forum, in which the topic of the trophy room was once again raised in a silly, poorly-reasoned and accusatory fashion. And HSM has never shied away from scathing attacks on stupidity.
That said, as to the subject of casual gamers versus hardcore gamers, which has developed in the feedback to this article: I personally respect both sides of the debate, because if trophies add to the entertainment for some gamers, then that’s great. On the other hand, if it adds nothing to the experience for others, that’s great too. The only thing that I personally hope not to see is trophies being used as a cheap substitute for quality to try to drive numbers.
understandable. i personally agree with cube’s standpoint, but would like to correct the fact that this space as touted back in the day, was not 2D pics, but life sized 3d items as depicted, and while this idea has been translated into home rewards, the original “hall of Fame” has bit the dust. And while i think having the giant dragon trophy i saw from ALPHA Home back then, the real functionality of it has disapeared in Beta. My personal whine about the things shown from ALPHA Home, is the sports complex!!
Where did that go?
and my comment was in reference to the bashing going on of those who choose to persue trophies, just because you yourself do not see a point, do not agree with, or have had a bad expirience with those who trophy hunt, doesn’t mean we should lump everyone together. We support all types of gamers here so lets keep the gloves up eh?
Personally i love trophies. I do crave them to an extent. But if i just plain don’t enjoy the game then i wont put myself through the misery of grinding to get that plat. I too bought my ps3 before trophy support and i still own 5 or so working ataris. All bought brand new. I remember the Video For Home and its mention of a Hall of Fame to show off trophies. I admit, i got swept up in collecting trophies to get ready for the room cause yea. i thought it was an awesome concept. Now i see that it wouldn’t really work in home the way it has evolved. I still collect trophies like a beast, but i do it because thats what i enjoy about the games. Thats why we all play games in the first place. For fun. I do think an alternative could possibly be implemented in home. Maybe an active item pedastal with a hologram top displaying 5 or 10 trophies you choose. It would do it in a slide show manner. Interested visitors could click a button to learn more about any that catch their eye. I think that is a good compromise and maybe pheasable… maybe not.
I love a good, spirited debate. And while this discussion has drifted away from the actual article that Cubes wrote, a wonderful topic for a new article has emerged: the great trophy debate. How do trophies fit into the modern gaming experience, and how does it contribute to classism in Home?
Anyone wanna tackle this? I want to read it.
*has something in queue about trophies…ahem!*
This is Home, not Neptune High!
/Veronica Mars reference
I apologize if I sound resentful but I get really annoyed when some preteen sidles up to me, reads my profile, and says, “u nvr got da plat in dat?”. No, you addle-pated cretin, I have more to do in my life than to play through WKC a third time! It wasn’t that great a game the FIRST time. Same with FF13. I don’t care if YOU love to collect trophies -- if that’s what floats your boat, sobeit. But I am pizzed off about how the focus for so many of these kids has shifted to trophy collecting and their disdain for those of us who refuse to make a cult out of trophy collecting with a special trophy room to serve as the altar!
I hear u keara,theres waaaaaay 2 much importance placed on trophies by some ppl.If i had a nickel 4 every person that made fun of my trophy lvl i’d b rich,the problem 4 me is 2 of the games i put the most hours into had zero trophies so when they c my trophy lvl of 4 they assume ive never finished a game when in fact if oblivion and civ. revolutions had trophies i’d b much much higher.Proving once again judging a book by its cover is a mistake.Maybe the pic of a crying baby was a little out of line because it implied cube was suggesting these ppl that still want this r crybabies but i didn’t read the original post so i can’t say that the suggestion was invalid or not.Anyways,i think even the ppl that still want this would agree that there r many other things on the wish list that should b attended 2 1st.
You got the Heavy Rain plat on a Rainy Day? What a coincidence!
TBH, I don’t care that much for trophies. The issue is that too many developers either slap them on at the last minute or don’t put much thought into them. The fact is that trophies, at their best, can make the experience much deeper by encouraging players to take a route they never would have taken nor delve deeper into a game.
Yea on rainy days my wifi is terrible. But great point some of the trophies on X-men Wolverine encourages the player to take the path less traveled and its great but I wish people would take the path less traveled without the need for a trophy to reward you for it.
I completely agree with you keara, I have only 1 platinum and that is in heavy rain. I got it on a rainy day and I had no internet so I used a non-internet necessary game, heavy rain because I love the concept and I was bored. I use games for joy I couldn’t care less about trophies, if I happen to get one good for me, but I will never stress over getting a trophy. There is no point in obsessing over trophies. There is no need for “I must have that trophy *twitch*” games are for fun they always have and hopefully always will be.
Now, even though I’m not a trophy collector, I do want to speak in their defense for a moment: for some gamers, trophies *do* add to the gaming experience.
I can remember, back when I was a kid, playing Ultima V on my Apple IIe; when you beat that game — which took *months* if you were lucky — you could actually send in a completion letter to Richard Garriott (and when you’re eight years old, Lord British IS A REAL PERSON, yo). Now that’s a trophy.
Do trophies add to the gaming experience? Perhaps. For some it does, and for some it doesn’t. My point is that there’s plenty of room in the gaming universe for both viewpoints, and we should be respectful of both.
Now, that said, I *want* to see multiple articles on this social issue. Koz has already submitted one. I’d like to see more, from both points of view. This is a hot-button social issue which is perfect for HSM to cover.
I would request, though: as much as we’re human, and there are various topics which exasperate us all, let’s be respectful of differing viewpoints when writing our responses.
Put the invective in the article itself.
Now, that said, if we return to the original topic of *this* particular article, which specifically deals with the “hall of fame” trophy room and not trophy-hunting itself: yeah, the trophy room is a silly thing. I keep hoping to see Graham Chapman come in, clad in an RAF uniform: “Yes, yes, yes, too silly, too silly. Now then: get on with it. Get *on* with it!”
The PSN Hall of Fame space will always be an interesting idea but I prefer the clothes or ornaments I get from playing games.
i just use my Loot stage 2 to display my game reward home items. Should the day come that i have more then 50, i suppose i’ll buy some other space and continue. a museum space would be cool, for those who like to display trophy like items. lil lit up alcoves and what not to display items in a “look at me” fashion for those that want it. 5 bucks, and sony gets their cheddar too! win/win
Im pretty sure the villians lair has something like this 4 home items but if i remember correctly there is only space 4 a handful of items,so its certainly doable.I just can’t get excited about this while we still have no downloadable music 4 our personal spaces,we only have a 100 friend list,our club menu is a mess,and many other things i’d rather see b 4 this”hall of fame”/trophy room.
amen! and speaking of clubs. where is a new clubhouse???
For a while I had my PlanetLand apartment set up as a LocoRoco museum, complete with exhibit area, gift shop and museum cafeteria. It gave me a nice space to display my LocoRoco unlocks, and appealed to my inner museum geek.
A purpose-built Museum space would definitely be a win. Especially if it had lots of good picture frame locations. For, you know, art shows and stuffs.