Completionists are a growing subset of online gamers. The main goal of a completionist is simply to do everything a game has to offer, getting every achievement along the way and going off the beaten path to collect things others would certainly miss. Completing a game to its fullest obviously takes longer than just finishing the main quests and could be considered a waste of time by many. Completionists, however, are willing to spend tens or hundreds more hours in a game for the 100%. What fuels this mindset?
For a completionist, there is a certain sense of intimacy with the game only reached during completion. It’s only when one knows everything the developer placed in the game that mastery is reached. The hunt for random side quests can be as long as the main game itself; it’s through the time spent with the game that one can become attached to it. The player feels much more appreciation and love for a game during completion rather than everything unrelated to progression feeling like a chore.
On that note, completing a game can be much more relaxed than simply beating the game and brings about the understanding that things take time, there’s no rush, and no stress. Sometimes simply taking a break and looking for something is a great way to refresh while still feeling like progress is being made, as that was going to have to be done anyway. There’s no animosity felt toward challenging obstacles; there’s always something else to do before coming back. It’s very peaceful knowing that maybe completing this game is going to take 500 hours, and that’s okay.
At first, completionists may seem similar to those who competitively play endless, skill-based multiplayer games, like Rocket League, CS:GO, or League of Legends, where there is an infinite amount of time to be spent improving. While the dedication is there, there are almost no other similarities. Playing to win is the main mentality of those types of games, and self-deprecation can get the best of many players. Everyone’s seen huge gamer rage moments, and most come from these kinds of games. Knowing that you’ve been bested by someone else, that your skill was inferior, is simply not fun. And often, the time invested into improving is worthless, because everyone else happens to improve at the same rate, and there are always people higher up on the ladder.
There are far fewer of these disadvantages during completion. Take your time, take a break for a month, and maybe go for some easier achievements sometimes. All of these are readily available for completionists. Maybe they’ve got the right idea.
