The GamerTag Series Part 2: Achievement Counselors
The "why" for that answer was provided by Lambie himself when he quoted a comment that was posted on the "Speaking to Game Daily" in January of 2007, where Epic Studios Cliff 'Gears of War' Bleszinski commented on the Achievements System, saying:
"It's nerd cred, man! You may say it can't be used for anything, but gamers use them for pride. They're pride points! You can compare it to the feeling you get when you pull up to a restaurant in a Lamborghini. People go, 'Oooo, he must be somebody.'"
And that sums the entire matter of why some gamers pay for Gamerscore -- but of course the issue is completely different for gamers who have come to the Achievement Counselor as a referral from a Persona Designer, because for them it is more a matter of completing the picture than it is of obtaining any specific Achievement for glory's sake...
Lambie goes on to observe that Achievements and their associated Gamerscore are ". . . a 21st century equivalent of the highscore tables on the arcade games of yesteryear."In the end though, this entire process from start-to-finish relies upon the discretion of the consultants, and the key to successfully employing this technique logically depends upon choosing the right Persona Designer, because they are who the gamer will rely upon not simply to craft their new gaming identity, but to recommend the consultants who will educate the gamer on how to tend to the health of that ID, and build a list of Achievements that support it.
Canadian-born British politician Gilbert Parker once said that "In all secrets there is a kind of guilt, however beautiful or joyful they may be, or for what good end they may be set to serve. Secrecy means evasion, and evasion means a problem to the moral mind," something that Gilbert knew a lot about, because the practice of tending to secrets was a considerable part of his professional life.
When you read his writing you get the definite sense that he was a people-watcher; a man who enjoyed understanding the interaction between strangers and the familiar, and who would have easily understood the need for professions like Persona Designer and Achievement Counselor if they had existed in his world -- but considering that he was born in 1862 and died in 1932 that is not likely.
His proper name was Sir Horatio Gilbert George Parker, 1st Baronet PC, and at various points in his adult working life he was a published novelist, newspaper man, song composer, Member of Parliament, amateur philosopher, and an avid gamer. During World War I he served as a liaison and handled the promotion of a positive image for the relationships between Britain and the United States, undertaking efforts that today would be labeled "Propaganda" in order to ensure that popular support in America for the War in Europe would be maintained.
He routinely corresponded with over 26,000 prominent Americans, the vast majority of this correspondence undertaken prior to America entering the war and, while history is fairly silent on this matter, is privately thought to have been instrumental in shaping the opinions of the ruling elite in the USA that paved the way towards America willingly becoming Britain's ally and ultimately providing the warm bodies, raw resources, and technology that lead to the defeat of the German Empire.
In the course of his personal and professional life he made an observation to a friend in a letter that nicely frames the entire point of the Persona Designer, and by extension, the Achievement Counselor: "By convincing the enemy that you are their equal, this calculated ruse is in many ways the best weapon that one can possess, especially when that is not an accurate assessment of the circumstances."
This was advice that Parker was offering to his friend Nancy Astor (Viscountess Astor who happened to be the first woman to sit as a Member of Parliament in the British House of Commons) on the eve of her announcement that she was seeking a seat in the House. Parker was commenting on her need to present a well-crafted image to the politicians of the era who were to be her peers, but that lesson he was sharing applies to gamers too. In fact it is the underlying foundation for the premise that created Persona Designers in the first place, and that lead to the creation of Achievement Counselors.
Coming Soon: Part III: The Image Counselor -- an expert gamer and tutor who teaches new gamers how to fit and and thrive.
Have you made use of the services of a Persona Designer, Achievement Counselor, or Image Counselor? Would you like to share your experience? Send an email to [email protected] and share your experience with the Gaming Update community!
The GamerTag Series is Copyright © 2012, Gaming Update. All Rights Reserved. Use of this series or any part thereof requires the written permission of Gaming Update.
No comments yet. Tell us what you think to be the first.