The Dilemma of the Bad Gamer

Well, everything except that last part. If you felt like the living embodiment of the grey Wocky avatar at the mention of games and trophies, you might be facing the dilemma of the bad gamer.

Bad gamers, such as myself, are the poor souls who haunt the empty trophy cabinets of user lookups. Bad gamers face an excruciating dilemma. They are those who are terrible at most if not all of Neo's games yet they long for a beautiful plethora of trophies to be bestowed upon their user lookup. They long for the never-ending collection of eye-blinding hues of gold, silver and bronze.

Do they suffer through every game until they reach some sort of trophy? Or do they give up and accept their lack of glitter in their cabinets and lookups?

After useless attempts at different types of games and feeling worse than a Neopet whose birthday is on March 3rd, I decided to change both my tactic and my attitude towards this dilemma.

Let's first talk about the attitude, which I think is the most important of the two.

It was after my 12,875th attempt at a Better Than You trophy (which I'm clearly not) that I finally ended the game and sat down for some reflection. It dawned on me that I hated the game I was playing with a passion. I was merely putting myself through hours of a game I despised all in hopes of a trophy. But what if I would have gotten that trophy? It would not say much about me or my likes. If I would have gotten a trophy it would have been a shiny golden piece to my cabinet and user lookup that said nothing about my hobbies or interests on Neo.

After this moment of reflection, I came to the conclusion that I would prefer to have trophies and badges that reflected my interests and my true passions here on Neo. I didn't want a trophy for the sake of having one. I only wanted them from things that I felt truly interested me and reflected who I was on this site. I wanted the trophies to show to others who gazed upon my user lookup, what I spend my time doing on Neo and the areas of the site I like the most. I urge everyone in this position, from one bad gamer to another, to think about the importance they place on getting those gaming trophies.

You must ask yourself these three important questions:

"Do I enjoy doing the work/activities that are required to achieve this trophy?"

"Am I going to feel very proud of this particular trophy?"

"Do I feel like this trophy says a lot about what I like to do on Neo?"

After changing the way I viewed trophies and their significance, I realized that my tactics also had to evolve. I still wanted to have trophies to mark my hard work and excellence in certain aspects of this site. However, I now felt that I would only pursue trophies in things I enjoyed on Neo, like writing for the Neopian Times or participating in plots.

You must identify what you truly like to do on this site.

If you're a horrible gamer, there are plenty of other interests on Neo to turn your attention to. Some users like collecting, some like participating in plots, and some like customization. There is a neoboard for every interest on Neo you can think of. Tons of like-minded users who are happy and willing to help someone share in their interest.

Once you've identified what you like, you must explore your requirements for getting a trophy in that interest.

Every interest on Neo has some sort of trophy or badge of honor. However, there are varying degrees of difficulty and requirements for each. For example, if you decided that you like feeding kads, you can go visit the like-minded users who kindly keep us up to date with kad feeding times on the games board. There you can learn that feeding kads requires quick reflexes and a strict adherence to timing. Feeding just one kad gives you a shiny bronze trophy of a happy little kad. There you can decide if you enjoy this hobby enough to get a bronze, a silver, a gold or even the kad avatar after 75 feeds!

For those who like plots, they can patiently wait for new plots to arise or participate in any of the old ones that are still open for completion like the Altador Plot. These plots can require different skills at each progression of the plot and varying degrees of effort.

For those who love to explore their artistic capabilities, entering into the Neopian Times and several contests like the beauty and customization ones require the occasional inspirational muse.

The dilemma of the bad gamer is not one that I intend to suffer with any longer.

I put this new method of thinking and working into action and in a short time I've been surprised with how much I've gained from a simple change in attitude and tactic. For me, I identified the Neopian Times and plots as my favorite parts of this site. I loved reading the Neopian Times yet it never dawned on me to start writing and participating. After I let go of the preoccupation with gaming trophies, I sat down and wrote my first article for the times. A few weeks later, I received the letter that my submission had been entered and that the prestigious feather ink pen had been added to my lookup.

After that, I noted that I also loved to read the plots. I have read every plot neo has ever released. Yet I had never actually participated in any of them!

A few weeks and tries later, I gained the achievement of being a royal astronomer by the Altador Plot. I quickly scrambled to change my site theme to the beautiful constellations I still use today and grin everytime I see the beautiful dual telescopes on my page.

I can now gaze upon my user lookup and smile at what I see. The bottom of my page houses my most beloved achievements.

I urge every bad gamer to reflect upon the very same questions I reviewed after many unsuccessful and stressful attempts.

I seek to solve the dilemma for us all.