Wow.
The Pillar of Valve is crashing down in my mind.
It crashes down, smashing into a thousand pieces.
There it lies finally, in ruin amongst other toppled relics littered about the EA/Activision/Ubisoft desert.
Vile little prepubescents dance about the rubble. The Pillar grew so large that it inevitably attracted their attention, and now they trample it underfoot, as do they all things, extracting a prepubescent joy from mindless, repetitive action devoid of relevance, having brought it down to their level.
Achievements are a goal-reward system for juveniles who would otherwise not be motivated to play by the elements of story, plot, etc.,--elements that stimulate the adult mind. Real achievements already exist in the game in the form of--well, THE GAME--i.e., solving problems/resolving issues the game presents.
The Half-Life messiah liberated the PC gaming children from the vulgar, decadent arcadedom of their ancestors; it led them into a new and promised land of gaming dripping with milk and honey.
There they prospered, and were blessed with a meaningful and relevant interactive-literature, and many grew to emulate their messiah. But along with their prosperity came decadence anew.
Now look at them. They have grown decadent again--and you stoop, lowering yourself to feed their bratty mouths.
I slap the spoon from your dumb hand. But It's too late. The prophet is devoured by his own children.
So I remove myself, with one swift stroke I strike down my PC, and I am free.