Carrying on the series where I interview plucky Xbox 360 gamers who have notched up more than 100,000 Achievement Points, here I put the questions to Digital Cowboys’ very own Achievement hunter Tony Atkins. Not an Achievement whore, as Tony is keen to point out below, even though at the time of publishing he has over a staggering 140,000 points. Tony also reveals why it might not be such a bad thing if Achievements didn’t carry over to the next version of the Xbox.

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As someone who came to the Xbox 360 a little late in its life cycle, I’ve found Achievements a difficult thing to get my head round. While many gamers have taken to them like a duck to water, I’ve often had to sit back and question my motivations for doing something Achievements-related in a game. Do I really care about 10 GamerScore points for uploading a photo? And if I do, what does that say about me? And if I think I shouldn’t, what does that say about me?

Now we’re in a situation where every new 360 and PS3 games comes with a separate reward system. Achievements and their ilk are clearly here to stay. I wanted to gain some insight into a few of my friends who haven’t just taken to Achievements like a duck to water, but more like a speedboat. I noticed three entries on my 360 friends list who had more than 100,000 GamerScore points, and in one case it was way over 100K. I decided to throw some questions to each one of them to try and understand what their motivations were for pursuing Achievements, the enjoyment they got from them, and whether or not they thought they were a definitively good part of modern gaming.

My first interviewee was the new editor of Resolution Magazine, a freelance contributor to every gaming site under the sun, and of course a former Big Red Potion guest, Jennifer Allen. Here Jennifer talks about how her attitude to Achievements has changed over time, and admits to times when they affected her and the way she played in the past.

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