So I was recently discussing with my friends the merits of Gamerscore (steam achievements, etc), and I mentioned the podcast as I believe it was this episode that you guys spoke about how silly they become over time. The Gamerscore points are nothing more than, "a dick measuring contest" as someone put it quite eloquently.

We got to thinking about how great it would be to get something in return for those points, but also how hard it would be to balance out the incentives for such a system. Regardless, I think its something they should look into (but probably wont anytime soon). The ability to perhaps unlock avatar clothing (or special avatar filters for steam) could be a nice return for the time invested on reaching that next even number of gamerscore.

I think games would be great if they adopted a strategy similar to that of what SCVNGR is trying to do with checkins, once you have earned enough points, you can create your own custom tasks. Wouldn't it be great to have the ability to make your own small, but unique achievements for a game you love and have mastered?

Obviously that would be open to lots of abuse, but I know they could all be addressed. Perhaps have a second score, or limit the reward amounts to 5g, etc.

The bottom line is that there is so much room available for creative thinking in this small area that could add a lot of engagement and fulfillment to us gamers.

Thanks for the great show guys and congrats on your itunes listing.