HOW TO BE A COMPLETIONIST

Ever vowed to finally achieve that elusive 100% completion rate in a video game, only to end up shaking your fist at the screen in frustration? Fret not! Today, we'll delve deep into the psyche of a completionist and help you become one as well. 

Firstly, to become a completionist, one must be able to exert an insurmountable degree of effort so as to wade through the frustratingly long hours upon hours of rummaging through the game world, hunting down that last collectible. It is for this one aspect, alone, that so few gamers actually fully complete video games. The willingness to dedicate oneself to this mammoth task can be innate or learned. A lot of people just like to play games to their fullest; looting every last chest, completing every single side quest and all. Others, like me, need to be fully invested into a game in order to even think of completing such a feat. 

Once you've gotten the dedication bit down, it's time to realistically judge the extent to which you would go. For example, in the Witcher 3, there's an achievement for collecting every single Gwent (a card game within the game) card in the game. Naturally, this requires you to best all Gwent players in the game in order to win a card from each of them. Only in this way will you net the achievement. Once I figured out the scope of it all, I knew it would be too gargantuan a feat for me to achieve. Thus, I did not attempt to attain it. 

These achievements are paramount to getting a 100% completion rate. You will have to gauge for yourself what you can do and what you cannot do. It's better to plan ahead for this instead of giving it a try and becoming frustrated in the middle of it all. Not only does it demotivate you from completing the game you are playing, it also sets the stage for intimidation to latch onto you in the future.

Time is a key component in being a completionist. However, you need not pour in 10-12 hours per day to 100% a game. An hour of efficient achievement hunting is much more productive than roaming around the world aimlessly. Always plan out your movements and stick to your goals. If you need to consult a guide or a walkthrough to jot down positions of various collectibles around the map, then do so. A lot of us just do not have the time to meticulously scrounge for the collectibles on our own and there is no shame in resorting to such means to make the process easier. 

Hopefully, by now, you will have a clear idea of what to do if you ever think of becoming a completionist. At the end of the day, it's all about whether or not you enjoy the experience. Whether or not you appreciate the outcome after toiling through. Games are meant to be played for fun, that's that.

Shahrukh Ikhtear is a gamer who doesn't rage. A writer who doesn't read. A musician without a teacher. Full time procrastinator. You can reach him on Twitter @sr_ikhtear and email: shahrukh.ikhtear@yahoo.com