I dislike this idea, and I think that Steam is better than such systems for not attaching any "external" motivation to its achievement system. This is because, once you attach an external motivation, the achievements are no longer a way to enhance the game, but instead become the object of playing the game in the first place.

It also creates incentives to cheat for them, which in turn creates people complaining about its lack of fairness, which in turn motivates the development of restrictions on how they work.

...which is antithetical to GOG's being a platform based in the idea of freedom of choice.

OR

You let people make their own decisions for themselves.

You don't have to use Galaxy. You don't have to look at anyone else's achievements. You don't have to care about achievements at all. You can just play the game for its own sake.

GOG is supposed to be about choice. Let people make their own.

If GOG add achievements I would love if those had plus value, such as the "evil empire" idea to forge gems to use them in auctions to get games :D

I agree that achievements should be optional, but some gamers like them for various reasons. I think there are different types of achievements and they shouldn't all be lumped in one group.

Milestone
You get these by progressing naturally in the game. They are just a statement that you have finished level 1, killed boss 2, etc. Mostly meaningless, they are just a way to prod you (sometimes to keep you playing a game that you don't like anymore).

Hidden
These are secret and you have to find them by poking around in the game. Sometimes they offer a nice surprise moment, but for the most part they are just a random stab in the dark and even when you find them they don't offer a lot of satisfaction.

Grinding
You get these by reaching a certain number repeating actions that you typically do in a game (kill 1000 monsters, collect 500 coins, etc). These are just an artificial way to extend a dead game and get you to repeat segments for a counter++;

Challenges
You get the achievement if you beat a certain condition (finish a level under a certain time, eliminate a threat before it changes the state of the game, save a minor character). These are sometimes interesting if they are done right and change the focus of task in ways that make it more interesting, harder or just by opening up new possibilities. Sometimes they are done wrong and just mean that you are quick with the buttons or don't mind repeating a segment multiple times till you get lucky.

Experimental
These are a bit like challenges, but they ask you to do things that maybe the game wasn't designed for or that stretch the limits of the game in some way. They are probably the most interesting and rewarding type of achievements. Developers need to be creative in setting these goals. They are rewarding because they invite players to try things that they might never have thought to do with the game.

Other
These are achievements that don't fit in the above categories (e.g. finish a level in 2 player split screen, or play this game on Christmas day, etc.)

Most of the people that don't like achievements object to the badly designed ones such as the bad examples above. As a player, very few achievements were meaningful to me, but some made me spend a bit more time with a game exploring interesting avenues.

The lesson for GOG Galaxy is that achievements should be optional, but maybe it's also an opportunity to get developers to design more interesting and rewarding achievements.

I can't believe people are going about such a small feature.

Yes for Achievements, they can be silly and quite fun. Fun... a concept some people just can't grasp. Just too serious!

l always hated the whole achievements/gameplay TIME concept made by Steam.

Hopefully gog thinks
the same and shunts it to near the bottom of priorities...

The achievement system wasn't made by Steam. It was made by Activision for the Atari 2600.
I thought GOG was all about the old ways, so why ignore something that has been going on for 30+ years?

Achievements were mentioned the first time they brought up Galaxy so that's highly unlikelyt

Same to me either way. I don't look for nor try to achieve the achievements in Steam games, but I don't really mind them either. Just some stupid pop up when I killed someone in TeamFortress 2, pfffft.

Can you sell your achievements to others? Then I might care a bit more. Anyone want all my Steam achievements? All yours, for mere $500 in a bundle, including the very rare "fartpants on fire"-achievement. While stocks last, first come first serve, a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush etc.

Achievements, ok, but why do you hate gameplay? I think gameplay is great! Good gameplay, that is. Bad gameplay is shit!

There we go, that'll please all those achievement haters :)

(good going with the 'optional' there ^^)

Can we optionally disable them FOR OTHERS ?

You can in your dreams. :)

Do we need a wishlist entry for "implementing my dreams" feature on the client?