Achievements

Unless you are a hermit in a cave somewhere, you have probably come across in-game achievements.  These are an integral part of many games-platforms, from Steam to Kongregate, with even Minecraft including them too.  The basic theory is that certain actions or behaviours will earn a virtual ‘badge’ that other users can see.

Used well, they tend to give a sense of…  well…  achievement.  Early on in the game, you might get one for completing the tutorial, then another for your first successful battle.  By the end of the game, they are rare and special, awarded for completing the main story or collecting every coin or action figure in the game.

Once a novelty, these have become de rigueur for modern games, something you would be mad to leave out.  Console users rely on them to build up their credibility as a gamer, comparing scores to work out who is the most ‘hardcore’ in a certain group.

When I realised that I had actually spent half an hour of my life trying to ride a pig off a cliff, not to mention trawling a game website for hidden puzzles just to gain a ‘seal’ later the same day, I knew an achievement system was probably inevitable.  The achievements themselves actually work as an extension of the upcoming tutorial system, so it is not a great technical challenge, but I did wonder if they were necessary.

Given the low ‘cost’ here, I can’t see any reason not to.  I am not sure anyone would be offended by their presence…