Taking the Work Out of Play

Discussion of digital board games and the board game industry.

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Playing the Game Should Not Be an Achievement

Posted by Mike Hansen

07 Jun 2011

Mike Hansen

(Mirthworks)

United States

Florida

Everyone enjoys feeling like a winner. With clever marketers who reward you for “checking in” at their retail stores and online games that reward regular play with achievement badges we’re all being granted a warm & fuzzy self-affirming sense of accomplishment.

It’s all a great, big gimmick.

Most achievements do little more than drive repeat plays. For online board games the goal of achievements should not be limited to keeping people playing but rather making the gaming experience more compelling.

What does a compelling use of achievements looks like? Some would say that game-specific strategic achievements are the answer. For example in Amun Re “Win without building a farmer” or in Alien Frontiers “Win a game without using the Colonist Hub” would be pretty cool strategic achievements. They at least provide for more interesting goals than just playing the game a specific number of times. However there may be some unintended consequences with implementing these kinds of achievements, including:

-> Exposing Strategies – Some strategy-based achievements may expose a game strategy to a player before they have the chance to discover it on their own. Not only does this undermine the game’s integrity, it also …

-> Discourages Creative Exploration – If a game designer publicizes a specific number of strategy-based achievements it may suggest that there aren’t any others. Instead of empowering the player to search for new ways to play the game, game play becomes an exercise in checking the box for each achievement.

-> Mucking Up a Game – Achievements can create a hidden agenda by enticing players to play in a way that is less than optimal. While this may occasionally be harmless it could result in a poor gaming experience for other players.

I’ve no doubt achievements play an important role in keeping users coming back to a casual or a social game but digital board games shouldn’t rely on these gimmicks nor should they sacrifice the quality or the integrity of a game in the shameless pursuit of growing site traffic. Rather they should focus on implementing a superior gaming experience by offering achievements that reward a balance of player loyalty, consistent participation, and improving expertise.

Mike Hansen
CEO Mirthworks, Inc - Catch us at Origins 2011, booth #845

6 Comments

Tue Jun 7, 2011 3:17 pm

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Phil

(Harlekin)

Germany
Bremen
Bremen

I like it when a game comes with three types of achievements:

First - Content achievements. For board games it would be something like "win with race X", "win with race Y" and so on up to "win with each race at least once".

Second - Hard to get achievements. For board games something like you mentioned. Win a game of TI3 while having engaged in combat with every other player without having any Trade Agreements and so on.

Third - Secret achievements. Those are supposed for funny or very hard stuff. TI3: Kill a freighter with at least 5 ground forces on it.

But achievements shouldn't ruin the games. If players only try to reach an achievement that may impact the game for the rest of the players.

Posted Tue Jun 7, 2011 3:34 pm
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Tim

(tofarley)

United States
San Antonio
Texas

Obviously achievements have worked out very well in the video game industry, the only type of achievement that bothers me are the ones (particularly in team games like Team Fortress 2) that require players to basically run around on their own agenda and not support the team. If one player is trying his hardest to kill X players with the pipewrench, then he's not doing the job his role was designed for, and it detracts from the experience for everyone else unfortunate enough to be on his team.

Posted Tue Jun 7, 2011 3:58 pm
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I am glad that Johnny Jaws is my friend.

(slate43)

United States
Enumclaw
Washington

I know who I am. I'm the ant playin' the ant, disguised as another ant!

An excellent post, very compelling. Would you consider a Geeklist of games that have been designed and seem to play this way? I think it would be very interesting.

Posted Tue Jun 7, 2011 4:19 pm
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William McCarroll

(hezkezl)

United States
Draper
Utah

Check out my reviews at www.nerdbloggers.com

Hi!

Achievements and Trophies may seem like a huge gimmick, but there is a definite demand for achievements that come from the player base of a game. Online game platforms that launch without an achievement system quickly find that it is one of the first, overwhelming requests from users.

Humans are hard wired to react positively to task based play and collecting things, and we tend to compare ourselves against others. While getting a high-score in a game may give a certain amount of self-satisfaction, it's usually not as meaningful unless it can be shared with other people. Achievements address all of these primal inclinations, and have become an enjoyable and important metagame to many players.

I think that the distinction needs to be made between meaningful trophies, and pointless trophies. Meaningful achievements serve multiple purposes:

The first is positive reinforcement - during the tutorial of a game, achievements are often granted to assure the player that he is progressing, and understands the game. These may seem like "gimmie" achievements, but they are important. They work to welcome the player to the game, and also help reinforce purpose #2.

Building an investment in the game - When a player has earned an achievement, it not only gives positive reinforcement about the player's progress, but also creates a feeling of investment in the game. This engagement can work to motivate the player to explore the game more, progress farther, and become better. I don't believe that saying this is to make the game's creators more money is really accurate. Achievements were incubated in the video game space, where a player that has purchased a game doesn't generate any further income to the developer after that initial purchase (aside from future purchases, brand loyalty, and referrals). The achievements are used as a community building tool, and the community becomes a strong driving force that brings players back - because it has value for the players.

A meaningful achievement will expose the player to the larger scope of the game, and guide them into areas that they may not normally have explored. The achievements should be meaningful, and have a direction, and not be arbitrary. Achievements like "do this thing x number of times" tend to be of the filler type, and don't really compliment the game experience. And some of these, like you have described, work to damage the play experience.

Achievements that are based on the player's progress against other players in the community are much more meaningful "Rank in the top 50% of players", or viral trophies like "Beat someone who has beaten the game designer" work not only to give the players motivation when playing the game, but also work to solidify the community as a whole.

Games by their nature are social, and the achievement is just a tool to harness, and expand on that social experience. When designing an achievement, I think it's important to ask: "Will this empower the player, help build the community, or facilitate the player to better understand the game?". If any of those answers is "Yes.", then it's a worthwhile achievement. If the answer is "No." then it is most likely filler busywork to pad the achievement list, and can have a negative impact on the game experience.

Posted Tue Jun 7, 2011 4:50 pm
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Tim Seitz

(out4blood)

United States
Glen Allen
VA

Like water spilled on the ground, which cannot be recovered, so we must die. But God does not take away life; instead, he devises ways so that a banished person may not remain estranged from him. 2 Sam 14:14

Quote:

Playing the Game Should Not Be an Achievement

I think this is a limited view of what achievements can and should be used for. Achievements can be used as rewards for players who interact with the game in an innovative or desired manner. "Desired manner" can
mean a whole host of things and it is completely up to the designer.

If the developer's goal is to encourage online play, then an achievement serves to encourage that behavior. Has the player who won an online game done more than the player who has not? Has the player who has won 100 games games accomplished more than the 1 game winner? How about 1000 games? I think the answer is yes, and achievements awards reward those accomplishments. (Note: the people who seem to complain most loudly about these types of achievements tend to be completists who abhor the notion of game achievements that might take months (or even years!) worth of time to accomplish.)

If the developer's goal is to encourage fan-created content, then achievements can be created for engaging in that activity, such as sharing custom levels or tracks (e.g., one of the levels in trackmania only unlocks after you build a custom track, and still another only after you invite a friend).

Achievements can also reward skill, such as attaining, or better yet, maintaining a certain skill-ranking level. Achievements can also reward difficult-to-achieve tasks that fit inline with the game objectives. Starcraft II has a number of these (e.g., kill every enemy on hard, etc.)

At the same time, I don't care for your "compelling" achievements because they are strategy-based. I don't think a game designer should be in the business of dictating or rewarding specific strategies. Let the players figure out what works and what doesn't.

At the end of the day, achievements should reward the "fun" path, not the "drudgery" path. However, we can point to the overwhelming success of Farmville as an example for how far people will go to earn "drudgery" achievements. Fun seems to be in the eye of the beholder!

Posted Tue Jun 7, 2011 6:26 pm
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Mike Hansen

(Mirthworks)

United States

Florida

I suspect few people would argue against the effectiveness of achievements in video games and casual games. For digital board games the industry needs some more creative thought.

If you are playing a digital version of a board game against the computer than many of the tried and true flavors are fine. However, if you are playing with real humans it is trickier.

Tim S. is correct; achievements should focus on making the game experience more fun. Fun is subjective. I have yet to see any board game achievements that meet my criteria, but that is just me. I also do not care for strategy achievements for the reason I stated in my post. I agree with Tim's concern above regarding someone focusing on their own achievement agenda could screw up a game for other players.

William makes some good points regarding the social side. I think there are some interesting areas to explore regarding group-focused achievements. Can they be set up to be customized and more personal to the group?

The suggestion above for a geek list to track them is a good one. Maybe if we can give more exposure to what the good ones are we can start a trend of get better ones implemented.

Posted Tue Jun 7, 2011 8:02 pm
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Taking the Work Out of Play

Playing the Game Should Not Be an Achievement

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