Review: How to Design Effective Achievements

Summaries based on The Cake Is Not a Lie: How to Design Effective Achievements.


Measurement vs. Completion Achievements
Measurement achievements are given to players for completing a task to a certain degree (like Angry bird star rating).

Completion Achievements are offered to player once the task is completed (in regardless of how well they do). There are 2 sub categories: performance contingent achievements (require skill to complete) and non-performance contingent achievements (award for simply being present).

Best practice: Use measurement achievements instead of completion achievements to increase intrinsic motivation through feedback.

Boring vs. Interesting Tasks
Boring tasks: 1st strategy is associate inherent value through the wording of the task (e.g. Ultimate Farmer). 2nd strategy is to add additional rules or fantasy to the task itself.

Interesting tasks. Instead of trying to create artificial interest in a task the achievements should be attentional, in that they focus the player's attention on important lessons or strategies for the task.(e.g. "The Flying Heal Bus" in StarCraft II to encourage the use of medic).

Best practice: Reward players for boring tasks and give them feedback for interesting ones. Make achievements for interesting tasks attentional.

Achievement Difficulty
The difficulty of achievements is addressed twice by designers. First, the actual difficulty of achievements needs to be on a level that is attainable but challenging to the players. Second, a player's self-efficacy for the task(s) associated with the achievement must be high enough that they feel confident in attempting it.

Best practice: Make achievements challenging for the greatest returns in player performance and enjoyment. Phrase achievements and design interactions to increase player self-efficacy.

Goal Orientation
Best practice: For complex tasks requiring creativity or complicated strategies try to instill a mastery orientation (improve proficiency, tendency to explore). For simple or repetitive tasks instill a performance orientation (to achieve perfect score, take less risk). Try to keep new players, who are still learning how to play, in a mastery orientation.