Difference between revisions of "Goal Achievements"

Revision as of 16:47, 13 December 2010

Achievements given to completing a goal in the game.

Achievements are persistent ways of recognizing what players have done in games, and one of the more apparent things that can be worthwhile to keep track of is if one has reached certain goals in the game. These Goal Achievements let players keep track of their successes outside specific game instances and can be used compare oneself with others.

Examples

For longer single-player games, and especially those with multiple endings, Goal Achievements are typically tied to completing quests. Examples of such achievements can be found in the later installments of the Fallout series, e.g. Ain't That a Kick in the Head, Arizona Killer, and No Gods, No Masters^[1] in Fallout: New Vegas, as well as in Torchlight through achievements such as Purple People Defeater and Beast Slayer I^[2].

In contrast, multiplayer games that structure gameplay around shorter game sessions. For the Left 4 Dead series this includes completing campaigns such as Midnight Rider, Weatherman, and Torch Bearer^[3] in L4D2, while for World of Warcraft Goal Achievements are structured around completing dungeons and raids, e.g. Blackfathom Deeps, Uldaman, and Zul'Gurub by defeating Aku'mai, Archaedas, and Hakkar respectively^[4].

Using the pattern

Many of the choices related to Achievements are relevant to Goal Achievements as well.

Goal Achievements can be used both for Enforced and Optional Goals.

For Optional Goals, having these as Goal Achievements may in fact be the main way of

The difference between Achievements based on Goals and those based on Grinding or Testing is fluid. Goals that are too easy to succeed with will probably not be seen as such, but simply Rewards for trying something within the game, i.e. be Testing Achievements (or possibly Progress Indicators). Grinding Achievements typically build upon succeeding with a simple goal many time at thereby

If persistence

Diegetic Aspects

Interface Aspects

Narrative Aspects

Consequences

Many of the consequences of Achievements in general naturally apply to more specific types of Achievements, e.g. being a type of Reward and a basis for Meta Games. Since Goal Achievements typically rely on overcoming some type of Challanging Gameplay, these types of Achievements are however arguably more likely to provide Value of Effort Rewards in that collecting them can give Game-Induced Player Social Status, especially when accessible to others through Public Player Statistics.

Relations

Can Instantiate

with ...

Can Modulate

Can Be Instantiated By

Can Be Modulated By

Possible Closure Effects

Potentially Conflicting With

History

New pattern created in this wiki.

References

1. ↑ List of Fallout:New Vegas achievements in the Steam Achievements system and percentages of gamers receiving them.
2. ↑ List of Torchlight achievements in the Steam Achievements system and percentages of gamers receiving them.
3. ↑ Valve Software's list of L4D2 achievements and percentages of gamers receiving them.
4. ↑ WoWWiki's list of Dungeon and Raid achievements.