Do's and Don'ts when Designing In-Game Achievements

I’ve been reading up on in-game achievements when designing games. Here is my summary.

Do have:

• Achievements that challenge and benchmark players’ skills.
• Achievements that make players explore the game’s features.
• Achievements that inspire players to try new things.
• Achievements spread evenly throughout the experience.
• Clever and descriptive names for achievements.
• A few super-hard achievements (if they still make sense).

Don’t have:

• Achievements that drive players into abnormal play styles.
• Achievements that are too easy to obtain.
• Achievements that reward failure.
• Impossible achievements.
• Achievements tied to points or high scores.
• Meta-achievements (e.g. get exactly 666 points, not more).
• A too-narrow window of opportunity for earning a certain achievement.
• Secret achievements – they can be looked up online anyway.

Noteworthy:

• Players will take the easiest route to an achievement, not necessarily the intended one.
• Achievements do affect the overall impression of a game - “player doesn’t have to take it” is not a valid argument.
• Multiplayer achievements are challenging to design, as “abnormal play styles” have a larger impact when involving other players.
• Console achievements are generally tied to specific goals, while casual achievements are easier to come by (e.g. play 20 times).
• It is not unusual for casual games to release new achievements each month.

Sources: “Unlocking Achievements: Rewarding Skill With Player Incentives” (Mary Jane Irwin, April 1, 2009, Gamasutra) and “Achievement Design 101” (Greg McClanahan, February 12, 2009, Gamasutra).