Chapter 10 Congratulations! Selecting the Right In-Game - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Chapter 10 Congratulations! Selecting the Right In-Game Achievements

Overview

• What is an in-game achievement?
• What are the different types of in-game achievements?
• Which in-game achievement is appropriate in which situation?

Introduction

• Achievements are A HOT topic
• We need to learn to utilize players to their fullest potential
• Only the achievements, which were forethought designed, could have

positive effects on players.

• Achievements designed properly could improve the player’s

experience and the quality of a game.

• Alternatively, the effects of poorly designed achievements are

undetermined

• There are many studies about this topic. Let’s deconstruct how

achievements are currently used in games first

Measurement vs. Completion Achievements

• Measurement and completion achievements describe two distinct

conditions under which we reward players for their actions.

• Measurement achievements are given to players for completing a

task to a certain degree.

• Their performance can be measured against other players' performance, their
• wn performance, or some standard set by game designers.
• Completion achievements are offered as an award once a task is

completed.

• Performance contingent achievements: require skill to complete
• Non-performance contingent achievements: awarded for simply being

present

Best Practice

• Use measurement achievements instead of completion achievements

to increase intrinsic motivation through feedback.

Boring vs. Interesting Tasks

• Achievements are earned for the completion of a task or series of

tasks.

• If a task is boring, the reward structure associated with it has to be different

from tasks that are inherently interesting to the player.

• Boring tasks (such as trade skills in MMOs) can be paired with

extrinsic motivators, like achievements, in order for players to engage in them.

• Interesting tasks, which the player would engage in without any form
• f additional motivation, do not need to be reinforced with rewards.

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.
• The actual difficulty of achievements needs to be on a level that is attainable but

challenging to the players.

• Players' self-efficacy for the task(s) associated with the achievement must be high

enough that they feel confident in attempting it.

• Achievements that are too difficult will not even be attempted by players,

and those that are too easy will be completed quickly and won't provide an adequate challenge.

• Player self-efficacy is another important factor that game designers must

consider.

• Goal commitment, strategy creation and use, and a more positive response to

negative feedback

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

• Players' goal orientation must be considered when designing

achievements, as it will influence how they experience a game through goals they set for themselves.

• Performance orientation and mastery orientation
• Players who favor a performance orientation are concerned with
• ther people's assessment of their competence.
• Players who have a mastery orientation are concerned more with

improving their own proficiency.

Best Practice

• For complex tasks requiring creativity or complicated strategies, try to

instill a mastery orientation.

• For simple or repetitive tasks, instill a performance orientation. Try to

keep new players who are still learning how to play in a mastery

• rientation.

Expected vs. Unexpected Achievements

• Players either know what achievements can be earned before they

play a game or they come upon them unexpectedly during play. Expected and unexpected achievements have different effects on players and can both be utilized to improve player experience.

• Expected achievements allow players to set goals for themselves

before they begin.

• In addition, expected achievements also allow players to create a

schema, or a mental model, of game play before they begin.

• Unexpected achievements are relatively uncommon in video games

but can also have potential benefits to players.

Best Practice

• Primarily use expected achievements so players can establish goals

for themselves and create a schema of the game. Make sure achievement descriptions accurately reflect what needs to be done by the player and why it is important.

• Unexpected achievements can be used sparingly to encourage

creative play.

When Achievement Notification Occurs

• Players must be made aware of their accomplishment
• Notified immediately or delayed
• Immediate feedback can improve LEARNING and efficiency
• Especially important when using measurement achievements that directly

relate to player performance

• Newer players benefit more from this type of feedback than more

experienced players would

• Increasingly delayed feedback will be more effective for experiences

players

• Careful! Achievement notification during play may disrupt
• give players achievement notification after a natural break in play

Best Practice

• For games with no clear break in play, give immediate feedback with

an unobtrusive popup accompanied by a longer explanation available after play.

• For games with clearly defined play sessions and those that require a

greater deal of concentration, it is better to use delayed notification.

• Try to give new players immediate feedback and give more

experienced players delayed feedback.

Achievement Permanence

• Long after a player earns an achievement, he or she may want to

reflect on the experience

• Permanent achievements allow players to relive their former glory
• Digitally tangible: earning an achievement
• Stored lists: description of the achievement
• Impermanent ones exist only when the player is first notified
• Verbal reinforcements

Best Practice

• Give players the opportunity to go over their earned achievements

using some kind of stored list.

• Digitally tangible rewards are a great incentive but won't keep the

player around after the reward is earned.

Who Can See Earned Achievements?

• Achievements will be shared, but varies by game.
• Player’s decision
• Social Approval
• Earned achievements that act as a resume
• MMOs

Best Practice

• Making earned achievements viewable to other players is a powerful

incentive.

• To prevent players from being excluded because of their lack of

experience, create achievements for players who take other players under their wing.

• Let players display a few achievements they are proud of to increase

motivation and highlight their play style.

Negative Achievements

• Some achievements are given to players when the player fails, he or

she may earn the negative achievement.

• Negative achievements are the digital equivalent of pouring salt on a

wound

• If players know that there are negative achievements in the game,

they will try to avoid them

• But be careful of using it!

Best Practice

• Don't use negative achievements as a punishment for failure. Provide

feedback within the system that can assist struggling players.

Achievements as Currency

• Earned achievements could be used as virtual currency in games.
• points, coins, or stars and later use them to purchase in-game items or real-

world objects

• Research: Monetary rewards have greater returns on task

performance than tangible rewards

• rewards were tied to inputs rather than outputs
• Currency rewards have been shown to decrease intrinsic motivation

for the recipients of the reward

Best Practice

• Offer players currency for completing tasks instead of rewards to give

them a greater sense of control.

• Reward the inputs rather than the outputs
• Use a currency system to enhance a game, but don't attempt to make

currency acquisition the main reason players engage in an activity.

Incremental and Meta Achievements

• Incremental achievements are awarded in a chain for performing the

same task through scaling levels of difficulty.

• Meta achievements are earned for completing a series of

achievements that are for different tasks.

• Both incremental and meta achievements can be used as a type of

scaffolding, a "training wheels" approach used in teaching.

• It's broken up into smaller pieces and sequenced like a training program.
• Breaking the task up into pieces also has the side benefit of helping players

create a schema about how the more complex task is structured.

• The amount of challenge each one provides are important things to

keep in mind.

Best Practice

• Use these types of achievements to hold the players' interest for

longer periods of time and guide them to related activities.

• Make the spacing between incremental achievements, both in time

and physical location, separated enough so that players don't feel too controlled.

Competitive Achievements

• Competitive achievements require players to face off with one

another in either direct confrontations or indirectly through their scores on solo tasks.

• Some research indicates that competition can increase overall

enjoyment and attitude toward a given task.

• Computer science classes in particular have noted success in their

implementation of competition to make classes more interesting.

• Other studies indicate that under certain circumstances competition

should be avoided.

Best Practice

• If competitive achievements are used in a game, make them available
• nly after players are comfortable with game play and no longer

learning the ropes.

Non-Competitive Cooperative Achievements

• Cooperative achievements are earned by players working toward a

goal together in a game.

• In multi-player games where players can interact with peers
• Reward assists
• Most research supports the use of cooperative environments to

improve performance.

• Risks:
• Attitude polarization in groups, which often leads to more cautious or risky

decision making as a whole

• Process loss, which can take place if the additional workload from

coordinating communication and assisting others hinders group performance.

Best Practice

• To foster a cooperative environment, offering achievements for more

advanced players to assist less experienced players is an option.

• The groups for cooperative achievements should be kept relatively

small to decrease social loafing and process loss.

• The metrics used for earning achievements should assess individual

performances within the group setting.