Achievements

Abstract

The relatively new gaming concept, achievements, came along much later than leaderboards and has gained a dramatic rise in popularity with the release of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and newer devices. Achievements offer a higher level of detail overlooked in more basic leaderboards. While leaderboards show who currently possesses the leading scores, achievements demonstrate a player’s skills and strengths by rewarding the player for completing more specific tasks, events, or levels. When the achievements start to serve in-game purposes, they become more of a power-up over other players. The ability to view the achievements by others gives players a type of “bragging rights.” As you are of no doubt aware, bragging rights in a game can extend gameplay for a variety of users trying to reach 100% completeness, to maintain their lead over their peers, or to knock a peer from the top.