Part 2 of PhD Researcher's Analysis of Effective Trophy Design - News
by VGChartz Staff , posted on 13 May 2011 / 1,688 Views
First, a caveat: Any use of either the words ‘trophy’ or ‘achievement’ is to be understood to mean both ‘trophies’ and ‘achievements’ interchangeably and simultaneously. These words are in flux; the one with the other.
PhD Researcher Lucas Blair (genius by night) has written a second part of his staggering work of heart-breaking genius about the most effective way to design achievements for video games. If you design games or are thinking about designing games, this is a must-read.
Part two covers several broad topics: 'Expected vs. Unexpected Achievements,’ ‘When Achievement Notification Occurs,’ ‘Achievement Permanence,’ and ‘Who Can See Earned Achievements?’
The difference between Expected vs. Unexpected Achievements is interesting because a lot of gamers, myself included, seek out information on trophies before they even put the disc in the console. I’ve screwed myself over by not reading about certain trophies beforehand. There’s a trophy in Red Dead Redemption where you must use the same horse for twenty missions. I had to go back and play the game over just because I missed that part. Thoughtful design here could be really important for gamers.
The rest of these are very cool as well. Click on the source at the bottom of this page to read the actual article.
