They are simply indispensable in today’s gaming landscape: achievements, trophies, achievements or just simply successes. Whether on Playstation, Xbox or Steam, on almost every platform, every launcher and every game service, the little diligent digital stars are now an elementary part of the gaming experience, with which players are motivated to explore, interact and collect. In this special we want to take a closer look at the subject and ask: Where do achievements actually come from? How do game developers think of achievements? And why are some people so eager to collect as many trophies as possible? So grab some popcorn and fluff those couch cushions, we’re off to find the answers!
The diligent digital star
Let’s start with the basics: what are these achievements and where do they come from? Here we simply go back to the German definition from Wikipedia, which reads: “In video games, an achievement is a virtual award that the player receives for achieving a goal or performing a specific action.”
Put simply, this means that if you make a certain amount of progress in-game, complete a challenge that has been set for you, or do something else that is particularly commendable – for example, handing out 100 headshots – then the developers will reward you, usually in the form of a small pop-up message with nice ones sound effect.
Some achievements are also very undemanding. In Halo Infinite, for example, you’ll be rewarded for changing your Spartan ID.
Source: PC Games
This is a little different depending on the platform: On the Xbox, for example, you get what are known as Gamerscore points. On the Playstation, on the other hand, there’s a trophy right away. These awards can be managed via a corresponding menu and can be displayed on your profile.
Many platforms also offer some sort of system for you to compare your achievements to other players. However, nothing more can be done with them. In contrast to Secrets, which bring some kind of added value to the game, Achievements are mostly purely cosmetic in nature.
In the beginning was the arcade hall
The rationale behind these achievements, of course, goes back to the arcade-era leaderboards. Cracking the high score and rubbing it in the other players’ faces was an elementary part of the arcade experience back then. The first real achievements, at least in the broadest sense, were thought up by the Americans – Activision to be precise.
The games manufacturer introduced so-called “patches” in the early 1980s. There was one for almost every game on the Atari 2600, the Intellivision or the C64. The only requirement to get one of them was that you had to complete a specific task that was in the game’s manual, snap a photo as evidence, and send it to Activision. Then a small felt medal came back in the mail. Anyone who destroyed 60 enemy tanks in Robot Tank, for example, could look forward to a kind of cotton cross of merit.
The first in-game achievements, as we know them today – i.e. made of pixels and not fabric – were then released in 1990 in E-Motion on the Amiga, a puzzler in which you have to collect colored balls with your spaceship. The successes were still called “Secret Bonuses” and their number was quite manageable at just five.
Fun Fact: The “E” in E-Motion stands for Einstein. Why? No idea!
Source: PC Games
Basically, it was the concept that is still known today: Anyone who fulfilled certain in-game goals, i.e. finished a complete level without dying, could look forward to an additional reward. In contrast to the Activision patches, these bonuses were already included in the game, but they could not be presented to other players online.
Such a feature didn’t exist until 1996 with the MSN Gaming Zone, a website where you could play Bejeweled, Solitaire or Farm Frenzy and earn “badges” that could then be shared with others via social features.
In the 2000s, the spread of achievements really took off, fueled by the advent of online services and clients. Microsoft introduced the Gamerscore for the Xbox 360 back in 2005, and in 2007 the range was expanded to include Games for Windows. Steam countered in the same year with its own achievements and in 2008 Sony finally followed suit with its trophy system.
There are now achievements almost everywhere: on Stadia, in the Epic Games Store or the Apple Game Center. They are even spreading outside the gaming industry: the smart water bottle counts, for example, how many liters you have already drunk, gives you trophies for your performance and lets you compete against your friends in the ranking.
Let’s continue on page 2!
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