Achievements and Trophies have become such a ubiquitous part of modern gaming that it’s hard to imagine games without them. From simply progressing through story beats to pulling off some ridiculous stunt, there’s usually a shiny notification and a satisfying ding! waiting to congratulate you. Nintendo, however, has stubbornly refused to join the Achievement party. While some players are disappointed by that decision, one veteran indie developer thinks otherwise. He believes such systems ‘artificially’ push players into playing games a certain way, rather than enjoying the experience on their own terms.
Speaking with Japanese media 4Gamer, Jonathan Blow, the creator of Braid and The Witness, discussed his latest work: Order of the Sinking Star. Along the way, the conversation turned to his dislike of games deliberately designed to keep players ‘hooked.’ Blow criticized how developers often discuss reward systems at conferences, particularly on how to make carefully placed incentives to encourage people to keep playing.
“…There are games designed to get people addicted and keep them glued, aren’t there? I dislike those kinds of things. I would never make one,” Blow explained. “Players should be enjoying the actual ideas within the game and what it has to offer, it should not be how the game manipulates and drags the players along.” He then pointed to XBOX and PlayStation for adding a built-in system that pushes players along in a contrived way.
“I find it very interesting that the concept of Achievements was added on XBOX, while a Trophy was implemented on PlayStation,” Blow noted. “Those kinds of features are mechanisms designed to artificially lead players moving through the game.” On the other hand, the Super Mario developer earned his praise for taking a less mainstream approach.
“Yet, Nintendo’s game consoles don’t have anything like that. That’s a very good decision, I think, but at the same time surprising,” he continued. “Perhaps they are thinking something similar to what I am, but I don’t know about that. Still, it’s a decision that I appreciate.”
Blow’s dislike of Achievements, nevertheless, isn’t exactly something new, as he has long been critical of reward-driven game design for years. Even when Achievements were imposed on Braid during its Xbox Live Arcade days. Interestingly, though, Nintendo does seem to share a similar line of thinking with Blow.
Back in 2011, then-Nintendo of America’s director product marketing manager Bill Trinen said the company wasn’t actually opposed to implementing something similar to Achievements on its consoles. However, Trinen argued that having players discover things for themselves was more compelling than making them chase ‘some sort of artificial point or score.’
Ubisoft once also offered some sort of a middle ground through the Uplay Rewards in its PC launcher. Where players can spend said artificial points earned from completing challenges on meager rewards like in-game skins or wallpapers. Unfortunately, that system didn’t last long and was eventually replaced with store credits that expire in two years. Apparently, even getting something useful out of your digital ‘achievements’ was deemed too good to be true.
