10 Mar 2023

Issue

Achievements often feel like a pointless checklist.

Solution

Make your game’s achievements unlock actual game content (as opposed to just getting a virtual badge of honor). This gives players an incentive to pursue them and the satisfying feeling of being rewarded when they finally unlock them.

Here is an example from Vampire Survivors (Steam achievements on the left, in-game achievements on the right). As you can see the achievement “Wings” actually unlocks the wings power-up in the game.

ℹ Game Details

Game	Vampire Survivors
Year of release	2022
Developer	Poncle
Steam Page	store.steampowered.com/app/1794680/Vampire_Survivors/

Bonus Tip

Award the player an initial achievement as early as reasonably possible. This makes players feel invested in the game early on and they will be more likely to pursue other achievements.

An example of this can be found in the excellent remake of Half-Life: Black Mesa Source. In a very early stage of the game, if you interact with the microwave oven in the lunch area and burn the casserole in it, you will be rewarded with the (not-so-impressive) ‘Convection Refinement’ achievement.