Achievement Unlocked – Rethinking Gaming Capital

Olli Sotamaa

F.R.O.G. 2009, Vienna, AustriaSeptember 25-27, 2009

Structure

What are game achievements?

Why achievements intrique players?

Player motivations and achievements

Theories of collecting

Gaming capital

Are game achievements bound to change the dynamics of game cultures?

What are achievements?

Montola et al. (2009): Game achievements are secondary reward systems designed for digital games

Achievements offer optional sub-goals and provide rewards that are visible to the player and other players

In the past few years achievements have been introduced to various gaming platforms

Kuvia

Xbox Live Gamerscore

Kuvia

KongregateBadges

Steam Achievements:Team Fortress 2

World of Warcraft Achievements

Mafia Wars Achievements

Why study achievements?

Achievements raise strong emotions“over-achievers” and “badge junkies” vs. those who see that achievements annoyingly distract attention from the actual gameplay

Achievements can change play motivations They also seem to transform the subtle dynamics of game cultures

Not an entirely new idea...

Activision sew-on patches

Play motivations?

At first glance achievements seem to appeal to particular player motivations

achievers (Bartle), completionists

However, achievements can provide replayability and extended play time for various kinds of players

Importantly, achievements also include social aspects like bragging rights and as we will see they can also become materials of identity work

Achievements and play behaviour

Achievements not only serve existing motivations but they can also make players behave differently and force them to think what the game is all about

Some examples:– Geometry Wars: Pacifist achievement– Team Fortress 2: Death Sentence achievement

(Rocket-jump with 15 health)– Mafia Wars: My little friend achievement

Beyond play motivations

All in all, the meanings attached to achievements cannot be entirely reduced to play motivations > larger perspective is needed

The alternative starting points I discuss in the paper:

theories of collectingdynamics of gaming capital

Collecting

“a form of acquisition and possession that is selective, active, and longitudinal. A necessary condition is that the objects, ideas, beings, or experiences derive larger meaning by their assemblage into a set.”

- Belk et al. 1991

The significance of collection

Pöyhtäri (1996) argues that:the collector uses her collection to demarcate a special area from the variety of all objectsthe objects that miss from the collection set the collector’s remaining tasksin this respect, the collection both defines the activity and is the objective of it

Belk et al.: Collecting differs from...

accumulating that lacks selectivity and the items associated with it lack unity and defy categorical description

hoarding that focuses on utilitarian items in the expectation that they may be needed in the future

investing in which the sole purpose for acquisition and possession is to make profit

Collecting and achievements

Is it possible to form a original and unique collection of achievements? - At the moment, not really...

Often the player's relation to achievements seems suggestive of accumulating (e.g. Xbox Live Gamerscore is mostly about quantity, not quality)

While the economic benefits of game achievements are not entirely straight forward, the connections between achievements and capital are already visible (hoarding, investing)

Economic aspects of achievements

Achievements increase platform loyalty

Achievements spawn paratextual industries

– Guidebooks– Player-to-player

services

Leads us towards the idea of gaming capital

Gaming capital

Gaming capital (Consalvo 2007) is a flexible cultural currency gained by playing and being knowledgeable about games (reworking of Bourdieu's cultural capital)

Not only about being a good player, but any games-related activities that are appreciated in the player’s social circle can become sources of gaming capital (Sotamaa 2009)

Gaming capital and achievements

Traditionally gaming capital has been something that confers status only in the eyes of the beholder who is initiated into the particular subculture

Game achievements make gaming capital quantifiable and visible in new ways

As achievements increasingly find their way e.g. to blogs and social networking sites one's gaming hobby becomes openly expressed

mygamercard.net

raptr.com

Game achievements presented in Facebook

Conclusion

Game achievements are there to stay, we should be more aware about the potentials invested in them

While one's attitude towards achievements is often connected to play motivations, we have to look beyond “pure” play

So far game achievement systems mostly miss many pleasures associated with collecting

Achievements make gaming capital visible in new ways and can for example work to make playing more acceptable