BrainStorming: The Future of the Achievement System

What would you all like to see happen to the Achievement system that Microsoft currently has implemented on the Xbox 360? Starting in 2005, it has caught on with most any games this generations. Adopted by Valve, then seen in Blizzard games, and on the PlayStation 3. No doubt that it brings an extra level of gameplay to the games we play.

How would you like to see Microsoft change it in the future? Whether through updates or through the launch of a new console?

I personally wouldn't mind if we could see how many 100 / 50 / 25 / 10 / 5 GS points we have, similar to how PSN has their trophies listed. Maybe an ability to show off our top 5 favorite achievements similar to StarCraft 2, that would be a great addition. I also wouldn't mind recieving gear or awards through how many GS we obtain (not to be confused with the current awards we get) Give me your thoughts.

well the number one thing i would like to see is using them as microsoft points but that is never going to happen.

I guess i would also like to see maybe a ranking system of achievements, like to see what the number 1-10 hardest achievements to get in any game available to xbox 360, and maybe cut it off at like 500 achievements because i know it would be a ton of achievements to list and rank.

I think achievements have already changed a lot. Starting out in games like King Kong where completing the campaign will get you 1000, or Dead Rising where everything is an equal 20 gs, even though the difficulty varies greatly between achievements. Personally I'm content with the direction that achievements are taking. For example The Halo:Reach achievements are great, plenty of diversity and gs is dependent on the difficulty. If games to continue this trend I will be very pleased with the Achievement system.

They have to offer better incentives for reaching achievements and at the same time, do away with the gimme ones that you get without even trying. Really they should do away with the Gamerscore altogether and do something like give you points you can spend on stuff in the Marketplace.

I'd be happy if they stopped having achievements that require multiplayer. I hate playing a game where half the achievements are for multiplayer and while playing the single player, doing things and going "That would have been a great achievement!" but the opportunity was wasted.

I would also like to see them do away with achievements that are just no fun or take days to get. They should all be able to be done on one playthrough, maybe two at the most. I know developers put long ones in to keep people playing but I usually see those and go "Well looks like I'm not getting that achievement".

Forgotten_Gamer wrote:

They have to offer better incentives for reaching achievements and at the same time, do away with the gimme ones that you get without even trying. Really they should do away with the Gamerscore altogether and do something like give you points you can spend on stuff in the Marketplace.

That would be abused. They would have to REALLY limit it. Maybe 1ms point per 100gs. Boosters would go ape**** with gamefly if it was a significant amount.