Achievements: Fun Collectibles or Psychological Conditioning?

Editor's note:I've never been much of an Achievement guy, but I've definitely seen many people fall prey to Microsoft's siren song. Paul analyzes what is arguably a very simple call-and-response formula for addiction. -James

Ding!

When I first heard the Achievement unlocked sound, I would look at the screen or occasionally check to see how many points I had unlocked. I hadn't heard the response enough times during those first months, but Microsoft had conditioned many others to yearn for that sound. Soon after the Xbox 360 hit the market, the great achievement race began.

As I migrated from the PlayStation 2 and the Wii to the Xbox 360, my compulsion to pause the game and open the Achievement menu began to grow. During these pauses, I started to scroll the menu and look for other Achievements that were ready to be unlocked. Like so many others, I had started to pine for that sound.

I began to notice that my friends who are avid gamers were spending less time with their other systems and more time plugged into Xbox Live on their 360. I've started to question why this happened. The Trophy system on PlayStation 3 sucked me in, but it didn't have the same effect as the Achievement system.

I first noticed that old Pavlov was in the neighborhood when I was making breakfast. Using my Xbox, I was listening to a podcast on my TV. Suddenly, I thought I heard the Achievement notification -- of course, it was the sound of a friend logging into Xbox Live, not an Achievement. The point is that I had put down my spatula and walked into the other room to see what the "ding" was all about. At that moment, I realized that Microsoft had conditioned me to keep an eye on my screen.

I am not saying this is malicious, but if they add this sound to Bing.com, then we should start questioning their motives. Microsoft is aware of this. Director of Programming for Xbox Live Larrry Hryb -- perhaps better known to gamers as Major Nelson -- has added the Achievement sound to his blog. He writes:

"For most gamers, this sound causes an increase in heart rate and a Pavlovian reaction that causes them to tap the Xbox 360 button to find out what achievement was unlocked and how many points were added to their Gamerscore."

Keeping Pavlov's notion of classic conditioning in mind, I've mapped out what is happening to some people. First we have the Unconditioned Stimulus and the Unconditioned Response -- the things that stimulate the basic needs that drive animals or people and the responses that those things elicit. For example, gaming is a stimulus, and its associated response is feeling content and entertained.

Xbox 360 games feature the ring of the Achievement bell -- or what Pavlov calls the Neutral Stimulus. Over time, people associate the sound with playing games and being entertained. When people move to other video game systems, the Microsoft Achievement notification is conspicuously missing. Eventually, the Unconditioned Stimulus and the Neutral Stimulus become conflated. The result is that the Neutral Stimulus becomes the Conditioned Stimulus, and it elicits the Conditioned Response -- which, in this case, is wanting to play Xbox 360 games because gamers have formed a connection between Achievement notifications and entertainment.

Because of the Achievement sound, the gamer starts to yearn for that iconic ding -- possibly to the point where they can't have fun on anything but the Xbox 360. The sound becomes the driving force to play. If the Conditioned Stimulus is not present, the response is to go back to playing Xbox 360 games.

The same could be true of PS3, too, but since the Trophy system came much later, most avid gamers had the Xbox 360 first. Logically, the Xbox 360 has had more time to condition responses among the gaming public. Over the past few months, I've been playing a lot more PS3 games, and I've started to exhibit a similar response to Trophies.

This isn't a conspiracy theory. I just want to know why my friends who have all three current-generation systems play on the 360 so much. Recently, I've been playing Final Fantasy 7, Ghostbusters on the Wii, Final Fantasy 3 on the DS, and many games on various systems. I've made a break with my conditioning. Hopefully, others can do the same.

Tags: Ghostbusters, Final Fantasy 7, Final Fantasy 3

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Andrew Hiscock

April 06, 2010

Interesting take. I am not sure if I use achievments differently than others, but here's how I approach them:

I love them. I am not concerned with the gamerscore, but the achievements are great. I actually use them to map out how I am going to play a game. For instance, in Lumines Live, I'll browse the achievements and see "90 blocks erased in 180 seconds". I'll say "That sounds fun", and try it. Turns out I am fairly shit at Lumines, and I have to figure out how to play this thing properly, especially since I can't get this low hanging fruit. Some youtube investigation later, I'm a little bit better.

Assassin's Creed on the other hand, I used specific achievements during my play through and avoided others. I made an effort to save every citizen, which in turned helped me learn the combat system, without which I would have never beaten the game, as combat doesn't make or break you until later bosses. But I avoided the flags, as that activity didn't seem fun or worth while.

Perhaps I have a different type of learning here, and it isn't an automatic thing. I do try to leverage achievements for gameplay, but not based on their own merits.

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Kevin Bondelli

April 13, 2010

I don't think it is just the sound that is having an effect, it is the reinforcement of GamerScore in general. If someone has multiple platforms, that person may be more likely to choose the Xbox360 version because of the added value of the GamerScore meta-game. The meta-game becomes more important to the player than the individual game. I know that people after a long enough time with the 360 sometimes feel like games on other platforms, especially those without their own meta-games, are a waste of time because they are not also contributing to a meta-game.

Honestly, it's a pretty smart strategy. However, there is a danger that it takes away something from the games themselves, or that the achievements themselves change the way people play games. Xav de Matos's article in GamePro about developing within a meta-game was an interesting take on this.

Paul Smith

April 14, 2010

@Andrew: I approach the achievement much like you. If it is something that doesn't seem interesting or within reach I usually won't do it. It has in some ways molded the way that I play games though. I am playing BF: BC2 right now. I love the multiplayer, so I will try to get the achievements there. Especially the Dentist achievement, which is just goofy. But, I probably would never have played through the single player if the game had the standard; beat the game on easy, normal, and hard. It has an achievement for every level, so I have been playing through it on easy just to unlock the achievements.

@Kevin: I do agree with your point that the GamerScore is a meta-game. Many people are using the GamerScore as a way of comparing themselves to others. In my case, I really have no interest in besting the people at the top of the leaderboards. But, I do want to get a higher score than my friends.

Sometimes it doesn't even come down to the GamerScore, as a whole, it could be that some people just want to beat other gamers in just one game. This is why the Compare Games feature is so useful.

Anthony Logsdon

April 15, 2010

I usually focus more on 360 games for the achievements solely. Compared to my PC I clock in three times as much time even though I have a crappier 360 library because I have focused on certain games even past the point of them being fun to me just to squeeze a few extra points out of it.

Evil.