1. Achievement Unlocked –
Rethinking Gaming Capital
Olli Sotamaa
F.R.O.G. 2009, Vienna, Austria
September 25-27, 2009

2. 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?

3. 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

4. Kuvia
Xbox Live Gamerscore

5. Kuvia
Kongregate
Badges

6. Steam Achievements:
Team Fortress 2

7. World of Warcraft Achievements
Mafia Wars Achievements

8. 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

9. Not an entirely new idea...

10. Activision
sew-on patches

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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 collecting
dynamics of gaming capital

14. 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

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

16. 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

17. 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)

18. 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

19. 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)

20. 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

21. mygamercard.net
raptr.com

22. Game achievements
presented in Facebook

23. 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