Tracking Progress

Unlocking new features in games has always been the psychological basis for continued play – gamers want to see that next level, get that new character, find out what the next weapon does. Now, with the advent of Achievements on Xbox 360 games, developers have given us a way to satisfy our craving for completion without even adding new content! A few people here and there will tout their nonchalance about Achievements, but it seems most gamers develop a strange addiction to unlocking them, and as an EGM article from last month pointed out, it even becomes an obsession for some.

Today’s point is very simple, and I’m honestly not sure why it isn’t implemented more widely. Any in game goals should have progress meters! Two games that do it right are Call of Duty 4 and The Orange Box. In COD4’s multiplayer, there are 5 sets of 20 or so challenges that give an EXP reward for leveling your character, which unlocks guns and perks. Any challenge that must be done a certain number of times (for instance, get X headshots with an SMG) gives a progress bar next to the challenge description, along with the number you currently have, so you can see exactly how many more until the challenge is complete. Not only that, but it gives intermediate rewards. For example, the complete reward only comes from getting 15 kills with the Last Stand perk, but you get small EXP rewards for Stage One and Two of the challenge, which are getting 1 and 5 kills respectively. The Orange Box takes this idea one step further and actually gives progress checks on every numerical Achievement.

Playing Smash Brothers Brawl made me realize how much I like being able to see this progress check. In Brawl, you have literally hundreds (I don’t know the exact number) of challenges to complete, and although many of them require doing an action X times, none show a progress check. So far, most are challenges I will complete without trying, just by playing a lot, like “Play on a specific stage 15 times”. There is something to be said for the surprise that not giving a progress check grants the player, but it is a bit frustrating to not know how close you are to completing any of them.

It is an easy feature to implement, and it should be a standard in any game with challenges to complete.