ACHIEVEMENT UNLOCKED

TWENTY YEARS AGO, THE XBOX 360 INTRODUCED A TANGIBLE WAY TO SHARE YOUR GAMING ACCOMPLISHMENTS WITH THE ACHIEVEMENTS SYSTEM. WE LOOK BACK AT HOW IT CAME TO BE AND HOW IT HAS PERMEATED THROUGHOUT THE YEARS, EXPANDING, CHANGING AND INFLUENCING GAMING CULTURE

- WORDS BY SOPHIE ULANOFF

Achievements are not only a part of modern gaming, they're now so intrinsically connected to the gaming experience that when they're found to be absent, some players are perplexed - even disappointed. Of course, 20 years ago, the Achievements system players know today was just being introduced, with the release of the Xbox 360. Nowadays, they're an expectation, an enhancement to the gaming experience, and have even created a culture known as 'Achievement hunting'.

At the time of their inception, the idea was to bolster the social aspect that Xbox Live had introduced; a way for players to show off their accomplishments in gaming. According to Chris Novak, Xbox's design director at the time, Achievements were meant to create a whole new platform for players to experience gaming.

“People wanted to show off the gaming side of their soul, and Achievements were just one part of making that possible,” Chris says. As the inception of the Xbox Achievements system came with the launch of rich presence, the overall Gamerscore – there was even a spectator mode intended for launch that was scrapped. Everything in the Xbox 360 launch was meant to work together in order to allow players to show off their gaming personality and create something tangible to reward them for the grind.