I’m crazy about achievements in MMOs. When I was a serious business WoW player I never met an achievement I didn’t like, and now as a more casual RIFTer I still make an effort to keep an eye on the achievement panel.
The other day I upgraded my e-reader’s firmware and discovered that in the update it gained an achievement system. And surprisingly I hate it. Like, I am actively annoyed every time one pops up. I got an achievement the other day for completing 20% of a book and it’s like.. really? It seems so patronizing and gamey that I would totally roll back the update if I could simply for that reason.
I’m not sure what the lesson is here except apparently achievements aren’t good in everything. If something is its own reward, like reading a good book, then adding overly encouraging gamification systems seems cheesy and unnecessary.
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It’s Extra Life Marathon weekend! From 8am Pacific time on Saturday morning until 8am Sunday morning I’ll be playing games and along with ThatAngryDwarf streaming everything to our Twitch TV channel. What am I going to be playing? ALL THE GAMES.
Okay, seriously, expect to see some RIFT, WoW, Mass Effect, Tropico 4, Bioshock, Amnesia, The Walking Dead, and a whole lot more. I’m also getting a guided tour of the Storm Legion beta on Saturday afternoon, and I will make puppy dog eyes and see if Trion will let me stream any of it.
My point is that you should come on by the Twitch channel chat this weekend and help me stay awake. :) We’re also going to be recording the next episode of Cat Context podcast immediately after the marathon, so look forward to weirdness.
Are you streaming your Extra Life gaming this weekend? Let me know about your channel! Want to donate? My donation page is here and all proceeds go to the BC Children’s Hospital.
Herding Cats is the blog of Liore, known in the real world as Jessica Cook. She writes mostly about MMOs and RPGs, and believes in 
I’m actually surprised you’re surprised you hate this new feature of your ereader. I know plenty of people that roll their eyes when I say the word ‘immersion’ but what is a good novel but the ultimate immersive experience. You want to get lost in your novel, not reminded constantly that you’re reading a book.
I can see these achievements being helpful for school kids who’re being forced to read something, maybe. All they want to do is get through it. But other than that?? Naa.
Some people are trying to make reading social too. Allow you to see what comments from your friends right in the virtual pages of your books. I wave my cane dismissively at that idea, too! Reading is about focusing 100% on the story an author is trying to tell, IMO.
Discussing a book after you’ve read it? Absolutely. But reading a page, then reading the comments, then reading a page, then reading the comments… that’s just not right!
pasmith´s last post: XCOM: Enemy Unknown is couch friendly
They have an automated achievements system here at $megacorp. It really freaks me out, especially when managers reference it.