Achievements Considered II

Achievements (and other platform reward structures like Trophies) satisfy a very important human need for validation. We want social approval and an “official” recognition of our accomplishments is valuable to us, it endorses our decisions and allows us to believe that we make a worthwhile contribution to our community. Achievement points may not have material value, but they are not meaningless. Denigrating them as “epeen” mischaracterizes the near universal human aspiration they fulfill.