Looking Back on Achievements and How They Sculpted a Generation.
It is the little things and it always has been the little things that end up really changing how something is viewed. For video games and this current generation, that little change was the achievement. It was so incredibly simple, yet now, 6 years later, it has completely changed the way we view gaming across multiple platforms as well as how we play.
When it started on the Xbox 360, most people like myself just laughed at the whole prospect of getting these meaningless little pats on the back, but now it has grown to more than just a pat on the back. You simply cannot avoid the achievement when playing any type of game. Sony, Apple, Android and even computer websites like Zynga and Kongregate now have achievement or some sort of equivalent. This simple idea of giving a reason to play these games beyond the simple enjoyment has done both good and bad for the world of games.
