Fredrik Thylander, the lead gameplay designer from Ubisoft Massive’s “The Division” makers, spoke via Twitter with statements that caused plenty of conversation. According to Thylander, the achievements or trophies are a feature that he believes is bad for gaming.
Shortly after Microsoft’s official introduction in 2005, achievements on the Xbox 360 became an extremely popular feature and attracted various imitators. These include the trophies designed by Sony Interactive Entertainment for the PlayStation platforms and launched in July 2008.
To this day, the achievements and trophies have lost none of their fascination for many players and have ensured that an above-average amount of time is sometimes spent playing a game or collecting achievements. This feature is much more negative for Fredrik Thylander from Ubisoft Massiv, who sees achievements and trophies as a function that he believes is bad for gaming itself.
According to Thyland, among others, he believes that the effort and resources that go into a trophy or achievement list could be better invested.
Do achievements distract from the game experience?
Additionally, Thyland believes that earning achievements can distract from the actual gameplay and thus negatively impact the user experience itself. “Unpopular Opinion: Achievements/trophies were bad for gaming. It limits games, it disrupts and distracts attention, and it eats up resources that could have improved the game,” Thyland tweeted.
Fredrik Thylander is currently the lead gameplay designer at Ubisoft Massive, creators of The Division. Before joining Ubisoft Massive, Thylander held various senior roles with the creators of DICE’s Battlefield, including being responsible for the achievement and trophy list for the original 2008’s Mirror’s Edge.
More news on the topic:
What is your opinion? Do you agree with Fredrik Thylander’s statements? Or are the achievements a feature that you no longer want to do without? We look forward to your opinion.
Unpopular opinion : achievements/trophies have been bad for gaming. It narrows games down, it disrupts and diverts attention, and it eats resources that could have made the game better.
— Fredrik Thylander (@Thylander) January 7, 2023
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