Now, to some extent everyone uses both meta classes. However, unlike most things there is no spectrum between internally and externally motivated, because it’s a binary decision taken on a case by case basis. While adding achievements to activities that have traditionally been the purview of the internally motivated is probably good for the general majority who aren’t one of the extremes and don’t use one style for almost all decisions, it’s probably hell on earth for the two extremes. The achievers wonder why they’re being “forced” to do all these pointless activities, while the anti-achievers feel that their activities have been “cheapened” by the addition of outside motivations.

You are right, MANY people who loathe LOTRO said the “deeds” system of char progression, basically kill 100, 150, 350 buggers of a sort in disguise, was driving them away to other games.

WoW has fancy gear/mounts as reward, not as essential as some LOTRO deeds, but still… I share your opinion that achievements exploit compulsive behaviour that (IMO) seems to be very common among MMO gamers, we are drilled to do silly things that NPCs tell us (yeah!), after all.

Achievements are fun, but at a certain point they turn into a chore and work. And all MMOs so far managed to turn them into this!

I just discussed it with a friend ingame. The achievement/title hunt “killed the soul” of the game, so he said. But it kept people playing the game, as “achievement zombies”.

I think he pretty much sums it up what I think, the only difference is that he is not so worked up about achievements as I am.

It’s easy to argue that Achievements are a brilliant way to leverage the obsessive compulsive behavior of some gamers into more sub dollars.

The bigger question in my mind isn’t one of efficacy, it’s one of propriety. It’s easy to hide behind the “it’s a business, businesses exist to make money” argument, but I don’t buy it. Even though I could make a moral case against such design, there’s even a sheer numerical/psychological aspect to it. Businesses that consume their consumers by promoting obsessive behavior aren’t acting in anyone’s best interests. They burn out players, maybe getting another month or two of sweet sub money, but gaining a detractor and kicking someone out of the genre.

This hunt for achievement and meta-achievement “gives players something to do”, right, but it also burns them out and puts them even more on rails what to do. And they often make players do really ridiculouzs things.