User blog:Dessertmonkeyjk/Achievements as Narrative Tool

This is rather off-topic for but I came to this idea the other day: What if Achievements/Trophies were used to help tell stories? Granted, this would typically be seen breaking the 4th wall and would be rather dependent on what platform you play on... but it actually gives it a new purpose.

So, what kind of scenarios can this be used for?

Narrative
Think about second-hand methods of retriving backstory such as in Bioshock or Batman: Arkham City using audio logs. Now think how this can be applied in a achievement. The tricky thing is though, how would the player be interested in seeing the description?

I think I'll bring up the Sheriff and the Bandit illusration again: The Sheriff is handed a note by a local stranger at a bar. At first, it looks like an ordinary letter. Then an Achievement pops up which may be rather unusual at this point with the tagline "Secret Message in the Letter". Having no idea what this message is since it is not revealed in-game, the player takes a look at it.

The description reads: The Bandit is in the back room with stolen cash. Beware of henchmen.

Better do something about it then, Sheriff.

You see a big "Woah!" moment there? Granted, there are better ways to do this but again this is an example. Not that it has to be narrative related though. What about other challenges such as puzzles?

Puzzles
Say you're hacking a terminal but a code is required to bypass a heavily encrypted portion of the system. You then see an Achievement with the tagline "Decryption code". Upon viewing, there is a string of binary such as this:

011001110110111001101111011011000110110000100000011100110111010001110010011001010110000101101101

You have no idea what this probably means but if you're smart enough... then you'd Google it.

Not to say that everyone will actually attempt to try it without being forced to or hinted at but you get the point.

Easter Eggs
Then there are times when they can just be used to... mess around. These can range from a massive variety of things including specific actions, inside jokes, and even unusual conditions.

This is more suited to a list so I'll fire off a few right now: I could keep going but then I'll be up all night and get an achievement for it XD.
 * Code Breaker - The player somehow manages to break the game detectable by the game engine. The descripion simply reads "Congratulations! You just made a bunch of programmers cry in their sleep... Jerk."
 * You're still playing? - The game reads the system clock and gives out this achievement at 12 AM to 5 AM. The description reads "You're still wide awake? Then break out an expresso and let's do an all nighter."
 * ...What? - The player manages to die doing a very simple task with almost no risk of dying and no pressure. The description reads "There's no way you did that by accident."
 * Running Man - The player completes tasks in an abnormal timeframe detectable by the game engine. The description reads "Who are you running from?"

Status Update
I have been rather busy with modeling although... I admit I have been having a lazy streak for about a week.

Right now, I'm working on the timeline and filling out any associated elements and double-checking references. The theory on the Timeline is a rough draft and is nowhere near done and I forgot to check the reference... silly me. I'm still focusing on the Legend of Spyro Era right now and beginning to do extensive research on Skylanders. It doesn't take a genius on how the game works and I have never played it. Personally, the concept could of stand on it's own without the Spyro IP but... there it is.

There's also the consideration about the whole "Robot Army" thing. It just feels rather over the top and not exactly something even remotely fun or decently unique. Besides, robots can be boring and rather annoying to fight. That means other plot elements such as one with Elora and another with the bad guy gang, which I will not put said story spoilers onto this wiki, will need to be reworked later.

Lastly, at some point I will allow access to articles that are fairly solid as far as credability is concerned. There's no way I can matain all of this with other things that need my attention plus I have been at this for about 6 years now. Not exactly proactive these 6 years though but it has allowed the concept to mature abit and dished out some terrible ideas.

Hm... in fact, I'll put up a rejected concepts article under Concepts. I'm sure you'll find it interesting.