Challenges
New to Xbox One, Challenges represent a new type of goal you can hope to reach. However, as noted on Major Nelson’s blog by Cierra McDonald–the Program Manager for Xbox Live–the only way to achieve a Gamerscore is through games. Challenges won’t add to your score. On the other hand, they do reward you if you should unlock them, and once unlocked they remain in your history. Challenges are also time-based, and as such will give you a certain window of opportunity to complete. A few important facts about Challenges:
They each have a visual icon to represent your awesome dominance over your friends. Developers can release more of them after the game’s initial release. Challenges may cross titles, but achievements can’t. Challenges can be unlocked by the community. Meaning that if there is a challenge on the weekend to reach 1 million, zillion head-shots of evil zombie overlords, each person joining accumulates and adds to this. Then you all celebrate together as comrade-in-arms with a virtual pat on the back, and collect the rewards.
Overhaul
You’ll now get a few more treats with the regular Achievements we all love and know so well. Now, you will also have the opportunity to unlock “…digital artwork, new maps, unlockable characters, and temporary stat boosts.” Microsoft will, unsurprisingly, incorporate other apps–such as video and music–into achievements as well. They want you to realize how grand their master plan is for the console in its world domination of your entertainment. To help that sink in, such achievements will win you “…sneak peek content, early access, or subscription extensions.” Some of the new features:
The dashboard will now give you notifications of your friend’s activity in achievements. A direct view of how close you are to your latest achievements without entering the game. View video replays of that satisfying moment (20 hours of game-play later) when you finally unlocked the achievement. An image based gallery of achievements for your eye-popping pleasure.
Cloud-Based Achievements
That’s right, folks! I know this will shock your grandmother’s socks right off her feet, but all the achievements will now live happily in the Cloud. Cloud-based is probably a good thing, because it means instant updating to your Gamerscore, as well as a way to include some additional rad opportunities.
New achievements can be added at any time. Developers can also add Challenges and Achievements at any moment, and can tailor to player reactions and demands. Almost like all those Facebook ads, except minus the creepy factor (How DO they know me so well?). Developers can even involve, if they were smart and wanted to, the Xbox community to create these Challenges (and perhaps eventually Achievements).
Perhaps these snazzy Xbox Live features will cool down all those hot words people have been spouting ever since the next-gen’s reveal. There certainly seems less to argue negatively against in this news. For those who have, indeed, already pre-ordered the Xbox One (or who are planning to), this update to Achievements seems like a step in the right direction for Microsoft.
