Achievements, when done well, are a good way to showcase some of the lesser known features of your game or ways to encourage users to try things out. I liked some of the weapon achievements in Gears of War because it forced you to try all the guns, and subsequently, get better at using all the guns, thus improving the online multi-player.
We all seem to neglect another important part about achievements. Achievements are a two-way street. Achievements are as much about feedback to the developers as they are feedback to the players. Devs glean all sorts of information about how people are playing their games. For example, take a sports game with an annual release. Throw an achievement in for some feature, and then see what % of users actually got the achievement. This could help you decide whether to keep or expand that feature.
Achievements are a great way to help devs improve overall game play.
We all seem to neglect another important part about achievements. Achievements are a two-way street. Achievements are as much about feedback to the developers as they are feedback to the players. Devs glean all sorts of information about how people are playing their games. For example, take a sports game with an annual release. Throw an achievement in for some feature, and then see what % of users actually got the achievement. This could help you decide whether to keep or expand that feature.
Achievements are a great way to help devs improve overall game play.