From an early childhood we have learned to set up goals, achieve them and to be rewarded with "candy".

At first it was a simple "take away toys", "read me the word." Then the tasks became more difficult,  "do not fight with your class mates," "always make your homework." The older we got, the more difficult the tasks got, but the candy got sweeter.
Even after taking a rest we continued to set goals and achieve the desired reward - to be faster, smarter, more efficient. Get more kills, "learn new flying skills" to get more posts on the forum, to do something unique and to become known throughout the whole project.
We compete or fail in the race, but we continue to follow the competition. With interest we view the rating, check the top players 5 times a day and cheer for different corporations.

 

Most online games have attracted a large number of players with different tastes and priorities, attitudes and principles. Some like the close combat with live opponents going for adrenaline and fight for the victory. Others prefer to conquer the endless space and fighting NPC pirates.
And therefore the rating of victories can be less interesting to them, or fascinating, and in need of some more different rating.

 

Wiki says that the first achievement system was introduced back in 1980's. By 2000 there were many achievements for a lot of different player actions.
Generally, achievements and any other aspect of life cause ambivalence.

There are those who like to farm "achievements", they can combine the most senseless and unnecessary modules in order to make the game more enjoyable or kill the boss in a certain way like standing on one leg, holding himself with his left hand on the right ear. And there are those who treat them "cool", or finding them boring.

Developer discussion:

CONS:

"I feel that achievements are really weird in games. Their goals are not always clear.

On the one hand, the allow to "hold the player's hand" through the game content. Such achievements are simple and clear, I never liked these: everyone who completed the game has them.

On the other hand, they can be really worth celebrating and striving for (not just spending a lot of time, but really trying.) If the game has only this kind of achievements and they cover all features of the game, getting all of them can be a real indication that the player "won" the game.

And yet there are achievements that just are there for no reason. "Complete the tutorial", "Kill the first enemy", "Buy something in the store." These can not be called achievements...".

      

PROS:

"... I myself am a big fan of achievements.

It seems to me that the name "Achievement" does not truly reflect the essence of the phenomenon, and is used more out of habit (in ancient times they really were achievements), but it is everywhere. On facebook, of all my friends, half of my friends are not, actually, friends, and more like "once saw them at a festival." And achievments are not really achievements, just some game tasks that need to be run through only once.

There are several types of achievements (and maybe even more):

- Enticing. These are the very first achievements in the game. They are given to the player to feel that he has achieved something. These can include "Complete the first level" and simply "Enter the game."

- Motivational. Their goal is to motivate the player to try all aspects of the game. These include "Play the tutorial," "Buy an item in the store."

- Alternative gameplay. Their goal is to hint that there are alternative or unusual methods of completing the game. For example, in Armageddon Riders there's an achievement "Win the race by destroying all opponents."

- Additional gameplay. Their aim is to complicate the task of completing content by artificially complicating it. Such as "Kill the boss without receiving damage from it," "Win the race, never touching any car."

- Statistical. Their goal is to just track your progress. Examples include "Earn 10-100-1000 money", "Kill 100-10000-1000000 enemies" and so on ... "

          

 

In any case, no matter what they thought achievements were, are and will be there today.

We on our part, we will hurry to congratulate players with fast delivery with "candy" on our shelves, and Super-testers and Beta-testers will get special candies. And we plan to fill up and make a list of possible achievements in the different categories and types.