Mirror’s Edge achievement designer calls them “bad for gaming”

Achievement and Trophy hunters won’t be very happy with what Fredrik Thylander has to say. The designer behind all of the achievements in Mirror’s Edge during his tenure at DICE has spoken up against the concept, considering that they’re harmful for gaming. On Twitter, the developer shared the “unpopular opinion” that creating this kind of extra challenges for a game consumes time and energy that would be better spent on raising the title’s quality.

“Unpopular opinion : achievements/trophies have been bad for gaming. It narrows games down, it disrupts and diverts attention, and it eats resources that could have made the game better.” Clear and concise, the developer who currently works in Ubisoft Massive Entertainment for the The Division franchise revealed that he worked on the Mirror’s Edge achievements alongside Henrik Johanson.

Achievements and Trophies are basically in every platform

Do you agree? Ever since Microsoft introduced Achievements, virtually every other video game company has added a similar mechanic to their own platforms and games. Many users are now dedicated to obtaining, if not every, as many trophies as possible. It’s become a social activity, if only for the goal of getting more bragging rights amongst your peers.

Mirror’s Edge is now considered by many a cult classic, even receiving a second title for PS4, Xbox One, and PC. The title was developed by EA DICE, creators of Battlefield, and offered a first person parkour adventure that was revolutionary in its time.

As of this moment, Electronic Arts has shown no signs of a franchise revival. It’s clear that this decision comes from sales numbers, and not achievements lists. But who knows, maybe some day in the future we’ll see Faith jumping between building roofs once more.

Source | Fredrik Thylander (Twitter)