Guild Wars 2

So the Boss Week meta achievement requires 9 achievements. There are only five achievements available. The remaining 4 achievements can only be earned once per day via dailies. While this is not the most egregious form of time gating (I feel the time gating of Charged Quartz Crystals holds holds that dubious distinction), it does illustrate a disappointing shift in design philosophy.

Before this game launched, Colin Johanson said “What if your content-design motivations aren’t driven by the need to create mechanics that keep people playing as long as possible? When looking at content design for Guild Wars 2, we’ve tried to ask the question: What if the development of the game was based on…wait for it…fun? "

By show of hands, how many of you think time gating a meta achievement falls in line with “is it fun”? Okay, now how many of you think it falls in line with “the need to create mechanics that keep people playing as long as possible”?

The original idea was to develop fun and compelling content…the kind of content that players want to long in and experience. But more and more – with each installment of the Living Story – we’re seeing mechanics designed solely to “keep people playing as long a possible”…the exact opposite of what the developers set out to do.

I keep hoping the developers realize how far off course they’ve wandered and take measures to correct course, but it’s looking more and more like they’re all-in with time gating, skinner boxes, and treadmills. That’s unfortunate – from where I’m sitting – because the game was supposed to be one that moves away from those kinds of things.