MMORPGs have this way of turning everyone into the stereotypical women trying on clothes at the mall. Suddenly, you care about clothes matching more than ever before. Some of my favorite memories of Phantasy Star Universe is getting just the right combination of clothes. Similalry, I’m currently beta testing a game whose “armor” and “helms” are pure appearance, and stat bonuses come from elsewhere. I still drop thousands of “dollars” on the armor I want, because it’s rewarding to see my avatar look cool.

This appearance satisfaction is a type of player reward. Titles, badges, fireworks, achievements, and non-combat pets are all player rewards too. In contrast to character rewards, which almost always affect gameplay and game balance.

Today’s Blog Post Spotlight comes from Spinksville. The article is titled Rewarding the Character vs Rewarding the Player and it’s a great insight into what really motivates people.