Implementing Achievements and Trophies in Unity Games

Achievements and trophies in the world of gaming are not just items of decoration; they can be very enabling features in adding gamer engagement and satisfaction. They can entice people to search, master game mechanics, and create a good sense of community among players. This article serves as a comprehensive guide for implementing achievements and trophies in Unity games, from design considerations to technical implementation on cross-platforms.

Why implement achievements and trophies?

More Player Engagement

Achievements provide a reason to play and check all minute details of a game. It gives objectives other than the main storyline, hence interesting players to spend more time on your game.

Feeling of Achievement Vindication

Unlocking achievements provides a real sense of achievement for players. This will increase customer retention and leads to happiness of the player

End Replay Value

Players will frequently revisit the game to unlock all achievements or trophies, thus significantly increasing the time spent playing your game.

Creating a Sense of Community

Achievements can also create friendly competition with other players as the player may post their achieved titles on social media or as part of leader boards.

Creating Your Achievements

Step 1: Define Your Achievements

As tempting as it is to jump right into implementation, there is much to be said about defining your achievements before the fact:

Kinds of Achievements:

• Achievements of Progression: Given for completing a level or milestone (e.g. “Complete Level 1”).
• Exploration Achievements: Challenge players to find missing items e.g., “Find All Hidden Treasures”.
• Skill-Based Achievements: Challenge the player to master some kind of gameplay mechanic e.g., “Score a Perfect”, from here on referred to as “Percentage Perfect”.

Progression:

• Will achievements be incremental (e.g. gather 10 coins), or one-shot events (e.g. kill the boss).

Visuals:

• Create unique icons for each achievement. Use tools such as Adobe Illustrator, or free alternatives like Inkscape to create visually appealing icons representing the theme of the achievement.

Step 2: Choose Your Backend

There are a few ways you could do achievements in Unity:

• Steamworks: Really good for games going out on PC via Steam.
• Google Play Services: Really good for Android games.
• Apple Game Center: Really good for iOS.
• AWS GameKit: This is great and it works really well as a cross-platform solution with excellent cloud-based management.
• Custom Backend: If you have different needs, go ahead and implement your own using services like Firebase or PlayFab.

Technical Implementation

Step 3: Implementing Achievements With Steamworks

If your game is going to target Steam, start here:

A. Getting Started With Steamworks

• Create a Steamworks Account: Register at Steamworks.
• Develop Your Game: After approval, create an app for your game.
• Achievements Management: In the Steamworks dashboard, go to Achievements.

B. Creating Achievements

Define Achievements:

• Create unique ids, such as ACH_WIN_GAME.
• Set names and descriptions that will be shown to players.
• Upload achievement icons in 256×256 pixel or any other size you want.

Publish Changes : After you made your achievements, so they become available within your game.

C. Adding Achievements to Unity

Install Steamworks.NET:

Download and import the Steamworks.NET library into your Unity project.

Initialize Steamworks

In your main script, initialize Steamworks:

   using Steamworks;

   public class SteamManager : MonoBehaviour
   {
       private void Start()
       {
           if (!SteamAPI.Init())
           {
               Debug.LogError("SteamAPI Init Failed!");
               return;
           }
           Debug.Log("SteamAPI Initialized");
       }

       private void OnDestroy()
       {
           SteamAPI.Shutdown();
       }
   }

3. Unlocking Achievements:
   Use the following code snippet to unlock an achievement:

   public class AchievementManager : MonoBehaviour
   {
       // Call this method when you want to unlock an achievement
       public void UnlockAchievement(string achievementId)
       {
           if (SteamManager.Initialized) // Check if Steam is initialized
           {
               SteamUserStats.SetAchievement(achievementId);
               bool success = SteamUserStats.StoreStats(); // Store stats on Steam
               if (success)
                   Debug.Log($"Achievement {achievementId} unlocked!");
               else
                   Debug.LogError("Failed to store stats.");
           }
           else
           {
               Debug.LogWarning("Steam is not initialized.");
           }
       }
   }

4. Example Usage:
   Call UnlockAchievement("ACH_WIN_GAME") when the player completes the game:

   // Example call when the player wins
   public void PlayerWins()
   {
       UnlockAchievement("ACH_WIN_GAME");
   }

Step 4: Publish Achievements With Google Play Services

For Android games,

A. Setting Up Google Play Console

• Create your Google Play Console Account: Sign up at Google Play Console.
• Setup your game: this is where you create a new application for your game.
• Go to Game Services: Go to the “Game Services” section and activate achievements.

B. Adding Achievements

Define Achievements:

• You would be able to create unique identifiers (e.g. achievement_collect_10_coins).
• You would be able to set names and descriptions that would be displayed to players.

Save Changes: Once you have defined your achievements, save them in the console.

Adding Achievements to Unity

Add the Google Play Games Plugin for Unity:

• Download the Google Play Games Plugin and add it to your project.

Initialize Google Play Services:

From your main script, initialize Google Play Services :

   using GooglePlayGames;
   using GooglePlayGames.BasicApi;

   public class PlayGamesManager : MonoBehaviour
   {
       private void Start()
       {
           PlayGamesPlatform.Activate();
           Social.localUser.Authenticate((bool success) => {
               if (success)
               {
                   Debug.Log("Authenticated with Google Play!");
               }
               else
               {
                   Debug.LogError("Authentication failed.");
               }
           });
       }
   }

3. Unlocking Achievements:
   Use the following code snippet to unlock an achievement:

public class AchievementManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public void UnlockAchievement(string achievementId)
    {
        Social.ReportProgress(achievementId, 100f, (bool success) => {
            if (success)
                Debug.Log($"Achievement {achievementId} unlocked!");
            else
                Debug.LogError($"Failed to unlock achievement {achievementId}.");
        });
    }
}

4. Example Usage:
   Call UnlockAchievement("achievement_collect_10_coins") when the player collects 10 coins:

// Example call when player collects coins
public void CollectCoin()
{
    // Increment coin count logic here...
    UnlockAchievement("achievement_collect_10_coins");
}

Step 5: Implementing Apple Game Center for iOS Games

For iOS games, you can use Apple’s Game Center:

A. Setting Up Game Center

1. Create an Apple Developer Account: Sign up at Apple Developer.
2. Setup Your App ID: In the Apple Developer Console, make an App ID for your game.
3. Enable Game Center Features: Allow Game Center under App Services.

B. Adding Achievements

1. Define Achievements in App Store Connect:
   • Access My Apps > Your App > Features > Game Center.
   • Add new achievements with unique identifiers (like com.yourcompany.yourgame.collect10coins).

C. Integrating Achievements in Unity

1. Use Unity’s Built-in Support for Game Center:

using UnityEngine.SocialPlatforms;

public class GameCenterManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public void Authenticate()
    {
        Social.localUser.Authenticate((bool success) => {
            if (success)
                Debug.Log("Authenticated with Game Center!");
            else
                Debug.LogError("Authentication failed.");
        });
    }

    public void UnlockAchievement(string achievementId)
    {
        Social.ReportProgress(achievementId, 100f, (bool success) => {
            if (success)
                Debug.Log($"Achievement {achievementId} unlocked!");
            else
                Debug.LogError($"Failed to unlock achievement {achievementId}.");
        });
    }
}

Step 6: Implementing AWS GameKit for Cloud-Based Achievements

If you prefer a cloud-based solution, AWS GameKit is an excellent choice:

A. Setting Up AWS GameKit

1. Install AWS GameKit Plugin for Unity:
   • Follow the instructions on AWS GameKit Documentation to install it into your Unity project.
2. Configure AWS Credentials:
   • Open the AWS GameKit menu in Unity and configure your environment and credentials.

B. Defining Achievements

1. Open Achievement Configuration:
   • In the AWS GameKit settings, navigate to “Configure Data” under Identity and Authentication.
2. Add Achievement Details:
   • Enter titles, icons, and rules for earning each achievement.
3. Save Achievement Definitions:
   • Save your configurations after entering all necessary details.

C. Integrating Achievements in Unity

1. Using AWS SDK Methods:

using Amazon.GameLift;
using Amazon.GameLift.Model;

public class AchievementManager : MonoBehaviour
{
    public async void UnlockAchievement(string achievementId)
    {
        var request = new UpdateAchievementRequest
        {
            AchievementId = achievementId,
            PlayerId = "player-id", // Replace with actual player ID
            Progress = 100 // Set progress to 100% for unlocking
        };

        try 
        {
            var response = await GameLiftClient.UpdateAchievementAsync(request);
            Debug.Log($"Achievement {achievementId} unlocked successfully!");
        } 
        catch (Exception e) 
        {
            Debug.LogError($"Failed to unlock achievement {achievementId}: {e.Message}");
        }
    }
}

Test Your Achievements

Whichever platform you choose, you should test:

• Debug Unlock: Include debug logs to ensure that achievements unlock as you would expect when playing
• Verify UI Integration: Ensure the achievements appear as expected in any UI you may have created
• Test on multiple devices/platforms: If possible, run this across several devices or platforms to confirm consistency and outcome

Best Practices for Implementing Achievements and Trophies

• Maintain The Balance

That is, not too easy or hard; it should set something at a middle level exciting to explore without frustration.

• Provide Correct Descriptions

For each achievement, there must be clear descriptions so that players know what to do to unlock an achievement.

• Proper Utilization of Graphics

Effective icons for achievements use, which represents the task pretty well; this is one more bonus satisfaction at the unlocking end for the players.

• Eye on Player Feedback

After you have released your game, listen to the feedback from players regarding achievements; you can therefore amend some or even introduce new ones depending on the interest of your players.

• Periodic Updates

Introduce new achievements after some period through updates; this keeps the gamer even when all the achievements have been completed.

Conclusion

Note: this is not an implementation of a single feature, but really enhances player engagement and satisfaction while giving meaningful goals within your game world. Following this tutorial that is packed with detailed examples and explanations, you should now have a solid grasp on how to appropriately integrate different types of achievement systems into your Unity projects.

Carefully planning and execution should lead to a great experience for players to bring them into every nook and corner of your game, while instilling a feeling of pride and keeping them reeling back for more! Cheers to developing!re! Happy developing!