Why rewards always devalue the game experience

by Xenos , Shores of Time, Sunday, April 21, 2013, 12:34 (4240 days ago) @ RaichuKFM

One's motivation to do something fun doesn't necessarily impact how fun it is. Ultimately, the motivation in both cases is to have fun. Triumphing over adversity is a type of fun, having something shiny to show off is another. You can't make a statement about which is better, and neither can I. Fun is subjective, and you can't make such generalizations.

That is a good point. There have been occasions where I came home from work at 10pm, turned on Reach and was too exhausted to decide what to do so just did the mission in the daily challenge. Normally I decide what I want to do but there are times you need a nudge, whether it be exhaustion or lack of creativity in general. I think the real difference comes down to finding a way to help the player find unique experiences through these kinds of encouragement rather than just finding bonus XP. An interesting challenge to be sure, but I think for the percentage that have limited time to play games, it could be the difference between a game they like and a game they spend all their free time on.