In these competitions, we like to include some little side quests or bonuses, styled after the Achievement Unlocked! meme of video games. Below are your very own Achievements to unlock while you work your way through the competition!
These achievements are self-claimed. When you feel like you've met the criteria for the achievement, then claim it as your own accomplishment! (Most people list their achievements in their game's development thread, but it's not required.)
This list is not exhaustive. If you feel like you've done something that deserves recognition (or a self-deprecating dubious award about new creative ways you wasted time) add a new post with the achievement so everybody else can claim it too!
Accomplishments
Leveled Up: You learned something that you didn't know that you can reuse in other games or other programs.
Prototype: You have something that could loosely be called a working game.
Victory: Beat your game for the first time!
The Great Unveiling: Provide a download for your game.
Additions: Add at least one game feature that you weren't planning on or didn't think you had time for.
Seeing the Matrix: Share your source code with the people in the competition via GitHub, BitBucket, or a simple download.
Goals
Taking Aim: Set a goal for yourself for one week (or the full length of the competition).
Claim Adjuster: Change a goal during the competition after seeing it not go so well.
Stay On Target: Take the time to re-evaluate your goals during the competition, and determine that they're working.
Failures
Law of Live Demos: You show your WIP to somebody. Something goes horribly wrong.
Happy Accident: You accidentally create a bug that leads to humorous results. Post the video or screenshot in the Happy Accident thread.
Time Machine: Worked for over an hour on code that you rip out.
"Research": You spend a few hours playing a game when you should have been making one.
Monday: The entire weekend went by and you didn't get any programming done.
Wait, We Were Supposed to Make a Game?: Go for a full week without spending any time on the game.
Insufficient Vespene Gas: Eliminate at least one game feature due to time pressure or lack of programming knowledge.
Game Features
Game Over: You add the ability for players to lose the game. (Also, you just lost the game.)
Gratuitous Blood: Your explosions and deaths result in far more destruction than is necessary or even believable.
A Box Without Hinges: Create an Easter Egg and hide it somewhere in your game.
Konamified: Make the Konami Code do something interesting in your game.
Special Thanks: Create a credits screen which list all those who have contributed to your project.
Plot Whole: Create a story (however simple) and implement it into your game.
I'm Sorry, Dave. I'm Afraid I Can't Do That. Add an AI enemy, opponent, or component to your game. It doesn't have to be any good.
Two Can Play This Game! You make your game multiplayer (same computer/device, LAN, or Internet all count).
Heads Up: Add a Head-up Display or other UI overlay to your game.
Widget Factory: Add a UI of some sort to your game, with buttons, sliders, check boxes, etc.
Programming
Head Banger: Use recursion in some form in one of your games.
Jurassic Programming - While making your game run into a situation where you must add a ton of code lines to get something to work. (IE: adding points into a collision detection array) - "I wrote a million lines of code to run this park!"
Less is More: Lines of code ain't everything. Sometimes, the best solution is to refactor to eliminate redundant lines of code, leaving you with less but better designed code. Do this and unlock this achievement.
Art and Sound
It's Just Temporary: You put in artwork in your game that you claim is temporary, until you or your friend can provide you with better art.
8 is Enough: Use old school 8 bit graphics or sound/music in your work. Could also be a midi file on the music side.
Hang it on the Fridge: You create at least one piece of art (sound, texture, model, sprite, etc.) for your project.
*Artistic:* You create four pieces of art for your game.
Vincent van Gogh:You create 10 pieces of art for your game.
I'm a Lover, Not an Artist!: You get all, or most of your work, from online sources and do very little of your own artwork.
Silence is Not Golden: Add sound effects or background music to your game. 8 is Enough optional.
Progress
1 Hour: You spend at least 1 hour working on your game during the competition.
10 Hours: You spend at least 10 hours working on your game during the competition.
25 Hours: You spend at least 25 hours working on your game during the competition.
50 Hours: You spend at least 50 hours working on your game during the competition.
100 Hours: You spend at least 100 hours working on your game during the competition.
½KLOC: Your game reaches 500 lines of code. You're off to a great start!
1KLOC: Your game reaches 1000 lines of source code. Making progress! Excellent!
2KLOC: Your game reaches 2000 lines of source code. Keep it up!
3KLOC: Your game reaches 3000 lines of source code. Your game definitely has some weight behind it!
5KLOC: Your game reaches 5000 lines of source code. Well done!
10KLOC: Your game reaches 10000 lines of code. That is a lot of zeroes! And it's 16 in binary! (That makes it sound… rather unimpressive!)
15KLOC: Your game reaches 15000 lines of source code. Are you programming in your sleep or something?
20KLOC: Your game reaches 20000 lines of source code. Are you just copying and pasting lines of code to unlock achievements?
25KLOC: Your game reaches 25000 lines of source code. OK, you must be cheating. How are you writing this much code?
Miscellaneous
Applying Research: Spend at least an hour programming when you should be doing something else.
Moral Support: Leave a comment on somebody else's game thread with (constructive) feedback.
3 AM Code Fest: You spend several hours programming your game between the hours of midnight and 6 AM. Beer and pizza optional.
Back of the Line: Don't get started until the competition is well underway.
The Thinker: Spend a hour thinking through a complicated piece of code and get it right first try.
The Tinker: Fiddle with a complicated piece of code and get it to work only after a lot of failed tweaks.
Way to Brag: Claim at least 15 achievements.
The Buddy System: Spend all or part of the challenge building a game in a team.
Lonely: Program on a Friday or Saturday evening.
Change Of Plans: You stop making the game you originally entered and instead enter a new one. Whether you got bored, stuck, or whatever, the whole point is to have fun and make something you like!
Thinking Ahead: Spend time before the start of the competition planning your game.
Open Invitation
This list is not intended to be comprehensive (despite being "official"). If you come up with something else that you think is deserving of recognition or note, please help us add to this list by posting below.