Rewards in Gameplay

Rewards are a major element of game design: They motivate the player to move on and keep playing the game in spite of obstacles, as well as outdoing any competitors, in order to achieve the reward at the end.

Rewards can be a lot of things, such as points, leveling up, cosmetic and practical gear, prestigious titles, narrative advancement, and any other things in the game that set goals for the player and help to move them forward.

It's very tricky to balance rewards and gameplay in a satisfactory manner. If the game is too difficult or tedious, the reward will very quickly lose all value and the player will lose interest. This is a common effect in MMO/RPGs, where leveling up becomes so difficult at a certain point that the player has to repeatedly "grind" activities they previously only needed to do one or two times.

If the reward is too easily obtained, on the other hand, the game will still lose its value as there is no challenge. The reward, regardless of how great it seems, will be worthless because the player can achieve it with nearly no effort.

As a result of the importance of this balance, how the game designer uses rewards can have a powerful effect on the success or failure of the game.