A fun fusion of gaming and career

One theme that keeps popping up in my study of user experience is that of achievement reward systems.  You look at any task you would like a user to perform, and, no matter how mundane, you reward their achievement in some way.  This can even be something as simple as a meaningless list item in a long list of meaningless list items.

Companies have flirted with using this approach in real world activities, such as teeth brushing and bike riding.

In my mind, the three most important characteristics of a successful achievement reward system are:

1. Show users what is possible to achieve (list the achievements possible, and a clear explanation of how to achieve them)
2. Show users where they've been, what they've achieved, in a way that is satisfying.
3. Make sure the achievements can be obtained at a reasonably consistent and fast pace (you don't want people getting bored while trying to achieve one thing... keep the rewards flowing)

With this in mind, I got a kick out of the following link.  It is a list of achievements toward being an expert web developer, presented like a role-playing game skill tree.  You developer yourself along this tree's branches, with the end goal of becoming the web developer you desire to become.  This page even lets you choose your character portrait and name.  Great stuff.  I hope you enjoy.

Becoming a web developer via RPG skill tree