What is an “Unlockable” or “Award”?
An “Unlockable” or “Award” is a goal within a video game that is identified and granted to the player once they meet some specific criteria within the game based on gameplay, the awarding of which alters the in-game experience in some way and/or provides something demonstrable to the player. Examples include additional costumes, cars, weapons, in-game items, hidden levels, avatar awards, etc. Unlockables and awards differ from accomplishments (such as achievements and trophies) in that an unlockable or award provides something demonstrable to the player within the game (or within the game system, as in the case of avatar awards), while an accomplishment does not provide anything in-game other than a notification that the accomplishment has been met. It is possible for an accomplishment to result in the unlocking of an award, but even in those cases, the two are still defined independently.
