Achievements — system-level awards for certain game play goals — are explicit metagames. Many players find that they are substantially less rewarding than the metagames they create for themselves. Part of the fun of a meta-game [vs. in-game achievements, jm] is not knowing if it’s even technically possible to accomplish your goal. It’s “Jump the van over the river: 30 points” vs. “Can I get this beat-up van with a popped tire to go fast enough to jump over that river? Let’s find out!” One is following instructions, the other is invention.
— from metagames and containers - part webdesign experiment and part excellent read on “metagames” - the games we create “using out-of-game information, or resources, to affect one’s in-game decisions.”
