Where do Xbox 360 Achievements come from? We’re going to find out, one game at a time.

First up, the Achievements of “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.” Last week I asked Infinity Ward’s Community Manager Robert Bowling via e-mail about the Achievements in “Call of Duty 4.” A fan of Achievements himself, Bowling and the team behind the best-selling title take Achievements very seriously:

“I don’t agree with Achievements that don’t require skill, like ‘Play multiplayer for 8 hours straight.’ That’s not an achievement, that’s a pain; it’s one of those Achievements people will typically get simply by starting up a game and just leaving it sit while they sleep.”

Bowling also goes on to talk about the lack of Achievements for online multiplayer, the hardest Achievement in “Call of Duty 4″ and his own “Achievement-cation” he recently took…

Multiplayer: Why are there no online Achievements for “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (or “Call of Duty 2″ for that matter)? Wouldn’t you want to encourage people to try to play all the different online multiplayer modes?

Bowling: Our motivation behind multiplayer is to encourage people to play all the different multiplayer modes, which is why we make every single mode in multiplayer fun. Play a fun game type — you’re going to tell a friend, and then he’s going to get his friend to play it. Now that’s how you get people to try out different aspects in your game, just make it appealing and fully enjoyable. For players hungry for unlockables and rewards in multiplayer, we have more personal goals called Challenges, which encourage you to use a variety of weapons and score you more XP and challenge-specific rewards. For example, use the M4 Carbine a lot and unlock more accessories for the M4 Carbine.

Multiplayer: How did you go about choosing Achievements for “Call of Duty 4″?

Bowling: We went about choosing our Achievements for “Call of Duty 4″ by going with what we knew worked, and adding on top of that. In that sense, we brought back the staple Achievements of completing single-player missions, and then the homage Achievements of beating the game on Veteran difficulty which is our “honor” badge for our hardcore players. In addition, we wanted to lighten it up and throw in plenty of action-specific Achievements, as well as throw something in for players like myself who love seeking out hidden items throughout the campaign. Essentially, we didn’t want to stray from the classic Achievements we had in “Call of Duty 2,” but at the same time wanted to add variety that appealed to a wide variety of gamers. So you can find all the hidden Enemy Intel and score an Achievement, and then also reward those who are quick on the reflexes for saving a certain soldier being ambushed, or stop a civilian from being executed to more typical “take down an enemy chopper with an RPG”-type rewards.

Multiplayer: What’s your process for choosing Achievements in general? What makes a good Achievement?

Bowling: Essentially Achievements fall into the same decision-making process as anything that goes into the game. Here at Infinity Ward, we like to get feedback from just about everyone, so we browse the forums, put out an open calling card around the studio to send in ideas, and essentially just play through the game as is and think of what deserves recognition. So say you’re playing through the game, and you get into one hell of a fire fight, taking guys down, run out of ammo, start using your pistol, run out of pistol ammo and start to knife melee your way out. You’d feel like a pretty big bad ass and would probably want to be awarded for such an achievement of skill. So we make note, talk about it later, see if it’s Achievement status-worthy and then decide.

Multiplayer: Some people say Achievements are a cheap way to make a game repayable. Do you agree or disagree?

Bowling: Achievements can totally be a cheap way to add replayability, but they can also be an legitimate way to expand the enjoyment of your game and reward the player for doing awesome things in the game. Just like with anything in game development, it can be done cheap, and it can be done right. It’s just a matter of making it right. For example, I don’t agree with Achievements that don’t require skill, like “Play multiplayer for 8 hours straight.” That’s not an achievement, that’s a pain; it’s one of those Achievements people will typically get simply by starting up a game and just leaving it sit while they sleep. I’m a big fan of skill-based Achievements, Achievements that require you to put effort forth and that you honestly feel accomplished once you’ve completed it. You feel like it was a hell of a fight, and you deserve every point you get for it.

Multiplayer: What do you think is the hardest Achievement in your game?

Bowling: The hardest Achievement in the game by far is the Mile High Club Achievement where you have to “Sky Dive to Safety on Veteran Difficulty.” Where typically, the Deep and Hard Achievement would be the hardest because it requires beating the entire game on Hardened or Veteran difficulty, the Mile High Club requires you to beat the most difficult level in the game, only on Veteran difficulty, in a very short amount of time. You essentially can’t miss a shot, no time to reload, and need to make zero mistakes to survive it.

Multiplayer: How do you feel about Achievements personally?

Bowling: I personally am in love with Achievements; I’ll do anything for that delicious score to rise on my gamer card — with the exception of playing sports games simply to boost it. However, children’s games are not above me. I love the feeling of playing a game, beating a level, or doing something that was really challenging in the game and then being instantly recognized for it with that “Achievement Unlocked.” I think they’ve added an awesome new layer of ways to pull the player into the game, giving players’ goals and things to look forward to. I recently had a vacation, which I lovingly dubbed my “Achievement-cation,” where I had one simple goal — to take the time to conquer all the games I had half-finished or never opened throughout development of “Call of Duty 4.” Achievements were a great way to gauge that progress.

Got an Achievement on your mind that you’d like to know more about? Let us know!