CE Wiki

Objectives ​

Objectives usually consist in one or several challenges grouped together under a game. Completing its requirements will award you the objective if you both can prove it and own the game.

We follow the DIRE framework, which stands for "Developer Intended, Recognized, or Encouraged" - this is the overarching criteria for an objective to be point-valued on the site.

Objectives in games tend to be ordered top-to-bottom, with the intended progression meant to be starting from the bottom and climbing up.
In some rare cases, objectives may be grouped according to modes, but the objectives inside these modes will be sorted as previously described.

Primary Objectives (POs) ​

Challenges presented by the developer of a game in an unambiguous manner, aligning with the DIRE framework. Typically in forms associated with primary gameplay progression.

Examples of POs include:

  • Steam achievements, Playstation Trophies, XBOX Achievements. Any achievement that was published by the developer of the game.
  • Completing difficulties and modes (that terminate).
  • Assigned unambiguous thresholds of competency (grades, medals, ranks, badges). May be paired with difficulties and modes. For example, two modes, - Campaign and Boss Rush, both have Normal and Hard difficulties, the player is awarded a grade based on performance from D-A, A ranks would be PO in both modes on Hard. These do not need to be permanent.
  • Readily accessed physical content that is not deeply hidden or obscure. Bonus levels.
  • Tracked collectables (the collectables must be permanent, a mode that terminates itself under criteria other than intentional manual deletion are exempt).
  • Completing a 1CC (1 credit clear) if doing so is displayed somewhere permanently as having been completed. In some cases it may be ambiguous enough to be SO, even with permanent recognition.

Secondary Objectives (SOs) ​

Recency of SOs on the site

Secondary objectives were officially introduced in April 2026. The scope of 'what is an SO' will continue to develop as additional examples are brought to the team.

The list of examples below is not expected to be exhaustive, and the examples may be further expanded upon or restricted as additional edge cases are worked through.

Anything that can be argued to fall within DIRE that is not immediately obvious or may be ambiguous to most players, or unambiguous but highly indirect forms of gameplay progression.

Examples are included below, with an attempt to categorise existing rulings under common broad headings:

Gameplay characteristics ​

The following gameplay characteristics are eligible as a basis for inclusion as an SO:

  • Collecting impermanent collectables.
  • Item/weapon unlocks that are not explicitly tracked collectables.
  • Accessing developer-placed Easter eggs (within reason).
  • Levels behaving differently based on a specific and unique play pattern.
  • Ambiguous rewards based on performance (eg: impermanent minor changes in cutscenes).

Different playable characters ​

Completing existing PO content with alternate characters (or ships, or similar) is eligible for inclusion as SO, subject to the other character(s) playing noticeably differently such as to impact the difficulty.

This does not pair with thresholds of competency (medals / ranks / grades / 1CC completions / etc) unless:

  • uniquely tracked in some way (eg: medals on a character selection screen, or achievements), or
  • the thresholds of competency are balanced by-character.

It is worth noting that any such objective has the possibility to be promoted to PO if there is an unambiguous reward for specifically completing a feat with all characters.

Developer encouragement ​

The following examples of developer encouragement are eligible as a basis for inclusion as an SO:

  • Challenges presented by a developer through the platform in which the game was published on. This includes:
    • Developer made content through the Steam Workshop, with encouragement to attempt it found consistently and unambiguously within the game (i.e. not a developer post on Twitter, text in a Steam update, etc)
    • Challenges seen in officially published game manuals.
  • Placement on a leaderboard found in game (the existence of a leaderboard acts as an official encouragement to place on the leaderboard)
  • Bonuses obtained through performance that are not directly associated with grades/ranks (eg: 1-ups, extra lives, etc. if obtaining the bonus is hard enough)
  • Beating pre-loaded high scores / times that are set by the dev and consistently visible in a context where beating them is encouraged.
    • Disc Room's dev times do not appear when offline, and with enough friends with the game they can be buried pages deep on the leaderboards. These are not consistently visible, and therefore not eligible for an SO.
    • Super Lumi Live's author (dev) ghosts are consistently presented within the replays/ghosts page, and can be raced against. This is eligible for an SO.
    • Kururin Squash!'s Super Guide times are viewable in a movie theatre, separate to the levels. They are not presented as a time to beat, but rather, an example of how to move quickly through a level. Whilst consistently presented, the context in which it is presented means dev encouragement to beat the time is not deemed to be present, and is not eligible for an SO.
    • In addition to the above examples, developer's best times (or fewest deaths, high score etc) presented in the credits of a game are deemed to be 'encouragement' to beat the time/deaths/score. As they are presented consistently, beating these is considered eligible for an SO.

Modifiers ​

The term 'run' is used below, and in this context it refers to any discrete gameplay loop entered into from a default starting point. Example situations, all referred to as a 'run' here, include:

  • starting a 'new game' in a game where there is a continuous story that cannot be selected by 'chapter',
  • commencing an individual level in a game where these levels are self-contained and not presented as segments of a larger intended gameplay loop,
  • commencing an individual song from a list of songs in a rhythm game.

Where a modifier is:

  • only selectable before a run starts, and
  • cannot be changed or turned off mid-run, and
  • intended or presented to the player as a means of making the run more challenging

then beating the game with just that modifier (and no other modifiers) would be eligible as an SO, contingent on it being possible to fail the run.
For example, a rhythm game that allows the player to reach the end of the selected song without any inputs would not be eligible to have modifiers as grounds for SO.

Modifier combinations

The existence of multiple modifiers that can be enabled at the same time is not, in and of itself, considered developer encouragement.

Combinations of modifiers are not grounds for inclusion as an SO.

If there is other specific indication of developer intent or encouragement for their combination (eg: a reward/achievement for toggling on a certain number of modifiers), this will most likely fall into the PO categorisation.

Modifier considerations: ​

  • Where there are multiple difficulties present, the application of a modifier is assumed to be made on the highest difficulty.
  • How the modifier is presented in-game factors into the objective's viability: for instance, if the modifier is presented before the start of each level/run, instead of being found several layers deep into a settings menu, there is a clearer intent to beat levels with the modifier.
  • Where a single modifier has minimal discrete, and finite, thresholds that can be set, the maximum threshold for that single modifier would be the basis for SO-eligibility.
  • Modifiers with a sliding-scale, with more than minimal discrete options selectable, are NOT considered SO-eligible absent other developer encouragement (eg: explicitly-coded ranks/accolades/similar for meeting certain modifier thresholds).
    • This may include modifiers for playable character HP or speed, enemy HP or speed, song speed, etc.

Developer-curated community-made content ​

CE eligibility for developer-curated content can only be stretched to the limit of beating the content, absent specific further developer effort made to recognise or encourage feats beyond just completion.

Any additional challenges or modifications to featured/curated content (in any game) is a byproduct of the user setting those limitations, or piggybacking off of a static feature the developers created across all content, user-created or otherwise.

Examples of features relating to curated community-made content that would not be eligible for inclusion as an SO, absent other in-game recognition or encouragement by the developers:

  • [Static-feature] Achieving a judgement-based grade, where the grade is intrinsic to the mechanics of the game. Examples include:
    • A 'full combo' or 'all perfect judgements' outcome in a rhythm game
    • A 'max grade' in where the grade does not depend on user-input (eg: an 'SS' in Dustforce)
  • [User-set feature] Beating a user-set threshold for a feature rewarded in the underlying game. Examples include:
    • A time-based, or death/lives-based, threshold that awards a medal/rank/grade
      (eg: a diamond medal in Trials Rising, based on time or faults within a theoretical curated user-made track)
    • Number of portals used in user-created challenges in the game Portal

For a challenge within user created content to be viable as an SO, it needs to:

  • have been balanced in some way by the developers, or
  • interacted with by the developers beyond simply 'being curated', or
  • presented in such a way that there is explicit developer recognition or encouragement for achieving the user-set challenge.

Examples of the above include:

  • A Dance of Fire and Ice - the speed trial lanterns (a reward for completing a level without checkpoints at a pre-determined speed multiplier) on curated levels.
    • The dev team has been noted as assisting the build/inclusion of curated/featured levels, and adjusting the speed trial requirements for inclusion in the 'featured levels' section of the game
  • Exoracer - achieving author medals for 'seasonal' levels (dev-curated user levels used for PvP 'seasons', with user-set medal times)
    • Achieving user-set time thresholds is typically not viable for SO. However, the user profile page has a distinct section for 'seasonal levels' (as separate to 'custom levels') - with the finite list of seasonal levels, and a discrete and prominent set of medal stats specific to the curated levels, this acts as developer encouragement for obtaining all author medals and pushes the objective to SO.

There are two primary mechanisms for curation, each of which have different considerations that apply to SO eligibility:

User content pre-installed with the game ​

How pre-installed community-made content is presented within a game is critically important to how it is categorised on the site.

Where community-made content is presented as core game content and not distinguished as 'curated' or 'community' content, this would fall as PO. Examples include:

If presented and labelled as Community/User-created and curated/featured content, it can be no more than SO. Examples include:

  • Dustforce's CMP (Accessible level set labelled as "Community map pack" in-game)
  • VVVVVV's 'levels' menu content (the "levels" menu separate to the "play" menu with the main game, with menu text "to install new player levels [...]")
  • A Dance of Fire and Ice's featured levels

In the case of VVVVVV, obtaining all trinkets in a custom level prefixes an extra asterisk (*) to the level. This recognition is a static feature of the 'levels' menu (any level in this menu will attract the asterisk if it is beaten with all trinkets). As a result, the asterisk does not in-itself suggest developer-encouragement to obtain all trinkets in the pre-installed content (therefore, just beating the levels would be grounds for SO).

Hypothetically, for both Dustforce and VVVVVV, if there were a user profile within the game that tracked how many pre-installed levels had been completed with an SS rank / with all trinkets, this could be argued as developer recognition / encouragement, and may be eligible as an SO.

Curated content in games designed for UGC ​

Games that enable the creation of community-made content which is then curated by the developers is a further abstraction from the above.

In principle, if there is a prominent mechanism within the game that denotes a developer's encouragement to play particular levels, then completion (only, absent further recognition/encouragement) of the levels would be eligible as an SO.

However, if the regularity or quantity of the curations mean the list of curated levels becomes untenably large, then completion of 'all' levels cannot reasonably be argued for as an SO.

For example, I Wanna Maker has regular dev-curated playlists, containing any number of user-created levels. The sheer volume of levels curated, however, makes this not reasonable as an SO (the quantity of levels devalues the 'value' of the curation).
However, there are also curated 'yearly mixes' that happen with far less frequency; for this particular game, this yearly mix curation strikes a middle ground between encouragement and quantity, and has been deemed the only set of dev curations eligible to be an SO.

Obscure game difficulties ​

If a difficulty would be selected or triggered in a way that differs too much from standard difficulties found within the same game, then completing those should by default be considered SO.

For example, if you initiate "Normal" and "Hard" difficulty by selecting them at the start of a game, but can only attempt "Cataclysmic" difficulty by entering a hidden menu, a beta branch, a menu for alternative/untested/unintended modes, etc. then doing anything with respect to "Cataclysmic" difficulty in this example would be considered SO.

Any challenges normally paired with difficulties that are defined as PO (earning ranks, collectibles, boss rush etc.) for SO-based difficulties are themselves also fair game for SO.

A notable example would be Rabi-Ribi, which has several hidden difficulties - a PO for beating Boss Rush on the highest normally-selectable difficulty is also present as an SO for each of the (harder) hidden difficulties. Completing all Primary Objectives in a game is the basis for completion. This also requires all 0-point primary objectives (whether uncleared or unvalued) if they exist.

One credit clear (1CC) ​

Completing a game in a single life/credit is not of-itself a means for a 1CC objective to be eligible beyond a Community Objective.

For a 1CC objective's eligibility as an SO, then one of the following criteria needs to be met:

  • If failing would result in some penalty, such as:
    • Score being reset
    • Being locked out of an alternate route
    • An on-screen indication that the game is over or that you have failed somehow
  • If successfully completing a 1CC, and '1CC' (or similar recognition) is displayed temporarily upon completion.
  • A score bonus is applied for having completed the game in one credit.

In all cases, the SO may be paired with difficulty (typically, the highest difficulty), but may not be paired with multiple characters/weapon types/ships/etc unless tracked in-game at that granularity.

SO criteria under consideration ​

  • Solo mode completions in games built for multiplayer where singleplayer is a selectable option (under consideration)
  • Rhythm ranks/grades which require timing/accuracy higher than that of an FC (subject to consideration / further refinement).
  • Quality-impacted objectives that would otherwise fall as PO
    • Examples currently on the site include OCO, and Reckpunk
  • Reaching the end of unique hand-placed/created obstacles that exceeds the point where the maximum reward is given to a player (eg: the Trials series skill games). How this is presented to the player is important, and the general write-up of relevant scenarios is pending.

Community Objectives (COs) ​

COs are objectives that would be recognized on the site if they hypothetically fell within the DIRE framework, and are not otherwise PO or SO. You can imagine this as the community recognizing a challenge rather than the developer. Otherwise, these still follow some of the same rules as other objective types.

Examples:

  • ✅ Community recognized milestones, such as a sub-30 minute Celeste speedrun, or 1100 in Devil Daggers.

  • ✅ Reaching the end, or otherwise maxing out something that is not developer recognized and is not an SO (Kill screen in arcade games, 150/100 purple coins in Mario Galaxy, etc.).

  • ✅ Stand-out modded content that is expansive enough to be worth a badge (such as Strawberry Jam in Celeste, or the pale court mod in Hollow Knight).

  • ✅ Self-imposed challenges, such as obtaining all collectibles during a YOLO.

  • ✅ Mode/Modifier combinations that don't fall under DIRE or are not otherwise PO/SO (Hades 64 Heat).

  • ✅ Objectives that do fall under DIRE, but are not PO/SO for reasons such as redundancy, or low overall difficulty (such as Balatro's completionist achievements - Although these meet the 5 point threshold and are unique challenges, the amount of effort and grind required for such a low amount of points simply isn't worth having these be PO required for completion).

  • ✅ Beating a static developer time that is not recognized in-game or a well known speedrun time (such as the Splodey event record).

  • ✅ Obtaining all RetroAchievements, as these typically include content that is not recognized by the original developers.

  • ✅ Milestones for harder objectives (such as doing all zones separately as practice for a tougher YOLO objective, where doing the individual zones/checkpoints deathless is not developer recognized)

  • ✅ Dev-created content that is no longer present in the latest version of a game. This could be in the form of content that is no longer officially available (eg: TrackMania² Canyon's Platform campaign), developer times that were previously harder and subsequently nerfed in the latest version (the current developer times would be eligible as PO), or similar.

  • 🚫 PVP or other Dynamic Challenges, as even though these can fall under DIRE, the experience will differ for every player and doesn't provide a consistent challenge. (Subject to consideration)

  • 🚫 Challenges that do not meet the 5 point threshold for difficulty on the site

  • 🚫 Excessive grind that doesn't offer anything new (Such as beating a game 50 times where it's the same experience/challenge every time.)

  • 🚫 Exceedingly arbitrary goals, at the discretion of the CO team

Note that there may be exceptions to these rules at the discretion of the CO and game additions teams, and these guidelines do not necessarily cover every possible CO that could be added to the site. Especially in regards to grind, repetition, and whether these objectives reach the 5 point threshold, there may be certain objectives that "toe the line", but are deemed acceptable for a number of reasons at the discretion of the CO team.

Difficulty thresholds

Whilst objectives falling under the CO designation do not need to adhere to the DIRE framework, they still need to meet a notional '5 point' level of difficulty to be included as an objective.

FAQ ​

"What does uncleared mean? What are uncleared objectives?" ​

You may find some games with primary or secondary objectives listed with a value of 0 points.

These are objectives that we know exist for a game, but they haven't yet:

  • been cleared by anyone within the CE community (even if it may have been cleared by someone outside of CE), and as such have not been valued; or
  • been assigned a value. This could be driven by one of a number of factors, such as being a recent completion, being unable to make a solid assessment of points, or awaiting discussion/other clears.

"What counts as a completion?" ​

Only completing all Primary Objectives in a game is enough for a completion. This also requires all 0-point primary objectives (whether uncleared or unvalued) if they exist.

If you complete all Secondary Objectives, you will be awarded their points and an "overcompletion" in the game leaderboard, but it doesn't show up anywhere else other than your game list.

If you have completed some Secondary Objectives, but have not completed all Primary Objectives, it is not considered complete. This is true even if you have earned more points than are available from POs!

Completing any/all Community Objectives in a game does not contribute to a game's completion status.

"There's this RetroAchievement achievement ..." ​

RetroAchievement (RA) sets may be created by "set developers" but they are not the game's developers. The existence of an achievement on RA does not, in and of itself, act as grounds for inclusion as a PO/SO.

If an RA achievement happens to align with our DIRE criteria and has no abstract/extra requirements, then it's welcomed! In fact, due to RA sets having cheat protection, an RA achievement can act as a solid proof method.

"There has been a proof change in an achievement-based objective but I still own it?" ​

Usually this happens because we have "grandfathered" you in as a token of good gesture, so that you don't have to replay the game if it's not mandatory. Most likely, the objective or the game has not changed, but something has been found that requires the submission of proof for any future clearers.

There have been rare cases, usually entire game overhauls, where we won't grandfather previous clearers of objectives, so it's not a given.

"I still don't understand what SOs are! Why does it have to be so complicated?" ​

If it helps, it's a challenging set of considerations even for more seasoned CE members. On the whole, we consider their inclusion a net positive though.

Back when we had either POs or COs, there were several hypothetical situations that would tread a fine line between what could be a PO or CO (absent the 'SO' category existing). The result was potentially a (more) arbitrary choice. Including SOs on the list means that not only these obtuse situations (colloquially called "tomatoes" 🍅) can be solved without much issue, but that we can actually have a much more solid definition for what we consider the main focus of a game (the POs).

Look at it in another way: nothing has been demoted from what would have been a PO originally to a CO. If anything, there are a few stuff that originally were COs that can now be included as SOs.