Forums → Games → How to rate a game correctly
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I've spent a lot of time playing games on AG, and to put it bluntly, most games I encounter have ratings wildly out of proportion to their actual quality. In a few cases a game is rated too low, but usually it's the opposite: people appear to rate games based on what other people have rated them, nearly as much as their own opinion -- or they simply don't want to give any game a "bad" rating.
Here are some general thoughts and pointers:
1. A game author may not like getting a low rating, but it's important to rate games accurately -- for two reasons. First, so other players know what to expect; second, so the author knows if they need to try harder in order to produce a good game.
2. Other people's opinions are not yours. All a 9.5 rating means, is that the game has a 9.5 rating; don't be afraid to rate a game a 6 or 5 just because everyone else didn't.
3. Every rating number has its own meaning - the entire spectrum, from 1 to 10, should be used when appropriate.
4. Most games should get between 4 and 7 in ratings -- 1-3 should be reserved for spectacular failures, and 8-9 should be used sparingly.
5. You should never rate a game a 10 unless you've thought about it pretty hard, first - if the "10" rating is to have any meaning, it should be extremely uncommon; I don't think I've ever given a 10; I've given a couple 9.5s, but there are always flaws.
6. Once in a while, a game is simply so creative you want to give it credit for being so original; I suggest rating it like usual, and then adding no more than 1 to the resulting rating... even creativity needs to be balanced by discipline and skill.
Anyway, to help people give better ratings, I've provided a number-by-number breakdown of possible ratings and when they should be used:
1 - AWFUL: unplayable, impossible to enjoy, or even tolerate; games which are so buggy you can't even play a minute or two might qualify, too.
2 - Terrible: nobody in their right mind would enjoy it; comparable to watching paint dry for sheer entertainment value.
3 - Bad: boring, annoying, repetitive; terribly balanced; severely buggy, etc.
4 - Mediocre: amateurish, tedious, or suffers serious balance issues; you wouldn't say it's out right bad, but you wouldn't say it's anywhere near good.
5 - Average: no crushingly bad flaws, but nothing impressive - a good way to waste time, but nothing more.
6 - Above average: fun, but with flaws; there may be balance issues, bugs, or implementation issues of a good idea. This should be the highest rating a game gets if it has even one serious complaint.
7 - Good: no serious complaints or bugs; above-average enjoyability, or an unusually creative game concept.
8 - Great: a great idea, with good implementation; there may be minor issues, but nothing that would stop a reasonable player from having a great time.
9 - Amazing: not quite perfect, but a masterpiece. No real issues; the only problems should be extremely slight, or subjective (matters of opinion).
10 - Perfect: flawless; absolutely no complaints whatsoever, and game play slightly more addictive than crack.
- 88 Replies
this is a pretty legit form. Nice! And i can see u can write well reviews
A first I though this was gonna be one of those crap threads written by 12 year olds that have no idea what they're talking about. But this is actually a very informative thread. Thanks.
This is amazingly well written. Nice Job, and I hope most people see this.. xD
This is very informative like Krizaz said. And I'd like to add another thing that other people rate games with a random rating because they want points also. That is why a quality game would turn out to have a very low rating.
Anyways, nice job. And I think this deserves to be a sticky.
Anyways, nice job. And I think this deserves to be a sticky.
I second that.
Nice first post, building a good reputation. A first for the lowly serfs perhaps? (As in getting a sticky.)
A first for the lowly serfs perhaps? (As in getting a sticky.)
Yeah probably. Most likely actually.
Agreed. Masterpieces like colony and arcuz have somehow received unfavorable ratings.
About that sticky, the Flash Games Forum is for talking about Flash Games, and tutorials on how to rate them would be off topic.
About that sticky, the Flash Games Forum is for talking about Flash Games, and tutorials on how to rate them would be off topic.
Yeah, I know that. But this is very informative. People have to read this. =)
I hoped some people would find this useful, but I'm really amazed at this reception.
Thanks for the kind words, everyone.
Since I'm very enthusiastic... I'll write in bold.
Finally, someone writes something like this! People's perception of game rating is horribly flawed. Others think 5/10 is bad, 10/10 is good etc. I and others have known for a very long time that anything below 5 is negative and anything above it is positive. But it seems many people still don't get that.
Thank you.
slightly more addictive than crack
:3
Honestly, I think you should be required to review when you make a rating. That way you can explain WHY you gave a game a .5/10... Most developers don't care what the score is, but rather WHY it is that way. If someone sees that the score for their game is under 5/10, they will want to know what they have done wrong, or if it just doesn't work for people, that way they can either fix that game, or make a note for the next game they make.
Finally, someone writes something like this! People's perception of game rating is horribly flawed. Others think 5/10 is bad, 10/10 is good etc. I and others have known for a very long time that anything below 5 is negative and anything above it is positive. But it seems many people still don't get that.
Exactly... Because when you round it, 5 is more near to 10. So it's positive.
Masterpieces like colony and arcuz have somehow received unfavorable ratings.
Because they are not masterpieces. I gave them ratings around 6.5.
But the votes' meaning should become a sticky.
Erid014:
That idea has its merit (requires the user to think about their decision) but it also would be subverted - I can easily see people just copy/pasting "this game rox thx" into their review boxes before clicking 10, etc.
My own idea was to limit the number of ratings a player could give, outside of the 4-7 range -- so you could rate any game in the middle, but your votes for the extremes would have to be reserved for when they were really called for.
Exactly... Because when you round it, 5 is more near to 10. So it's positive.
In rating systems a five would belong to games that aren't great but aren't horrible. But most of the time games are either on the positive side, or negative.
Wait...
I think 5 should be Mediocre, not 4. Since essentially, mediocre and average are the same thing. Not good enough to be good, not bad enough to be bad.
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