IF COMP 2004 Reviews - Scoring

     ** 9 - A really great game; again, maybe not a perfect game, but one where the problems weren't a distraction. Great story, great plot pace; a setting I found especially appealing; fun to play, fun to read. I'm hoping to go generous with the 9's, as I intend to have fun playing the thirty-seven other games ahead of me!

     ** 8 - A really good game. One I enjoyed, but thought, "it might have been even better if..." This might also be a great game that just didn't hit me right; a genre I don't personally favor, for instance, but I was still able to appreciate the quality of the work. It's still a game I enjoyed playing.

     ** 7 - A good game, worthy of the competition, but could use some polishing. My hope is that most of what I play won't fall below this mark. This is a game I liked, but with noticeable typos, obvious omissions... just things to be improved upon for an updated release. This would be a game where these problems didn't really detract much from the experience for me, although I would expect the ratings of other reviewers to be less forgiving. This could also be a game that might have been a 6 or even a 5, except that the story seemed unexpectedly good, making up for the more serious problems.

     ** 6 - A good game with a few more problems. Maybe this means more typos than usual, some bugs in the game that might either render it unfinishable or begin to detract from the experience, or quirks that just seem misplaced or unintentional. Some instances of any of these things can still make it into a higher ranking for me (even a 10, if it's the right game), but this score would imply that the game seemed a little rushed and unpolished.

     ** 5 - This would be a game with quite a number of problems, or one I found frustrating to play. It could still be a game that I ultimately liked, just one that would put my entire ranking criteria under suspicion if I were to give a higher base. This would be a game that has potential - the author is on the right track - it just needs more work. Still, by allowing for a +/- 2 skew, I could still give a game in this category a pretty decent 7 if I really had a fondness for it, despite the problems.

     ** 4 - This game would be one in which I felt quite a bit of frustration, either with too many problems in the writing, the programming, the puzzles, the setting, or all of the above.

     ** 3 - This would be a more extreme case of what a "4" represents. This is a game where it's difficult or impossible to finish due to the problems; major bugs, glaring mistakes in the text; maybe even blatant attempts to make the player mad (without any indication that the emotion is helpful to the story). This is where it becomes more difficult to pick out the redeeming qualities in the game, because it isn't much fun to play.

     ** 2 - At this stage, I've found very little in your game to be excited about. It will have some kind of quality that sets it above a "1", but only by a small margin. Maybe something you wrote was especially clever, or I found the setting to be interesting even if the entire implementation was not. I will consider this just a step above "unplayable."

     ** 1 - Unplayable. I don't mean that I can't run it at all, because it wouldn't be fair for me to rank a game I can't even try. However, even though I can run it, I might as well have played with mud for two hours. I can find nothing of interest in the game, no reason or justification to bump it up to a "2" - basically, I strongly dislike the game.

     Again, these numbers and definitions refer to the BASE score (the score in the parenthesis, in the title section of each review). The "Unofficial Score" will often include a skew amount, added and/or subtracted from the base to present a final "how well did I enjoy it, above or below the base" score. To further clarify, a game indicating an Unofficial Score of 8.0 (7.0 base with +1.0 skew) falls at 7.0 by my scoring definitions. However, I enjoyed it enough to add a point, even though the final score doesn't mean it fits the "definition" of an 8.0 on my scale.

     Basically, the skews let me stick with a judging guideline (so my scores make sense when viewed as a group), while still allowing for my personal biases and preferences. Without the base definitions, there would be no consistency in my scores, and without the skew, there would be no flexibility.