Forums > MobyGames > Game Description Reminder und Tips
Indra was here (20760) on 12/29/2009 7:06 PM · Permalink · Report
Bored #5123:
- Make sure to italize the game title and use the full game title.
Example: Age of Empires II: The Age of Kings. Incorrect examples: The Age of Kings; - Refrain from using jargons, such as "classic" in the game description. What is classic to you may not be classic to someone else;
- Game compilation descriptions should not include individual descriptions for each game;
- Refrain from using the developer or publisher name from the game description, unless absolutely neccesary due to unique circumstance (since it is obvious from the release info on the same page). Usually a developer or publisher is named in the game description when a certain release uses a different developer or publisher.
- Also refrain taking me seriously. :)
BurningStickMan (17916) on 12/29/2009 7:23 PM · Permalink · Report
A personal pet peeve of mine, in descriptions and reviews:
Please refrain from using the phrase "in the game." I.E. "The graphics in the game are good." You can simply say "The graphics are good." We know in the context of a paragraph about a game that you're talking about the game, and not suddenly describing the art of your wall calendar.
Indra was here (20760) on 12/30/2009 6:52 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start BurningStickMan wrote--] I.E. "The graphics in the game are good." You can simply say "The graphics are good."
[/Q --end BurningStickMan wrote--]
Spesifically for game descriptions, any subjective tone should not be included.
As for game reviews, I'm still trying to figure out what they mean by "the graphics are good" and "the sound is terrible." :p
BurningStickMan (17916) on 12/31/2009 12:03 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Indra was here... wrote--]As for game reviews, I'm still trying to figure out what they mean by "the graphics are good" and "the sound is terrible." :p [/Q --end Indra was here... wrote--]
Well, if something is "terrible" then it is not good. If something is "good" then it is the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band of video gaming.
Unicorn Lynx (181788) on 12/30/2009 5:10 AM · Permalink · Report
Indra was here (20760) on 12/30/2009 6:38 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Unicorn Lynx wrote--]
beetle120 (2415) on 12/30/2009 10:32 PM · Permalink · Report
Something that has always stumped me with using 'the player' is in sports games where it is strange to describe it as 'the player controls the player...'. Any ideas of a good way to get around this?
And just expanding on your 3rd point if the game doesn't have a story then expand of the concept of the game in the 1st paragraph for example in a sports game explain a bit about the basic rules of the sport.
Luis Silva (13444) on 1/1/2010 12:55 AM · Permalink · Report
use "athlete" or a term depending on the position ("skater", "pitcher", "quarterback") or the sport ("footballer", "cyclist") and so on. Covers a lot of sports, but not all. However, if the writing is good, you won't have to do this very often.
A few years ago I used to do a lot of revisions for sports games, and had many ways to avoid it, but can't remember the rest of them.
beetle120 (2415) on 1/2/2010 1:05 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Luis Silva wrote--]use "athlete" or a term depending on the position ("skater", "pitcher", "quarterback") or the sport ("footballer", "cyclist") and so on. Covers a lot of sports, but not all. However, if the writing is good, you won't have to do this very often. [/Q --end Luis Silva wrote--] That is normally what I end up doing but it doesn't always work.
Multimedia Mike (20664) on 12/30/2009 4:11 PM · Permalink · Report
How about describing games in terms of other games? I.e., "Game X is basically Game Y with such and such added features." Note that Game X and Game Y are not at all related by developer or engine, they just happen to be similar styles.
I'm of 2 minds on this one. Sometimes, it seems like a cop-out for writing a decent description. But other times, the game is simply a Pac-Man or Breakout/Arkanoid clone and there's no point in describing it again from scratch.
Unicorn Lynx (181788) on 12/30/2009 4:23 PM · Permalink · Report
How about describing games in terms of other games?
After having submitted literally hundreds of Japanese RPGs and trying to re-phrase every time what essentially is exactly the same thing, I say: describe every game from scratch! :)
Pac-Man and Arkanoid examples are a bit different, because they are more like an established sub-genre. But still, a Pac-Man clone is better described this way: "The game is a variant of Pac-Man: the player moves a little character through the top-down maze-like level, eating dots and avoiding enemies" than just "This is a Pac-Man clone".
Indra was here (20760) on 12/30/2009 6:48 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Multimedia Mike wrote--]How about describing games in terms of other games? I.e., "Game X is basically Game Y with such and such added features." Note that Game X and Game Y are not at all related by developer or engine, they just happen to be similar styles. [/Q --end Multimedia Mike wrote--] It logically should be allowed, but requires impressive approver discretion, due to the subjective nature of the comparison. It would make sense if the game were a clone of some sorts. It would also make sense if at least 90%(?) of the gameplay is similar to the game being compared:
Saying Titan Quest is similar in gameplay with Diablo 2 I think would be relevant. However saying other Diablo-type clones is similar in gameplay to Titan Quest, would be chronologically incorrect.
Usually, a comparison is only neccesary if not immediately identifiable from the available genres...and if the comparison used is unquestionably unique.
vedder (70669) on 12/30/2009 10:07 PM · Permalink · Report
I sometimes describe games in terms of another, but try to sum up what's alike.
For example.
"Like Space Invaders in this game the player moves along the bottom of the screen while enemies slowly creep down from the top. Instead of a space ship..."
Unicorn Lynx (181788) on 12/31/2009 7:01 AM · Permalink · Report
"Like Space Invaders in this game the player moves along the bottom of the screen while enemies slowly creep down from the top. Instead of a space ship..."
Good example, it can serve as a guideline. First say exactly in what way the game is similar to another game, then state the differences. It always works well.
But like Indra says, better compare to older, more genre-defining games that to recent products.
For example, "The combat system in Dragon Age is similar to the one used in Baldur's Gate" is better than "similar to the one used in Neverwinter Nights 2", in my opinion. The link would bring the player directly to the game that first implemented (or at least re-vitalized, or made mainstream) this sort of combat.
Mobygamesisreanimated (11069) on 1/1/2010 1:14 PM · Permalink · Report
Describing the differences might not always be enough. The game entry itself should make sense to someone who hasn't played the referenced game. I usually make a comparison in the first sentence, but still write complete a description afterwards. Pointing out differences should be pretty much a requirement when when the games in question are similar enough, but it can't replace a proper description.
Indra was here (20760) on 1/1/2010 3:06 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Supernintendo Chalmers wrote--]The game entry itself should make sense to someone who hasn't played the referenced game. [/Q --end Supernintendo Chalmers wrote--] Also another thing to keep in mind. One should try to avoid making the game comparison the primary argumentation/point of the game description.
Not all of us are fanbois...unfortunately. :)
Pseudo_Intellectual (66248) on 1/3/2010 11:04 PM · Permalink · Report
Naturally, a good way to back up a reference to another game is to link to it -- then an interested party can more conveniently cross-compare.
Zeppin (8408) on 1/3/2010 11:07 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--]Naturally, a good way to back up a reference to another game is to link to it -- then an interested party can more conveniently cross-compare. [/Q --end Pseudo_Intellectual wrote--] And a reminder - When linking to another game that is mentioned more than once, only one of the titles should be linked, while the others should be italicized. Typically, the first use of the name should be the one that is linked.
Havoc Crow (29798) on 1/1/2010 7:32 PM · Permalink · Report
I just rewrote the description for The Living Daylights and have this to say: DON'T USE PAST TENSE! Really, are we telling nostalgic stories here, or are we writing objective and to-the-point descriptions? The ONLY situation where it's appropriate to use the past tense is if we are talking about a game which literally no longer exists (like e.g. a closed MMO).