Havoc Crow (29859) on 8/27/2015 4:48 PM · edited · Permalink · Report

As I have pointed out some time ago, one of the faults in the New Game Wizard is that the Rating Categories step is confusing for new users, and fails to explain what exactly it is about. As a result, most new users either fail to check any categories (and don't understand what they're asked to do when the approver asks them to fix this), or - more rarely - check all categories, just in case. It's obvious the text in this particular step of the Wizard needs a rewrite.

I've decided to go ahead and provide my own proposition, below.

First, I explain, in a hopefully simple and understandable way, what "Rating Categories" are. Second, I provide hints next to each rating category (except for Personal Slant) as to whether it should be checked or not.

Of course, this is open to discussion. One possible point of contention is that the "Story/Presentation" and to a lesser extent "AI" categories are controversial, and there is disagreement among contributors as to when should they be checked. Still, I think my proposal is better than what is in place right now.

Each game in MobyGames can be rated by its users, based on how much they like the game. Users can rate the game in a number of categories, such as "Graphics", "Story/Presentation", or "AI". However, not all categories make sense for every game. If a game has no sound effects at all, there shouldn't be a "Sound/Music" category available for rating; likewise, the "AI" category only makes sense for games which actually contain artificially intelligent characters. In this step, you will check the rating categories which make sense for this particular game, so that MobyGames users can rate it properly. "Personal Slant" is always checked for all games. If you're adding a compilation of other games and not an individual game, please disregard this step; compilations only receive the category "Personal Slant". Acting
The quality of the actors' performances in the game (including voice acting). This category should be checked for games which include voice acting by real humans or live-action cutscenes with real actors. AI
How smart (or dumb) you perceive the game's artificial intelligence to be. This category should be checked for games containing artificially intelligent characters that can adapt to circumstances, e.g. computer opponents in board games, computer-controlled enemies or allies that intelligently pursue their goals, etc. Effectiveness
How effective the educational game is when it comes to teaching (does the player actually learn anything, etc.) This category should be checked for educational games (and only for them.) Gameplay
How well the game mechanics work (player controls, game action, interface, etc.) This category must be checked for all games (but not for compilations.) Graphics
The quality of the art, or the quality/speed of the drawing routines. This category should be checked for games which include a visual element - i.e. practically all games, apart from these which are purely textual or for some other reason do not contain any graphics to speak of. Sound / Music
The quality of the sound effects and/or music composition. This category should be checked for games which include any sounds or music, even primitive bleeps and boops. Story / Presentation
The main creative ideas in the game and how well they're executed. This category should be generally checked for all games. Text Parser
How sophisticated the text parser is, how appropriate its responses are, etc. This category should be checked for interactive fiction (text adventure) games, and other games where the player can type in commands in a natural language.