A while ago, I mentioned a ratings system, including a special award, the Wulf’s Choice Award, for exceptional games and utilities.
I’ve started developing a prototype system, which I hope will present a fair assessment of the reviewed games/utilities. It’s still an embryo, but this is how it’s progressing with a few ideas I’ve been playing with.
- Graphics - This rating is only based on added or customized graphics and how well they're presented in-game. The scores are not affected if a game uses the default or RTP graphics, as this will be assessed purely on their own merit.
- Scripts - The scripts used in the game and how well they fit into the game or enhance it. The complexity of the scripts will also be used to determine the overall score.
- Gameplay - How well the game plays, how well it's written or constructed, and how easy it is to get into. Long intros or cutscenes may influence the overall score.
- Playability - How likely you are to play through until the end without too much frustration; how balanced its combat system is. Too many inconsistencies, spelling or grammatical errors will also affect the overall score (there's a separate rating for typos and spelling as well).
- Replayability - How likely you are to replay the game to discover its hidden secrets or make other choices (as relevant). The number of hidden areas or other in-game secrets may be a big influencer for this score.
- Music/Sound - How good the music is; how it brings dimension and atmosphere to the game. Depending on the nature of the game, bitty or poor quality music and sound effects will affect the score.
- Errors - This primarily focuses on spelling, grammatical and punctuation errors. While I won't be too strict on grammar or punctuation, correct spelling is a must (a few typos or misspelled words are acceptable). Poor spelling makes it difficult to read and halts the flow of the game.
- Overall - This is the overall rating for the game, based on all of the above factors. I'm not sure yet if it'll be average-based or independently scored taking into account the above ratings.
The above ratings are for games only, with a similar, separate ratings system for tools and utilities on its way. I’ll also be working on a high quality award for the Wulf’s Choice Award, maybe with an additional option for visitors to rate the games/utilities themselves. Then, monthly, the highest scoring games/utilities will be awarded a Platinum, Gold, Silver and Bronze cup and will be placed in a Top 10 list.
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