| Category | Value | |
|---|---|---|
| Visual | Picture | 25 (20*) |
| Visual Motion | ||
| Style | ||
| Technical | Tech requirements | 25 (20*) |
| Scaling/Leveling | ||
| Progression | ||
| Experiential | Story | 25 (20*) |
| Audio | ||
| Cohesion | ||
| Feeling | ||
| Accessible | Customization | 25 (20*) |
| Onboarding | ||
| Control Scheme | ||
| Multiplayer | Setup | 20 |
| Involvement | ||
| Experience | ||
Most single-player games will be scored on the base 4 categories only. Multiplayer-optional games will have a separate, distinct scoring category for their multiplayer mode, which will be displayed alongside, but not part of the final total game score. Multiplayer-default games will have that 5th category built into their final score.
The goal of this scoring scheme is to avoid penalizing any genre of game based solely on genre, while also accounting for the value and experience of multiplayer games. In multiplayer-optional games, a multiplayer mode can be, in effect, a second game within the game. Some players will never see that content, while some will seek it out. Meanwhile, in multiplayer-default games, the multiplayer-specific elements must be accounted for as part of the core game value.
See the end of this page for scoring math, details, and examples.
An asterisk (*) in the table indicates that for a Multiplayer-default game, the four base categories each total 20 points. The Multiplayer category only applies to games that have a multiplayer feature.
This category could be described as "graphics." Game visuals range widely from game to game, and it would be inaccurate to score one game higher because that game contains a higher polygon count or definition, when another game is extremely visually appealing but uses a pixel style. I reject the notion that resolution equates to quality, and this is reflected in my approach to scoring aesthetic appeal.
Still and moving visuals are distinct, but both valuable categories. A beautiful game can have grating movement. Similarly, a beautiful game can have an inconsistent style. Therefore, these three elements - Picture, Visual Motion, and Style have been split into three sub-categories for scoring.
The general overview criteria listed here for the "Visual Motion" is worded in a very specific way to exclude storytelling elements like screen-shake. Screen-shake should still be toggleable in a menu, but that will fall under the Accessibility category.
A high-scoring game in the Visual category will:
This section could also be called "gameplay." The primary function of this category is to discuss the moving parts of the game, the way in which players interact with it and how the game is structured. This section is very difficult to adapt to many different kinds of games without penalizing anyone, and I anticipate this page may need an update in this section specifically as we broaden the scope of what a "game" can be.
As-is, these criteria offer a glimpse at what the game requires of the player, and offers to the player.
Points will be docked in the Technical category if Leveling or Progression uses gambling/lootboxes/randomized rewards. These mechanics do not require any skill, knowledge, or even input from the player, and exploit harmful feedback loops in vulnerable players.
A high-scoring game in the Technical category will:
This category aims to encapsulate the experience of playing a game. This is a tall task, but I have outlined four sub-categories I feel contribute to the experience of playing, which don't fit into other categories.
Not every game has a story, but not every game needs one. For games without a story, the Experiential category will exclude the Story element and evaluate the game with Audio, Cohesion, and Feeling alone. Other elements will be considered as needed, according to the spirit of the scoring scheme, not the letter.
A high-scoring game in the Experiential category will:
Accessibility isn't one-size-fits all. Games that are more accessible for one group may be less accessible for another, for various reasons. For the purposes of this review site, the criteria laid out here are fairly bare-bones. There are many features that benefit players of different abilities, and this barely scratches the surface.
If you are looking for more detailed reviews which include lots of valuable insights on accessibility for different groups, or if you are interested in learning about accessible games, please visit "Can I Play That?" Their accessibility reference guides influenced the design of this section of the scoring guide, and will likely influence future edits of the criteria.
A high-scoring game in the Accessible category will:
Many of the criteria in the multiplayer category are more descriptive than anything else. That means the full value of this section is in the text of the article, not the numbers.
A high-scoring game in the Multiplayer (default) category will:
There are some elements in the scoring scheme that do not apply to some games. For instance, audio games typically lack visual elements, or have very bare-bones visual elements. In the case that a game totally lacks one or more elements intentionally, the game will not be penalized for this in the final score. Score evaluation will account for this intentional absence and adjust in response, which will result in the other subcategories being more important than before. Where this scoring adjustment is done, there will be a note in the review.
There is also an opportunity for a game to earn "bonus points," in excess of the scoring scheme, for going "above and beyond" in any given category. To avoid obscuring the value of the other categories, bonus points will be designated alongside the final total. For instance, if a game earns a 96/100 score, but earns several bonus points in the Accessible category, its final total could be 96/100 +3.
Scores are calculated first within each category, then combined into an overall score out of 100 possible points. For instance, in a single-player only game, the three elements of the Visual category would combine for a total of 25 possible points, each constituting about 8.3 (25/3) possible points. That Visual score, out of 25, would then combine with the Technical, Experiential, and Accessible scores.
Here is an example of a single-player game with multiplayer options, to illustrate usage of the scoring scheme.
"Hypothetical Game" is a single player game, with multiplayer optional, which means that the game will be scored on 4 categories, with the 5th, multiplayer category displayed separately. Of the 4 base categories, Hypothetical Game receives full marks in the Visual (25/25) and Experiential (25/25) categories overall. Hypothetical Game does have good Scaling/Leveling, (+8) and good Progression, (+8) but takes up a lot of storage space, so it lost some points in the Tech Requirements sub-category. (+4, total 20/25) Similarly, Hypothetical Game offers excellent Customization (+8), but its Onboarding (+2) and Control Scheme (+1, total 11/25) are lackluster. However, its Customization is so good that it earned an additional +1 bonus point.
Hypothetical Game's overall, base score, is 25 (Visual) + 25 (Experiential) + 20 (Technical) + 11 (Accessible) = 81/100. It will be displayed as 81/100 +1 to account for the bonus point.
Hypothetical Game's multiplayer feature earned full marks in its Multiplayer category, so its multiplayer score will be displayed in a separate field (20/20). The Multiplayer category has a maximum of 20 points, for practical reasons.
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