GWSIG HOF Criteria
International Game Developers Association
|| Game Writers SIG || Current Initiatives || Hall of Fame Project Page
Hall Of Fame Criteria
Genres to be included in the Hall of Fame:
- RPG
- MMPORG
- FPS
- Adventure games
- Turn-based strategy games
- Other strategy games
- simulations (everything from sims to zoo tycoon)
- text-only games (single-player)
- text-only games (multi-player)
Elements to be considered when judging in each genre:
- Plot
- Scene
- Characterization (Primary)
- Characterization (NPC)
- Cut Scenes
- Narrative Flow (do players feel forced through the plot? or intrigued/led?)
- Manuals/supporting documentation
- Interface elements
- Internal consistency
- Overall writing quality
Do we want a points system for this? Maybe.... 10 points possible for each element? We would have 100 points possible, which is easy for me to think of as ratings. Any thoughts? Do you think any of these elements should be changed or dropped? Are they self-evident? I just tried to think of 10 so it would come out cleanly for the math :-)
Thoughts from John Baker
This is a great list. A 1 to 10 ranking list would also be good, let's do that. I don't think we need to total up everything; the Overall category does a good job of summing up. We may wish to rate characterization higher than scene for some games, for example, and the Overall does a better job of catching these differences.
I can buy that. Let's give it a shot with a sample game and see how it goes. -WenDeth
I don't know if we should necessarily break children's writing out from general writing. Firstly, good writing tends to defy age groups. Secondly, there is no really concrete definition of "children's games." The ESRB ratings come close, but I don't think we need to consider them for good writing. Certainly the writing of Beauty and the Beast and Pulp Fiction can be considered side by side. Finally, there are a number of games that are designed with both young and old in mind. The ones written well transcend age differences, while the ones written less well are sort of confused as to whether the game is for children or adults.
you're right on this. took it out. -WenDeth
Also, I don't know if cut scenes should be included as cut scenes. Games like Ico, The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind and Half-Life would suffer if we talk about the strength of their cut scenes due to their paucity or omission. Then again, we might just include it and not count it much in Overall as appropriate.
I think if we use the overall writing score as the "final" one, then it solves the problem of games that have some elements but not others. One could even argue that having cut scenes is a negative factor, and this way the effectiveness of the cut scenes or lack thereof can be taken into account at the end without a numerical rating pushing around the final result. -WenDeth
Speaking of Ico, we need an adventure genre. There are few games in this genre these days, but they can be quite well written.
right again. I added it. -WenDeth
Thanks for getting this list together!
no problem. I'm eager to see the debates begin. -WenDeth
More Thoughts from John Baker
I just read a comment showing concern that the Hall of Fame will be biased toward North American releases. Is this fair to a global community?
In the case of cultural differences in writing quality appreciation, there is a solution: Join the team! I'm an American married to a German, so I'm well aware of how different cultures are entertained by media. If someone fears that our reviews will skew one way culturally, then by all means, join in. We're only two people right now, we could use the help!
In the case of releases that are only in certain regional markets, and potentially without multiple language translations, that's going to be harder. It's difficult to appreciate good writing without language comprehension, and it's difficult to review a game that a particular region cannot easily acquire and play. Still, if anyone knows of a game that has good writing, please mention it. We might be able to figure out a way for team members to experience the game's writing.
