We and the gaming community we live in would be better if we destroyed Number Scores for good and for all.
You know the phrase 'actions speak louder than words?' Well, so do Numbers. Digits and percentages and */10 scales and statistics are more readily digested and used in the human consciousness than explanations and descriptions and thoughts. Or, in the case of reviews, at least.
Because of this, we have the first problem with Number Scores: the number in a review takes up so much more importance than the content of the review itself. Yahtzee dressed-down Numbers very well: how can you shrink and crush a complex and dynamic opinion into a lifeless calculated digit? And even if and when you CAN do this, why would you want to?
What, really, is the point of a review? I mean originally it was so a person could get an idea of whether or not they'd like a Thing before they spent the time or money to consume it, so what good does a number do for that cause? A number can't tell you anything, and that's the second problem with number scores: they're essentially pointless.
'This game is a nine'. So what? Does that really mean you'll like it? Most websites have a description of each number; say '9 = an incredibly thrilling experience'. Well, why not just CALL the game an incredibly thrilling experience, then? If you play that game and end up agreeing with the review, will you think, "wow, this game is incredibly thrilling!", or "wow! Nine! The number nine! Four plus five! N-I-N-E!!"
Now obviously, ever since Siskel and Ebert, a second mainstream function of reviews has formed: to exchange interesting commentary and thought-provoking theses on the product/art in question. To analyze, not just to review. To make observations, not just to say your opinion. 'Analysis' as its own separate entity is becoming more popular on Youtube; I really like the stuff made by people like Digibrony, or this obscure 'Sonic Dissected' series that seriously needs to be more popular. The latter of those two particularly emphasizes how LITTLE they want to emphasize their opinions, and maximize their focus on observations and analysis; though still while having an emotional tint to it based on their opinion; to still give the commentary just enough character and humanity.
That's personally one thing I like about Yahtzee's reviews more than Bob's; Ben focuses more on talking about the things that are in the game and explaining why he has the opinions that he has--so much so that it used to be hard to tell what his opinion even was. While Bob almost always puts his opinion at the forefront of every review; he still gives commentary and it's always interesting, but I still feel that it makes his show a little bit more dry. (I should emphasize that this doesn't say anything bad about him as a person; just the way in which he chooses to go about his videos.)
So with all that in mind, take a look at Number Scores again, and you'll see the third problem with number scores: they're pure opinion. And Problem #3 next to Problem #1 creates an acidic combo that causes reviews to be much more opinion focused. If Yahtzee had always handed out Numbers, his review of Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon would have left me more-or-less thinking, "Wow, Dark Moon got an 8, which is almost the highest score he's ever given to a 1st Party Nintendo game. He gave an 8.5 to Super Mario Galaxy, so that must still be his favorite in the past few years. He have a 6 to Zelda Spirit Tracks, and a 4.4 to Other M, so clearly, he likes Dark Moon a surprising amount. Even more than Bowser's Inside Story, which he gave a 7.5."
But instead, in the actual dimension where Yahtzee doesn't give out numbers, I left that review thinking, "Wow! Yahtzee really liked a 1st party Nintendo Game for the first time since Super Mario Galaxy I think. Hmm, it is uncommon for Nintendo to not focus its gameplay on a hardware gimmick... is it? I wonder what it is about this game that Ben liked so much. Well, the visuals and the atmosphere certainly were a big factor. Hey, Galaxy also had a fun atmosphere to it! And..." and so on and so on. In other words, I was completely engrossed in the actual CONTENT of the games; not the opinions of the games.
Now obviously, reviews still work adequately despite all that I've mentioned. Normally, what any person can do is make their guesses as to whether-or-not they'll like a Thing based on who it was that made the review. I mean as long as I've watched Bob's show, I have gotten pretty good at telling whether or not I'll agree with him. When Doug Walker does regular reviews, he is always mentioning 'what kind of people will or won't like such and such movie'.
So ultimately, I wouldn't call Number Scores as being THAT worth doing away with, if it weren't for, well, the exact problem that Jim talks about in this video.
While I liked this video as much as any episode, I wish he had put some effort into actually understanding why this 'number hawking' phenomenon takes place. Yeah, people are 'getting brought down by one low number', but WHY are they doing that?
Well first of all, we need to explain Number Score problem #4--which is actually a mutation of the first three problems: that everyone has their own ideas of what the numbers mean. This means that two critics could both enjoy a Thing just as much as the other, yet give the Thing a different score! This could lead to confusion and frustration, because Problem #1 is distracting us from the generally-similar opinions.
So to remedy this problem, reviewers (mostly for games) basically started to Coalesce their rank theories together, and what has resulted is this 'generally agreed upon' standard for reviews in Gaming goes about like this:
10 = Perfect
9 = Excellent
8 = Great
7 = Good
6 = Okay
5 = Medicore
4 = Bad
3/0 = Different synonyms for 'terrible'
But in your attempt to fix Problem #4, you just made it worse; for now, if ANY review goes outside of these boundaries, it gets special attention and scorn. Jim says exactly this in the video: that Number Scores are slowly chaining reviewers into the same methods of opinions as everyone else. Jim has ALSO said that Number Scores are 'ultimately still a good thing', because problems like #4 (and the other problems that I will get to) are just the result of 'people not using them correctly', but I highly question that reasoning. From my perspective, the issue of Reviewers melting down into a collective ball of unanimity is a natural and predictable effect caused by the nature of Number Scores.
So as I said, the more we try to fix the problem of the Subjectivity of numbers, the more destructive the Subjectivity of numbers becomes.
But there's more to it than that: another result of this homogenization has caused the values of these numbers to climb to the ceiling. I'm not quite sure how this happens, but it so clearly does; that the more games get 9's and 10's, the more reviewers feel obligated to give more games 9's and 10's. This problem, then--if combined with Problem #1 again--mutates into the fifth problem with Number Scores: Hate out of Ten. We know roughly how that scale explains itself, but given the way in which numbers are handed out, how does that scale feel to the human heart?
10/9 = This game is very thoroughly enjoyable and has very few flaws; you could just spend your time playing only these games
8 = This game is pretty enjoyable, but you won't be missing out if you don't play it
7 = This game is average and almost certainly not worth buying
6 = A completely pointless game that might have some slim chance of appealing to you if you're in a very specific niche
5/4 = A completely worthless game
3/0 = It might be fun to watch an angry Let's Play of
We've created a gaming scene where soaring praise is expected; where the highest numbers are the average. Again the Jimquisition acknowledges this problem, and I'm glad he's aware of it, and while slapping the face of those who get consumed by it definitely helps, I don't think it's the cure to the problem.
And now, here we are at last: the conclusion of the dissection of this frustrating phenomenon; we can comprehend what the heart of the issue is; we can put the pieces together to fully understand why people flooded hatred over that 6.5 review of Dragon's Crown.
The fact that numbers speak louder than words mixed with the subjectivity of numbers along with the homogenization of opinions, with the power of Hate out of Ten amplifying it all, we get...
The 6th problem with Number Scores: the number becomes reality.
No one will say that opinions aren't objective, when asked. They won't say it, or think it out loud, that is. But on a deeper emotional level, an opinion can become an important part of their own enjoyment of the Thing. If someone gives a 9 to a game, because of all the problems I've mentioned before, it essentially becomes much more like an objective statement about a game's quality, and the more people agree on that number, the more 'objective' the number becomes, and the more infuriating any differing number can become.
Like, say if you spent your life supporting Such and Such political policy, because of allll the statistics you know of stating that Such and Such policy has a 95% benefit to Whatever. How are you inclined to react when someone tells you that, actually, only 10% of benefit to Whatever is caused by Such and Such, and is 90% damaging? If you're like me, you might be frustrated with that person.
Indeed, frustrated or annoyed by conflicting information, but ultimately okay if that guy ends up being factually wrong: your potential anger is defused by the alleviation of clear, true facts. Number Scores have the same element of frustratability, but because they are ultimately all subjective and opinion-based, you can't get behind objective fact to calm yourself, and may get pissed off as a result. There are many people who make angry comments about a 'low' 7.5 score, but I bet there are many times more people who've wanted to make an angry comment, but withheld their fingers knowing that their anger was stupid and pointless.
In general, I don't like what Number Scores do to the gaming community. It brings people to wallow in this bitter, emotionally-taxing Data Entry-esque sport of comparing and contrasting numbers. 'Ooh this got a 9.2 but the last one got a 9.3, this one is worse, huh? Sega Racing got a 7.75 but MAG just a 7?? This got a 10, but THAT did NOT get a 10! The PS3 version got half a point less than the 360 version!'
If Number Scores had some useful function in spite of all this, I would understand the desire to keep them. But, because of Problem #2: the problem that scores ultimately are pretty much pointless, I don't see any reason why we can't just throw these wasteful distractions into the dustbin of history, never to be seen again.
Now before anyone asks, I'm not trying to get Congress to ban numbers, or saying that we should flog every game site to purge its score policy, or saying that we need to start an anti-number Revolution Uprising; all I'm saying is--and in fact, the ultimate conclusion I've written this post to make--I want everyone to do the same thing I did: start ignoring Number Scores.
My internet-browsing life has been a solid 9.25 without them.
You know the phrase 'actions speak louder than words?' Well, so do Numbers. Digits and percentages and */10 scales and statistics are more readily digested and used in the human consciousness than explanations and descriptions and thoughts. Or, in the case of reviews, at least.
Because of this, we have the first problem with Number Scores: the number in a review takes up so much more importance than the content of the review itself. Yahtzee dressed-down Numbers very well: how can you shrink and crush a complex and dynamic opinion into a lifeless calculated digit? And even if and when you CAN do this, why would you want to?
What, really, is the point of a review? I mean originally it was so a person could get an idea of whether or not they'd like a Thing before they spent the time or money to consume it, so what good does a number do for that cause? A number can't tell you anything, and that's the second problem with number scores: they're essentially pointless.
'This game is a nine'. So what? Does that really mean you'll like it? Most websites have a description of each number; say '9 = an incredibly thrilling experience'. Well, why not just CALL the game an incredibly thrilling experience, then? If you play that game and end up agreeing with the review, will you think, "wow, this game is incredibly thrilling!", or "wow! Nine! The number nine! Four plus five! N-I-N-E!!"
Now obviously, ever since Siskel and Ebert, a second mainstream function of reviews has formed: to exchange interesting commentary and thought-provoking theses on the product/art in question. To analyze, not just to review. To make observations, not just to say your opinion. 'Analysis' as its own separate entity is becoming more popular on Youtube; I really like the stuff made by people like Digibrony, or this obscure 'Sonic Dissected' series that seriously needs to be more popular. The latter of those two particularly emphasizes how LITTLE they want to emphasize their opinions, and maximize their focus on observations and analysis; though still while having an emotional tint to it based on their opinion; to still give the commentary just enough character and humanity.
That's personally one thing I like about Yahtzee's reviews more than Bob's; Ben focuses more on talking about the things that are in the game and explaining why he has the opinions that he has--so much so that it used to be hard to tell what his opinion even was. While Bob almost always puts his opinion at the forefront of every review; he still gives commentary and it's always interesting, but I still feel that it makes his show a little bit more dry. (I should emphasize that this doesn't say anything bad about him as a person; just the way in which he chooses to go about his videos.)
So with all that in mind, take a look at Number Scores again, and you'll see the third problem with number scores: they're pure opinion. And Problem #3 next to Problem #1 creates an acidic combo that causes reviews to be much more opinion focused. If Yahtzee had always handed out Numbers, his review of Luigi's Mansion Dark Moon would have left me more-or-less thinking, "Wow, Dark Moon got an 8, which is almost the highest score he's ever given to a 1st Party Nintendo game. He gave an 8.5 to Super Mario Galaxy, so that must still be his favorite in the past few years. He have a 6 to Zelda Spirit Tracks, and a 4.4 to Other M, so clearly, he likes Dark Moon a surprising amount. Even more than Bowser's Inside Story, which he gave a 7.5."
But instead, in the actual dimension where Yahtzee doesn't give out numbers, I left that review thinking, "Wow! Yahtzee really liked a 1st party Nintendo Game for the first time since Super Mario Galaxy I think. Hmm, it is uncommon for Nintendo to not focus its gameplay on a hardware gimmick... is it? I wonder what it is about this game that Ben liked so much. Well, the visuals and the atmosphere certainly were a big factor. Hey, Galaxy also had a fun atmosphere to it! And..." and so on and so on. In other words, I was completely engrossed in the actual CONTENT of the games; not the opinions of the games.
Now obviously, reviews still work adequately despite all that I've mentioned. Normally, what any person can do is make their guesses as to whether-or-not they'll like a Thing based on who it was that made the review. I mean as long as I've watched Bob's show, I have gotten pretty good at telling whether or not I'll agree with him. When Doug Walker does regular reviews, he is always mentioning 'what kind of people will or won't like such and such movie'.
So ultimately, I wouldn't call Number Scores as being THAT worth doing away with, if it weren't for, well, the exact problem that Jim talks about in this video.
While I liked this video as much as any episode, I wish he had put some effort into actually understanding why this 'number hawking' phenomenon takes place. Yeah, people are 'getting brought down by one low number', but WHY are they doing that?
Well first of all, we need to explain Number Score problem #4--which is actually a mutation of the first three problems: that everyone has their own ideas of what the numbers mean. This means that two critics could both enjoy a Thing just as much as the other, yet give the Thing a different score! This could lead to confusion and frustration, because Problem #1 is distracting us from the generally-similar opinions.
So to remedy this problem, reviewers (mostly for games) basically started to Coalesce their rank theories together, and what has resulted is this 'generally agreed upon' standard for reviews in Gaming goes about like this:
10 = Perfect
9 = Excellent
8 = Great
7 = Good
6 = Okay
5 = Medicore
4 = Bad
3/0 = Different synonyms for 'terrible'
But in your attempt to fix Problem #4, you just made it worse; for now, if ANY review goes outside of these boundaries, it gets special attention and scorn. Jim says exactly this in the video: that Number Scores are slowly chaining reviewers into the same methods of opinions as everyone else. Jim has ALSO said that Number Scores are 'ultimately still a good thing', because problems like #4 (and the other problems that I will get to) are just the result of 'people not using them correctly', but I highly question that reasoning. From my perspective, the issue of Reviewers melting down into a collective ball of unanimity is a natural and predictable effect caused by the nature of Number Scores.
So as I said, the more we try to fix the problem of the Subjectivity of numbers, the more destructive the Subjectivity of numbers becomes.
But there's more to it than that: another result of this homogenization has caused the values of these numbers to climb to the ceiling. I'm not quite sure how this happens, but it so clearly does; that the more games get 9's and 10's, the more reviewers feel obligated to give more games 9's and 10's. This problem, then--if combined with Problem #1 again--mutates into the fifth problem with Number Scores: Hate out of Ten. We know roughly how that scale explains itself, but given the way in which numbers are handed out, how does that scale feel to the human heart?
10/9 = This game is very thoroughly enjoyable and has very few flaws; you could just spend your time playing only these games
8 = This game is pretty enjoyable, but you won't be missing out if you don't play it
7 = This game is average and almost certainly not worth buying
6 = A completely pointless game that might have some slim chance of appealing to you if you're in a very specific niche
5/4 = A completely worthless game
3/0 = It might be fun to watch an angry Let's Play of
We've created a gaming scene where soaring praise is expected; where the highest numbers are the average. Again the Jimquisition acknowledges this problem, and I'm glad he's aware of it, and while slapping the face of those who get consumed by it definitely helps, I don't think it's the cure to the problem.
And now, here we are at last: the conclusion of the dissection of this frustrating phenomenon; we can comprehend what the heart of the issue is; we can put the pieces together to fully understand why people flooded hatred over that 6.5 review of Dragon's Crown.
The fact that numbers speak louder than words mixed with the subjectivity of numbers along with the homogenization of opinions, with the power of Hate out of Ten amplifying it all, we get...
The 6th problem with Number Scores: the number becomes reality.
No one will say that opinions aren't objective, when asked. They won't say it, or think it out loud, that is. But on a deeper emotional level, an opinion can become an important part of their own enjoyment of the Thing. If someone gives a 9 to a game, because of all the problems I've mentioned before, it essentially becomes much more like an objective statement about a game's quality, and the more people agree on that number, the more 'objective' the number becomes, and the more infuriating any differing number can become.
Like, say if you spent your life supporting Such and Such political policy, because of allll the statistics you know of stating that Such and Such policy has a 95% benefit to Whatever. How are you inclined to react when someone tells you that, actually, only 10% of benefit to Whatever is caused by Such and Such, and is 90% damaging? If you're like me, you might be frustrated with that person.
Indeed, frustrated or annoyed by conflicting information, but ultimately okay if that guy ends up being factually wrong: your potential anger is defused by the alleviation of clear, true facts. Number Scores have the same element of frustratability, but because they are ultimately all subjective and opinion-based, you can't get behind objective fact to calm yourself, and may get pissed off as a result. There are many people who make angry comments about a 'low' 7.5 score, but I bet there are many times more people who've wanted to make an angry comment, but withheld their fingers knowing that their anger was stupid and pointless.
In general, I don't like what Number Scores do to the gaming community. It brings people to wallow in this bitter, emotionally-taxing Data Entry-esque sport of comparing and contrasting numbers. 'Ooh this got a 9.2 but the last one got a 9.3, this one is worse, huh? Sega Racing got a 7.75 but MAG just a 7?? This got a 10, but THAT did NOT get a 10! The PS3 version got half a point less than the 360 version!'
If Number Scores had some useful function in spite of all this, I would understand the desire to keep them. But, because of Problem #2: the problem that scores ultimately are pretty much pointless, I don't see any reason why we can't just throw these wasteful distractions into the dustbin of history, never to be seen again.
Now before anyone asks, I'm not trying to get Congress to ban numbers, or saying that we should flog every game site to purge its score policy, or saying that we need to start an anti-number Revolution Uprising; all I'm saying is--and in fact, the ultimate conclusion I've written this post to make--I want everyone to do the same thing I did: start ignoring Number Scores.
My internet-browsing life has been a solid 9.25 without them.
so I at least got a few laughs.
