Words Of Wisdom on 17 August 2009
| Khuutra said: 1) Is video game criticism (which is to say, the review system) actually worth anything? 2) Do they serve to help appreciate games more, or are they just buyer's guides? 3) Should video game criticism seek to be more than it is, or is the current state of affairs to your liking? 4) Do we need scoring systems? 5) Do we need reviews at all? |
- There are a lot of people who get paid to provide it and also people who pay to read it. You can debate the value to society if you like, but you can measure the worth of game criticism and other journalistic endeavors tangibly with real dollars.
- I'd say that's something totally dependent on the reader. I use reviews to learn more about a game to make a purchasing decision, but that doesn't mean I read reviews specifically written for that purpose and only those nor does it mean that what I use them for is definitive and generalizable to everyone.
- All fields should seek to be more than they are.
- I think a meaningful system is useful, but a system of nearly random numbers where there is no definitive difference between an 8.7 and an 8.6 has no value to me.
- I've seen pro/con lists, impressions, previews, reviews, etc. Some form of feedback on a game is useful. I don't really care what it's called or what form it's in if it provides useful information.
