A follow on from this thread
I believe the current review guidelines need a review of its own! Nothing major, but the wall of text via the main site can be quite confusing and may be more productive by simplifying things. Each review criteria should be simplified and the scoring system tailored to meet each criteria:
Playability
"Fun factor" - how fun/enjoyable was the campaign as a whole? In its current context, such as a fictional RPG or historic build and destroy - was it fun? Does the overall experience make you feel the download was worth it? Something you will consider replaying?
But what isn't fun? Bugs which cause you to restart or struggle to meet objectives, repeating actions over and over (such as 6 scenarios which begin with a TC and 3 villagers!)... the more gameplay issues the lower the score.
5 - Absolutely enjoyable with no gameplay problems
4 - Absolutely enjoyable but with a few minor gameplay problems
3 - Enjoyable but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements of fun but certain areas reflect badly on the gameplay
1 - Not fun in any form
Balance
"Challenge factor" - how challenging is the campaign? Does it take a few attempts to get through tricky spots? Does it allow you to develop and use specific strategies? Did you have to work hard for each battle?
But what isn't challenging? Having to repeat a scenario over and over again to get through it, or you completed it on a first attempt with no trouble. Unintentional loop holes which let you bypass key battles are also reflected badly in this criteria.
5 - Very challenging, requires great skill and strategy to complete
4 - Very challenging but with a few minor balance problems
3 - Challenging but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements are challenging but certain key areas are not balanced
1 - Not challenging in any form
Creativity
"Uniqueness factor" - how unique is the campaign? Does the combination of units, victory conditions, enemies, map layout, story etc show something truely unique? Does the campaign play out differently from other campaigns? Does the designer show creativity? Are there any notable tricks?
But what isn't creative? Random map starts (TC, 3 villagers etc), feeling of plain and ordinary, very similar to other campaigns.
5 - Very unique, showcasing a completely new experience
4 - Very unique but with a few minor creativity weaknesses
3 - Unique but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements are unique but certain key areas are not creative
1 - Not unique in any form
Map Design
"Beauty factor" - how beautiful are the landscape and towns? Do swamps, rivers, towns and other eyecandy elements form a great landscape? Does the designer's efforts show? Does a player's journey across the map show great detail in the landscape? Suitable map size?Layout of landscape allows for deployment of tactics (cliffs, elevation, passable routes etc)
But what isn't beautiful? Cluttering of eyecandy, use of plain terrains (random maps!), little effort by the designer to make it look beautiful, poorly planned towns/areas etc(such as problematic bottlenecks etc).
5 - Absolutely beautiful, showcasing great effort and map design
4 - Absolutely beautiful, but with a few minor design weaknesses
3 - Beautiful but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements are pleasant on the eye but certain key areas are not designed well
1 - No effort into map design in any form
Story/Instructions
"Story factor" - how well does the story and instructions enhance the campaign? do the hints specify enough information to get through tricky parts of the campaign? does the story set the tone of the campaign? are the instructions complete, clear and accurate? Has the designer gone the extra mile with spellings/grammar, bitmaps etc?
But what kind of story/instructions act negatively on a campaign? Missing (such as when essential to knowing what to do!), inaccurate, confusing, misleading, inadequate or wrong!
5 - Perfect story and instructions, any attached bitmaps are also perfect
4 - Near perfect story and instructions, with some minor quality issues
3 - Adequate story and instructions but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements of the story and instructions are satisfactory but certain key sections need revising
1 - No story or instructions in any form beyond installation steps
I would also advise comments highlight any short comings in the scores. For example, if a score of 4 was given in story/instructions - what are the minor quality issues? At least keen designers can see exactly what they need to address, either by explaining to the reviewer the choice made or updating their work.
I would also like to see an option to specify the type of campaign (build and destroy, rpg, mix etc).
I believe the current review guidelines need a review of its own! Nothing major, but the wall of text via the main site can be quite confusing and may be more productive by simplifying things. Each review criteria should be simplified and the scoring system tailored to meet each criteria:
"Fun factor" - how fun/enjoyable was the campaign as a whole? In its current context, such as a fictional RPG or historic build and destroy - was it fun? Does the overall experience make you feel the download was worth it? Something you will consider replaying?
But what isn't fun? Bugs which cause you to restart or struggle to meet objectives, repeating actions over and over (such as 6 scenarios which begin with a TC and 3 villagers!)... the more gameplay issues the lower the score.
5 - Absolutely enjoyable with no gameplay problems
4 - Absolutely enjoyable but with a few minor gameplay problems
3 - Enjoyable but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements of fun but certain areas reflect badly on the gameplay
1 - Not fun in any form
"Challenge factor" - how challenging is the campaign? Does it take a few attempts to get through tricky spots? Does it allow you to develop and use specific strategies? Did you have to work hard for each battle?
But what isn't challenging? Having to repeat a scenario over and over again to get through it, or you completed it on a first attempt with no trouble. Unintentional loop holes which let you bypass key battles are also reflected badly in this criteria.
5 - Very challenging, requires great skill and strategy to complete
4 - Very challenging but with a few minor balance problems
3 - Challenging but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements are challenging but certain key areas are not balanced
1 - Not challenging in any form
"Uniqueness factor" - how unique is the campaign? Does the combination of units, victory conditions, enemies, map layout, story etc show something truely unique? Does the campaign play out differently from other campaigns? Does the designer show creativity? Are there any notable tricks?
But what isn't creative? Random map starts (TC, 3 villagers etc), feeling of plain and ordinary, very similar to other campaigns.
5 - Very unique, showcasing a completely new experience
4 - Very unique but with a few minor creativity weaknesses
3 - Unique but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements are unique but certain key areas are not creative
1 - Not unique in any form
"Beauty factor" - how beautiful are the landscape and towns? Do swamps, rivers, towns and other eyecandy elements form a great landscape? Does the designer's efforts show? Does a player's journey across the map show great detail in the landscape? Suitable map size?
But what isn't beautiful? Cluttering of eyecandy, use of plain terrains (random maps!), little effort by the designer to make it look beautiful, poorly planned towns/areas etc
5 - Absolutely beautiful, showcasing great effort and map design
4 - Absolutely beautiful, but with a few minor design weaknesses
3 - Beautiful but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements are pleasant on the eye but certain key areas are not designed well
1 - No effort into map design in any form
"Story factor" - how well does the story and instructions enhance the campaign? do the hints specify enough information to get through tricky parts of the campaign? does the story set the tone of the campaign? are the instructions complete, clear and accurate? Has the designer gone the extra mile with spellings/grammar, bitmaps etc?
But what kind of story/instructions act negatively on a campaign? Missing (such as when essential to knowing what to do!), inaccurate, confusing, misleading, inadequate or wrong!
5 - Perfect story and instructions, any attached bitmaps are also perfect
4 - Near perfect story and instructions, with some minor quality issues
3 - Adequate story and instructions but a few areas need to be addressed
2 - Elements of the story and instructions are satisfactory but certain key sections need revising
1 - No story or instructions in any form beyond installation steps
I would also advise comments highlight any short comings in the scores. For example, if a score of 4 was given in story/instructions - what are the minor quality issues? At least keen designers can see exactly what they need to address, either by explaining to the reviewer the choice made or updating their work.
I would also like to see an option to specify the type of campaign (build and destroy, rpg, mix etc).
[This message has been edited by Rasteve (edited 11-10-2009 @ 10:33 AM).]