The GMC Rad Reviewers [sign up & Discussion]

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Otyugra

Guest
The GMC Rad Reviewers is a group of people who all agree to review completed GMC games, as well as give minor feedback to incomplete ones. There are too many great submissions on this forum that get unseen. As such, we are here to help forum-frequenters by recommending games, and to give submitting forum members feedback on their creations. Rad Reviewers are asked to be friendly with the people who make the games under review. Each reviewer has a radically different set of opinions; because we allow that to flourish, better reviews get made.

(This group is officially not run by YoYoGames or the staff. It is a community run group. Staff members are welcome to join alongside other members.)

Membership Requirements:
  1. You must ask to be a member, and when asking, you are required to write one review of a game, so that we have proof of your willingness, and ability, to actually review a game continually.
  2. You must make each of your reviews 350-words, minimum. This rule ensures that all of our reviews are long enough to go into efficient detail. 350-words is probably less than you think.
  3. The games you review must already have a thread on this forum. Each review must be posted on the thread of the game and then linked to the review thread.
  4. You must listen to the opinion(s) of the people who made the game, and go back to remove typos or false information whenever brought to your attention.
What we do in this group:
__Foremost we play and review games that show up here. We also sometimes read the reviews of other members and give each other constructive criticism. When we aren't doing any of that, we hold discussions, such as on how to change the group. During local forum jams, we make an effort to be among those who review the entries. Members may review non-GMC games, but this is encouraged to be done in addition, rather than in place of reviewing GMC games. During forum jam season, we make an effort to help with reviewing. Each member attempts to review one game per month, but this is only a common goal rather than a strict rule.
__I am the current group leader. I run the group, below the mods and admins, and decide major decisions with input from others. All other members are just Reviewers.

Template of a Review: (special thanks to @rui.rosario for contributing some of the format) (Following this template is not mandatory but is recommended by me)
Link to the Template

Notice: If you often write reviews that break forum rules, have misleading crucial information, or aren't constructive when critical, you will be removed from the group.

Our "Rad" Members:
(Astricks are rewarded to reviewers every time they review a game)
@Otyugra *
@mazimadu {temporarily taking a break}
@FruitPunchGuy [0/2] *
@SyntheticStorm9 [0/2]
(All forum mods and admins who aren't already members, are considered honorary members for operating this site, which this group could not exist without.)

Bulletin Board:
- Here is the new review thread: https://forum.yoyogames.com/index.php?threads/review-periodical-gmcrr.6407/ What do you guys think about it? Should we make changes to its structure?
- We need an artist to make a signature banner for our group to help spread the word

One more thing: If you wish to sign up, I should warn you that the criticism of this group made before March 14th, 2017 is all outdated. I had originally made some bad decisions, but I've long since fixed them.
 
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Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
Woah.. this is a pretty nice idea, and your post is certainly well written and thought out. I'm looking forward to seeing how this works out, BUT (sorry) I do have a couple of things that I need to ask...

First, could you please make it clear at the top of the topic that this is NOT being run by YYG or the GMC itself and is purely a "fan/community" run thing?

Second, this quote here made me do a double-take:

Write a review that people consider to be extremely bad will get you a Not Cool point.
So, if I don't like a game I can't write about it? For this to work, negative reviews HAVE to be accepted otherwise it becomes a "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" kind of thing. I also wonder just how you can judge whether a review is biased or objectively false. By definition a review cannot be objective, so to decide these things you have to make a non-objective decision yourself, which could be wrong. For example, everyone loves Undertale, but I hate it (yes, I am THAT guy), so if I write a review of Undertale saying I hated it and why, you may think I'm just being biased and jealous and give me a not-cool point...

Basically, how do you judge a biased/vengeful/bad review?
 
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Coded Games

Member
So, if I don't like a game I'm can't write about it? For this to work, negative reviews HAVE to be accepted otherwise it becomes a "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" kind of thing. I also wonder just how you can judge whether a review is biased or objectively false. By definition a review cannot be objective, so to decide these things you have to make a non-objective decision yourself, which could be wrong. For example, everyone loves Undertale, but I hate it (yes, I am THAT guy), so if I write a review of Undertale saying I hated it and why, you may think I'm just being biased and jealous and give me a not-cool point...
Probably referring to the quality of the review rather than the content/opinions in the review.
 
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rui.rosario

Guest
Sounds cool, sign me up! (I already have a WIP game I was supposed to review yesterday but had no time to do it)
 

Alice

Darts addict
Forum Staff
Moderator
Sign me up, too~!

While we're at that, perhaps Slippin' Secretary could not only keep track of which members need to write their monthly reviews, but also find the games that need more love (games with more replies, or games whose only reply is something like "cool stuff" and little else), and keep track of a list of such games?

Also, is Discussion Wizard exempt from reviewing games monthly or not? It's not explicitly stated, but considering the positions above and below are exempt, it seems logical.
 
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rui.rosario

Guest
I have an additional question. You placed a limit on the number of word (between 500 and 2500), but imagine I have something like the following format:

Rad Reviewers Game
@Otyugra

Review:
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Fusce aliquam, nulla feugiat fringilla tristique, eros libero rutrum mauris, sit amet imperdiet massa justo nec ex. Proin vehicula nulla viverra nibh finibus, non ullamcorper tortor rutrum. Aenean convallis ex nec nulla euismod pretium. Cras sed ligula rhoncus, aliquam purus a, cursus turpis. In lectus justo, posuere in rhoncus a, egestas et sem. Aliquam condimentum accumsan diam eget ultricies. Ut tellus erat, tincidunt vitae enim id, commodo elementum magna. Vestibulum fringilla condimentum leo non euismod. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Fusce hendrerit iaculis odio vel tempor. Maecenas risus diam, consequat a enim sed, facilisis porttitor ligula.

Duis eu massa ut purus consectetur rhoncus. Nunc quis gravida magna. Sed tempor felis nulla, non egestas eros pulvinar ac. Pellentesque elit dui, porta rhoncus porta quis, consequat sed turpis. Maecenas a pellentesque nunc. Aenean tempus ac justo sit amet sagittis. Fusce hendrerit viverra nisl, id placerat mauris interdum ac. Nunc molestie ut lectus ac viverra. Aenean a nisi convallis, aliquam purus eget, dapibus turpis. Vestibulum volutpat enim dignissim nibh porttitor tempor. Etiam egestas, libero nec faucibus interdum, velit felis lacinia lorem, at eleifend nisl tellus quis tortor. Vivamus quis cursus neque. Ut laoreet mi quis velit congue, ut placerat est dictum. Cras velit nisi, varius pretium accumsan a, dapibus vel felis.

Donec ac luctus ante, vitae fringilla eros. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Aliquam erat volutpat. Aliquam tincidunt risus a orci maximus interdum. Nullam tempor eget arcu at ultricies. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Phasellus accumsan faucibus nulla, in vulputate felis condimentum sed. Suspendisse potenti. Ut fermentum, risus ut consectetur eleifend, tortor libero tristique lacus, convallis pellentesque ante orci et ipsum.

Vivamus non massa quis turpis finibus laoreet. Suspendisse potenti. Mauris velit nulla, lobortis nec magna at, gravida accumsan nisl. Nam malesuada ultrices enim, eget auctor quam consequat nec. Suspendisse nisl nisl, molestie non leo sit amet, sollicitudin volutpat nisi. Pellentesque lobortis massa vitae odio malesuada faucibus. Aliquam condimentum facilisis venenatis. Phasellus nec mi tempor, sodales mauris sit amet, convallis purus. Interdum et malesuada fames ac ante ipsum primis in faucibus. Curabitur elit nisi, ultrices sit amet maximus non, hendrerit vel ipsum. Nullam et nisl ut dolor porta auctor et quis dui. Etiam in est auctor, consequat massa quis, faucibus turpis. In hac habitasse platea dictumst.

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Integer mattis, diam nec tempor aliquam, ex massa suscipit leo, eget viverra quam nisi vitae lacus. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Proin purus metus, euismod eu lacinia nec, auctor nec ipsum. Phasellus dapibus, urna sit amet placerat pellentesque, nibh mauris eleifend lectus, vitae consectetur metus lectus id nisi. Fusce eget purus id dui egestas feugiat id eu lectus. Duis quis lectus sit amet sem condimentum lobortis. Sed ac risus ac felis pretium aliquam. Nullam ac turpis tempor, hendrerit nisl et, rutrum lorem. Suspendisse posuere risus eu sapien laoreet, eu lobortis orci imperdiet. Ut interdum magna ante. Etiam auctor aliquet nisl, sit amet efficitur magna vulputate ornare. Aenean at odio sapien. Nam vitae libero vitae arcu dapibus venenatis ut blandit purus. Cras urna neque, sollicitudin a molestie eget, rutrum a erat. In gravida ligula ac neque convallis, vitae ultricies elit feugiat.

Donec dapibus arcu quis eros auctor efficitur non condimentum justo. Quisque sit amet mauris lacus. Sed vel ligula sed arcu blandit pharetra vel id tellus. Vestibulum lacus turpis, pharetra a blandit vitae, laoreet at velit. Integer diam nisi, cursus id tristique et, rutrum id urna. Fusce congue tristique ante, et efficitur ex molestie non. Nam non mauris sit amet orci vulputate ultricies. Vivamus malesuada libero at mi congue sagittis. Nullam orci risus, tristique vel purus id, finibus posuere felis. Proin blandit velit et suscipit scelerisque. Aliquam tempor nec sem vitae rhoncus. Vestibulum auctor, metus vel fermentum blandit, odio eros varius est, sed porta felis tellus nec arcu. Pellentesque non lacus in sem egestas dapibus vitae et diam.

Nam vel sodales tellus, ut auctor turpis. Maecenas fringilla enim vel eleifend commodo. In gravida, metus sit amet fringilla fermentum, lorem turpis imperdiet neque, a dictum sem turpis quis orci. Nulla facilisi. Vestibulum condimentum dapibus leo in hendrerit. Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. In mollis leo et dolor ullamcorper, quis mollis nisl rutrum. Etiam faucibus eget nunc ut gravida.

Quisque eget erat tincidunt, pretium enim convallis, malesuada lorem. In hac habitasse platea dictumst. Integer enim nisl, dictum sit amet venenatis eget, venenatis non urna. Nulla sit amet sollicitudin mi. In convallis sem urna, in congue dolor posuere quis. Maecenas non felis velit. Fusce nisl nulla, vehicula a rhoncus a, porta nec mauris. Integer sed justo quis quam molestie sodales nec sit amet massa. Aliquam erat volutpat. Nam mattis at ex eget placerat. Sed nisl lacus, volutpat sed mi ac, euismod rutrum nunc. Duis ultricies tempus tellus, eget tincidunt leo aliquam ut. Sed gravida rutrum consequat. Aenean ut eros non turpis faucibus laoreet non at magna.

Curabitur efficitur eros arcu, id dignissim nisi accumsan sed. Phasellus ut felis non turpis maximus volutpat. Fusce et pharetra urna. Donec sit amet sapien porta, commodo augue vitae, faucibus sem. Donec aliquet, nunc a pellentesque pharetra, nunc ex tempor lacus, eu ultricies ligula enim vel eros. Suspendisse porttitor eu elit at placerat. Praesent efficitur diam tempus elementum sodales. Fusce ante lacus, tincidunt eu tristique at, viverra ut mauris. Vivamus sed sapien ut felis ultrices vestibulum a vitae leo. Nunc venenatis leo tellus, at cursus augue condimentum sit amet. Curabitur velit dolor, tincidunt eu elit et, vehicula luctus nisl.

Donec at diam quis tellus aliquet vestibulum vitae nec felis. Praesent sollicitudin lobortis risus, pulvinar faucibus neque. Praesent venenatis rhoncus turpis a luctus. Etiam semper nisl sit amet nisi feugiat interdum ut id purus. Maecenas at enim nec velit fringilla sagittis et a eros. Etiam eget ex at mi feugiat rhoncus. Aliquam ut enim non libero suscipit convallis ut ut urna. Vestibulum non arcu tortor. Curabitur varius tempus erat eu faucibus.

Pellentesque euismod maximus purus, in pharetra ex tincidunt eget. Duis nec aliquam nisi. Ut mollis, ex at pharetra vulputate, velit est hendrerit ante, et lobortis magna dolor id arcu. Proin vestibulum quis sem fringilla condimentum. Etiam a erat sit amet augue laoreet finibus. 💩💩💩 sociis natoque penatibus et magnis dis parturient montes, nascetur ridiculus mus. Sed dui ex, varius a faucibus aliquet, ultrices eget turpis. Nunc turpis diam, bibendum id dignissim sit amet, finibus ut diam.

Vivamus nec mauris eget leo dapibus finibus at ac eros. Sed sagittis turpis at sem elementum tincidunt. Quisque sit amet eros aliquet, tincidunt enim ut, semper ligula. Curabitur fringilla turpis erat. Aliquam erat volutpat. In eu nulla lacus. Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Duis vitae velit vel velit hendrerit sagittis et nec turpis. Vestibulum eu vestibulum dolor, ut tincidunt felis. Quisque fermentum aliquam est commodo scelerisque. Nam molestie hendrerit nisl malesuada pellentesque. Phasellus facilisis molestie pellentesque. Donec a purus vitae tellus ultrices pretium.

Highlights:
1st (strength or improvement opportunity)
2nd (strength or improvement opportunity)
3rd (strength or improvement opportunity)
4th (strength or improvement opportunity)

The opinions and points of view offered in this review are not the opinions and points of view of the Rad Reviewers Club, but from the author of the review. We are all humans and as suc we might have made a mistake or have something to improve, please share your thoughts of this review with us.

[RRC]

Would the limit apply to the whole post (including highlights and disclaimer), or only the actual review text? Also, I'm not sure you can make reviews with 2500 words, since the post maximum length is 10000 characters (just found out)
 
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Otyugra

Guest
First, could you please make it clear at the top of the topic that this is NOT being run by YYG or the GMC itself and is purely a "fan/community" run thing?

Second, this quote here made me do a double-take:

So, if I don't like a game I can't write about it? For this to work, negative reviews HAVE to be accepted otherwise it becomes a "I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine" kind of thing. I also wonder just how you can judge whether a review is biased or objectively false. By definition a review cannot be objective, so to decide these things you have to make a non-objective decision yourself, which could be wrong. For example, everyone loves Undertale, but I hate it (yes, I am THAT guy), so if I write a review of Undertale saying I hated it and why, you may think I'm just being biased and jealous and give me a not-cool point...
Basically, how do you judge a biased/vengeful/bad review?
(For the first request, I did as you asked) Sorry for the lack of clarity. As people pointed out, what I mean to imply is Not Cool points are given to people when they write reviews that are overly vulgar (for example; reviews that break the rules, in other words). Points are NOT given out to reviews that claim "the game is bad" or go counter to the popular opinion. Stuff like that normally gets defended by club leaders so that people feel free to be honest in their reviews. However, someone who constantly makes reviews that majority agree are not "quality reviews" can get demoted so that regular forum members see that that person's reviews are not highly respected.

@Nocturne Does that answer all of your questions? Everyone feel free to ask me all the questions you want if you find anything to be too vague.

@Aura Since the forum is less than a week old, I'll make an exception to the rule and add you as Fresh Meat. If you prove yourself, I'll make you the Wizard.

@rui.rosario I'll add you as Fresh Meat. I think I'll shorten the maximum length because of the character limit from 2,500 to 2,000. I will also lower the minimum to 400 because 500 is more than I realized. That is a good question... I think in that particular case, only the actual content of the review and the highlights count as being apart of the word limit. Title information, disclaimers and footnote links do not count.

@Alice I'll add you as Fresh Meat. Thank you for joining!
 
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Aura

Guest
While we're at it, why don't we get a website/blog set up where the members can login, post the reviews and communicate with each other?
 
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Otyugra

Guest
While we're at it, why don't we get a website/blog set up where the members can login, post the reviews and communicate with each other?
I like the idea of a website that acts as an archive for our reviews but I want to keep things on this website so that we stay united with the regular members and seem more accessible. I think the future Secretary should make a simple website for Archiving.
 
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rui.rosario

Guest
I think in that particular case, only the actual content of the review and the highlights count as being apart of the word limit.
I think the highlights shouldn't be a part of the word limit. At least the way I see it, the review itself should have all of the content the reviewer wished to speak about and bring to the developer's attention. The highlights would just be a summary of the strengths / improvement opportunities already discussed in the review and in short, to the point sentences, so counting them for the word limit would essentially duplicate the count for that particular piece of information.

Of course that if the highlights weren't mentioned in the review / weren't short then it would have to be counted.

Also, don't you think there should be a streamlined format for the review? You already specified the Game Title, Game Authors and etc, but I think you should go farther and actually state "this is the template, follow it". That way the club would have a streamlined approach throughout the community.
 
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roytheshort

Guest
I can join if you want, but all of my reviews will be rushed and written while probably drunk. I will play and review games though, guaranteed.
 
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nvrogers

Guest
Nice idea. I'll join.

I have one suggestion, though. You might want to remove the "one review a month" requirement. It can be hard to remember to write reviews during finals or when you're crunching to finish a game.
 
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Alice

Darts addict
Forum Staff
Moderator
You might want to remove the "one review a month" requirement. It can be hard to remember to write reviews during finals or when your crunching to finish a game.
I think that requirement is a good requirement, as long as we treat it as a strong guideline, rather than an unconditional law.

Generally, the Slippin' Secretary should keep track of who did the monthly review and who didn't, and possibly inform those who are a bit behind or something. Plus, if someone has a particularly intense month, I figure it's possible to suspend the requirement, perhaps arranged so that the overdue review will be written in the next month or so (aside from the actual next month's review). We're all people here, too. ^^
 
@

@Alex@

Guest
I think that requirement is a good requirement, as long as we treat it as a strong guideline, rather than an unconditional law.

Generally, the Slippin' Secretary should keep track of who did the monthly review and who didn't, and possibly inform those who are a bit behind or something. Plus, if someone has a particularly intense month, I figure it's possible to suspend the requirement, perhaps arranged so that the overdue review will be written in the next month or so (aside from the actual next month's review). We're all people here, too. ^^
I would have thought 12 Reviews per year would keep the spirit of once per month but allow people to take a break for a month for exams, holidays, moving house or whatever.

Anyway this is an interesting concept. I vaguely remember something similar failing on the old forums simply because it was a sort of tit for tat style system, this seems better suited for the task.
 
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Otyugra

Guest
@rui.rosario You make a good point, that part is now out of the requirement. I think making a format for all to copy is a good idea so long as it isn't over-the-top specific. Different people review games different ways.

@roytheshort I will add you as Fresh Meat. A rushed review can be fixed (if needed) and you can drink all you like.

@nvrogers I will also add you as Fresh Meat.

I really like what @Alice had to say but @@Alex@ 's idea is not bad too. I'm curious which you guys like better. I'm worried that a 12 per year would cause intense procrastinating. It is easy for someone in that situation to feel like they have all the time in the world and choose not to even think about reviewing. What if every two months you need to write two reviews?
 

Alice

Darts addict
Forum Staff
Moderator
I think 2 reviews per 2 months or 3 reviews per quarter is reasonable, any larger scaling would make it all to prone to procrastination, I think. I'd still encourage giving 1 review per month, or having the periodic reviews written in advance rather than at the last moment, so that people wouldn't get sudden surges of 2 or 3 hastily written reviews near the deadline, or something. But I guess that's up to the individual time management in the end...?
 
You mentioned WIP games being discussed. Do they need to be reviewed, or will it instead be an effort to actually bring discussion into that forum? I'm not a fan of the idea of having half-finished games being reviewed.
 
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nvrogers

Guest
We could divide it up into "Reviews" for finished games and "WIP Checkups" for WIP projects. That would make it more about playtesting and constructive criticism than formal reviewing.

EDIT: wording.
 
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Rusty

Guest
Awh, damn it, I thought this said "Bad Reviewer Club". Well, I guess I can't join then.

Edit:
Seriously though, you might want to change the name or risk turning off people who misread this and being inducted into the Rad Bad Reviewing Club Naming Club (who are often mistaken for the Bad Bad Reviewing Club Naming Club who are actually very good at naming reviewing clubs).
 
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Otyugra

Guest
_________________________

@Alice For now we'll stick to two per two months.
@nacho_chicken has a good point. I agree with @nvrogers on the idea of giving feedback to incomplete games but I say they should not be counted as part of the requirement. I think giving feedback on WIPs should be encouraged greatly but never necessary. Do not write official reviews on games posted in the Incomplete subforum.

@Rusty I believe the name is fine how it is but thank you for the suggestion. If other people want me to change the name or the names of the positions, let me know.
 
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nvrogers

Guest
Can it be the "Discussion WizRAD" and the "Slippin' SecRADtary"?
 
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Otyugra

Guest
Can it be the "Discussion WizRAD" and the "Slippin' SecRADtary"?
I appreciate the suggestions, but no. I don't want the names to be so silly that people question if our reviews can be trusted. I am worried people think the names are already too silly.

By the way, pretend the clubhouse thread doesn't exist. It got locked because the staff felt like it was not needed and I realize now they were right about that. I'm going to create a review template on the original post now.

EDIT:
@roytheshort I'll think about it, but for now, no.
 
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rui.rosario

Guest
@Otyugra, how would you go about different members of the club reviewing the same game? Would it be ok for everyone to apply their own judgement when choosing the game or would you need to avoid reviewing games other members of the club had already reviewed?
 
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nvrogers

Guest
@Otyugra, how would you go about different members of the club reviewing the same game? Would it be ok for everyone to apply their own judgement when choosing the game or would you need to avoid reviewing games other members of the club had already reviewed?
It may be a good idea for us to try and review different games. We want to make sure we get a good spread of games and not just the ones that everyone wants to review. We could have some sort of "dibs" system?
 
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rui.rosario

Guest
We could have some sort of "dibs" system?
Maybe the Secretary would have a list of each game a Reviewer had in Queue to review, and when it spotted two reviewers with the same game it would either alert the reviewers so they decided who got it or the Secretary would decide?
 
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Otyugra

Guest
Here is the Template for a review:

What goes on the Game's Thread:
Name of the Game
@Usernames of the people who made the game <--(optional)
Written by: @Your username (If you want, you can add your real name, too)
~ ~ ~
(Review goes here)

The opinions and point of view offered in this review are not the opinions and points of view of the GMC Rad Reviewers. We are all humans; as such, we might have made a mistake or misinterpreted something when playing your game, so please share your thoughts of this review with us.

[GMCRR] <--- this links to this forum thread

Don't forget to post a link to the review on the review topic. You are welcome to post an excerpt from the review as long as the excerpt does not exceed 100 words (just a suggestion).

Guidelines and Personal Recommendations
Rules:
  • If you set the review up in the typical style, use the paragraph format rather than having everything in one long un-indented paragraph.
  • Use proper grammar, sentence structure, etc unless for intentional reasons.
  • If you use pictures with your review, make sure the pictures are no taller than 1000 px or wider than 1400 px. and use no more than 7. Talk to me if you want to use more than 7 pictures or if you want the words in the pictures to count towards the word limit.
  • Try to inform the reader what the game is like.
  • Include both facts and opinions in a review.
  • Make sure to check for mistakes before submitting your review; it is worth it because we as humans almost always make mistakes and it prevents other people from having to inform you. A review with many mistakes reflects badly on all of us in the group.
Personal Recommendations:
  • Consider easing the reader into the review rather than starting with criticism in the first sentence.
  • Try not to ramble or digress to much about something off-topic.
  • If you do not know how you want to format your review, consider breaking it up by category.
  • Examples of things that could have their own paragraph: visual art, music, mechanics/code, story, user interface, menus, physics/movement, art style, mood, overall creativity, control scheme (the controls is something reviewers don't talk about enough in my opinion), and unity (Do things combine together well?).
  • If you use fun as a metric, maybe explain why it was or was not fun to you specifically so that someone with a different idea of fun does not get mislead.
  • The same goes for using difficulty as a metric.
  • Avoid letting your review be like a list than a natural flowing of ideas.
  • Try to balance talking to the creator(s) and talking to the regular members of the forum.
  • I think it is important to have a sentence or even a paragraph that ends the review with a reference to the opening paragraph so that the reader has closure. A review with a paragraph dedicated to giving a recommendation or score accomplish that too.
  • I recommend using a unique font but not using a unique color.
  • Consider having an optional review score accompanied with reasons for the score / optional recommendation in the form of one or two sentences. (I would prefer it if you chose the latter but choosing neither is also an option if you want to end the review ambiguous)
 
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Rusty

Guest
I'm sorry, what? You're doing to tell people how to organise their paragraphs? Setting out the header and the footer is one thing, demanding clean grammar and a certain standard of review is mandatory if you want to be taken seriously (as well as a serious re-brand (branding issues is one of the key things you need to be aware of as a reviewer, you can't be high and mighty if you don't know the finer points of what you're talking about)) but telling people how to organise their paragraphs is absurdly structural.

Let each reviewer use their own creative freedom to form their own reviews and styles of reviews. Nobody needs a GCSE grade English lesson on how to write a closing statement.
 
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nvrogers

Guest
Alternative Suggestion:
-Header-
<Review Goes Here>
-Disclaimer-

A lot of us are good writers. Just let us write ;)
 
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Otyugra

Guest
@nvrogers & @Rusty I made it clear that most of the guidelines within the paragraphs were written as a personal recommendation, rather than word-of-God. While I strongly recommend an opening paragraph (for example), how the members format their paragraphs is completely left for them to decide. Follow it or don't. I went back and made some minor changes to the template.

@nvrogers & @rui.rosario Good ideas. I think Discussion Wizard should be the tie breaker on who gets to review what, but most of the time it should be first-come-first-serve so tie breaking would be pretty rare.


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Rusty

Guest
Why do you need a motto?

This whole branding thing makes me cringe to be honest, I don't understand why there is so many rules applied to this and why you have so many ranks and etc. You're treating this more like a gaming guild rather than an advertisement resource for developers.

Dumb yourself down, remove the cringey awkward teenage feel to the branding. Call it the GMR (Game Maker Reviewers), have one guy manage it, remove GMR status from anybody who is causing problems with it and try to maintain a decent standard by gathering decent reviewers. It's easier, it's much more professional and it's something I'd actually bother to read.

Seriously, you sound like a middle aged politician trying to reach out to "da kidz".
 
What do you think of this motto:

"We find it quite sad
that games are unseen
so we declare to be rad
and review till we dream."
I don't think this will ever get off the ground until a more professional "branding" is established.

"Rad Reviewer Club" Pretty much sums up how I feel about this right now. "Rad" is 20-years-dead slang. Never use slang in anything you want to be perceived as legitimate. Combined with "Club", it makes it sound like something a child would come up with. And on top of that, you have all those ridiculous titles for positions that don't need to exist. Yes, I think there is a serious deficiency in GMC users actually playing and providing feedback on games. Yes, there are people queuing up to be reviewers because they realize it's needed.

No, people aren't going to listen to someone who doesn't know how to operate a structured system for reviewing games.
 
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Rusty

Guest
It reminds me of Eugen Freund and his Brexit Poetry. I had in the back of my head but I couldn't pin his name.

(Thank you Toni for exposing me to that btw.)
 
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nvrogers

Guest
It might be wise to focus on reviews rather than mottos and general silliness.
 
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Otyugra

Guest
I removed the motto.

__Why do you need a motto?
__This whole branding thing makes me cringe; I don't understand why there is so many rules applied to this and why you have so many ranks. You're treating this more like a gaming guild rather than an advertisement resource for developers.
__Dumb yourself down, remove the cringey awkward teenage feel to the branding. Call it the GMR (Game Maker Reviewers), have one guy manage it, remove GMR status from anybody who is causing problems with it and try to maintain a decent standard by gathering decent reviewers. It's easier, it's much more professional and it's something I'd actually bother to read.
__Seriously, you sound like a middle aged politician trying to reach out to "da kidz".
__The names makes you cringe? That was sorta the point of the naming convention for better or worse. As stated above, I'd be happy to change the names of the roles if you all want me to, and I'd be happy to receive suggestions for replacement names if you think the entire naming system is a bad idea. It appears 90's slang is so bad it is bad, rather than so bad it is endearing for most of you so I'd be happy to change the names. That said, I ask that the name of our group stays the same because keeping the word "rad" helps us form an identity. And to form a sliver of an identity as a group doesn't have to be a bad thing.
__Rusty, I'm sorry the names I choose make you not want to read the reviews, but I think you are being unreasonable. The five members below me did not choose the names and I want their reviews to be judged on the quality of their reviews, rather than the club name they stand under.

__I don't think this will ever get off the ground until a more professional "branding" is established. "Rad Reviewer Club" Pretty much sums up how I feel about this right now. "Rad" is 20-years-dead slang. Never use slang in anything you want to be perceived as legitimate. Combined with "Club", it makes it sound like something a child would come up with. And on top of that, you have all those ridiculous titles for positions that don't need to exist. Yes, I think there is a serious deficiency in GMC users actually playing and providing feedback on games. Yes, there are people queuing up to be reviewers because they realize it's needed.
__No, people aren't going to listen to someone who doesn't know how to operate a structured system for reviewing games.
__I'll count this as another vote to change the role names. I disagree that the word "rad" and the concept of professionalism can't go hand and hand. I see it as a signification of our humble view of ourselves. Each of our reviews are only the opinions of a single people, and having a silly name is a good way to show how human we are and how indifferent we are from anyone else here on the forum. So why "radical"? Because all people think radically different from each other, and as individuals we all state our evaluations in spite of how un-unified our opinions are as a group. I believe in the elevation of the individual and the removal of singularity found in groups such as this.
__Furthermore, anyone who worries about their reputation should consider putting more worry into the quality of the reviews instead. A reputation is near meaningless compared to doing a job properly.

It might be wise to focus on reviews rather than mottos and general silliness.
__Do you want me to rename the roles (assuming the roles don't get added to removed)?
 
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Why did you all wait until I made the motto to say anything?
All of us have individual breaking points as far as tolerating silliness in a serious setting. The motto happened to cross that for myself and apparently several others. There's no need for rudeness.
 
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Rusty

Guest
You have the identity and the fellowship of a Halo clan ran by a 12 year old.
 
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Otyugra

Guest
All of us have individual breaking points as far as tolerating silliness in a serious setting. The motto happened to cross that for myself and apparently several others. There's no need for rudeness.
(I edited my last post before I saw you posted this, I tried to retract that question before anyone read it.)
What was rude about my question?
 
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nvrogers

Guest
Let's calm down and set this up properly instead of continuing down Flamewar Street.

Rusty, you make some good points on the ranking system, but it may be helpful to indicate who the more experienced reviewers are so that people joining have someone to look at as an example.
 
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Rusty

Guest
A ranking system will only discourage developers to give their games to lower ranked reviewers. If we're all in the same pile then it's just the hat draw but if you put marks on us then they're going to be aiming for reviews from the ones marked as "better".

Internally, it would be nice for more experienced reviewers to mentor the less experienced members, but this doesn't require any kind of official seal of approval as much as it is natural sociology.
 

Nocturne

Friendly Tyrant
Forum Staff
Admin
You have the identity and the fellowship of a Halo clan ran by a 12 year old.
Okay, okay, no need for that. This topic is a positive thing and your negativity and insults aren't needed. Constructive criticism is fine, but lets try and support the initiative and put it on the right track rather than just blow it down, please. Your other points are valid and (imho) pretty spot on, so don't ruin it with this childishness... ;)
 
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Rusty

Guest
Okay, okay, no need for that. This topic is a positive thing and your negativity and insults aren't needed. Constructive criticism is fine, but lets try and support the initiative and put it on the right track rather than just blow it down, please. Your other points are valid and (imho) pretty spot on, so don't ruin it with this childishness... ;)
I can see how that might have been read as aggressive, but it wasn't intended to be. I'm simply trying to point out why this branding initiative is going to turn away developers, which won't just hold bad for the developers who will miss out on such an opportunity but also reflect badly on the community hosting it.

My point is that if you want to be successful, you want to look like a professional and not some kid who is forming a league on Halo.
 
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nvrogers

Guest
A ranking system will only discourage developers to give their games to lower ranked reviewers. If we're all in the same pile then it's just the hat draw but if you put marks on us then they're going to be aiming for reviews from the ones marked as "better".

Internally, it would be nice for more experienced reviewers to mentor the less experienced members, but this doesn't require any kind of official seal of approval as much as it is natural sociology.
Certainly. I was thinking something along the lines of an example review "pile." We could choose a few good reviews with different styles and degrees of positivity and edit them into the first post on this topic. There just needs to be something to give people who are not as comfortable writing a grasp on how to write a review.
 
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Rusty

Guest
Certainly. I was thinking something along the lines of an example review "pile." We could choose a few good reviews with different styles and degrees of positivity and edit them into the first post on this topic. There just needs to be something to give people who are not as comfortable writing a grasp on how to write a review.
That can simply fall down the grapevine. When somebody applies for status and says they don't have much in the way of experience, it will be up to everybody to pitch in and push them in the right direction, that's how these things usually work. There could even been a sample review to the guy in charge from which feedback and such could be given.
 
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Otyugra

Guest
I finished replying to everyone's earlier posts.

Before I think over everyone's new suggestion about removing seniority names, I will ask: do we accept requests to review games, and if so, do we accept them automatically? That might sound like an easy answer but hear me out. If we choose what to review, we can always make sure no one game gets way more reviews/feedback than another. Accepting requests is like letting people cut in line, but it also makes sense in that we clearly know these are the people who want their games reviewed.

By the way, if you could rename the positions (and not add or subtract any), what would you name them to?

@Rusty, would you like to become a reviewer with us? I admire how much care you are putting into making this club better.

EDIT: @ThunkGames I added you. Welcome! Thank you for joining our humble reviewer club.
 
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Rusty

Guest
would you like to become a reviewer with us? I admire how much care you are putting into making this club better.
I know you have noble intentions for this and I applaud you for taking initiative on that but unfortunately I don't believe this (as it currently is) is something I'd want to be associated with.
 
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