Fair ratings?

I wish there was a way to protect good games from getting bad ratings that purposely knock them off the Top Games chart.

Case in point, my recent game Pick to Win was doing very well with about 400 plays in 2 days. Then, someone gives it a 1-star rating and boom...it is off the charts.

I'm not trying to be arrogant here, but I don't believe my game is a 1-star.

I believe there are some members here who are specifically targeting new games that are on the Top Games chart and purposely rating them with 1-star to get them off the list and to buoy their own games.

Anyone else have any thoughts? Is there a better way to do ratings? What about instead of anonymous ratings, your name was attached to your rating?

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hi

wish I knew how to give the star ratings, can't seem to figure that out if anyone could tell me; sorry for sounding dumb

I guess there are people out there whom do anything to get what they want.

Hope someone is able to help you with this.

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just been on to try your game both in chrome and firefox and its just showing a grey blank screen. Even on another computer in the house its doing the same.

I saw the stars at the top of the page (first time ever) ! and although I wasn't able to play the game I could rate it with the stars if i wanted too.

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tested on internet explorer, and Chrome and it works fine for me (I seem to recall having also tested on my Ipad 3 at some point, and it worked well with the touch based controls).

But if, as Mineet has mentioned, the game also isn't working for some people, that might explain the one star rating (also it can come down to personal taste. If someone played your game and wasn't in the right mood, or were looking for something with a crazy amount of depth, then this could also lead to a bad rating).

I think suggesting that other members are downrating games to get theirs to go higher in the ratings is unlikely, though not impossible (there are, after all, unscrupulous folk in all fields of life). Don't forget that members of the general public can also play these games, and are less likely to be respectful of the amount of time that goes into creating them. It's possible that someone simply played it and didn't like it (I enjoyed it, but didn't find enough depth to keep me interested as I'm not a 'high score' fanatic. Whereas those people who enjoy trying to beat the latest score will no doubt enjoy it immensely)

Anyway, try not to get downhearted - pick yourself up, and create something even more awesome.

• Dave

mineet - thanks for the replies. Do you have problems playing other games in Scirra Arcade? I test all my games before release in Chrome and haven't ever experienced a grey blank screen. Perhaps hit the refresh button on the game page? Or make sure your browser is updated to current version.

Dave Hailwood - thanks for your reply. I think you make good sense, but the frustration is still there if players are giving 1-star ratings for things I can't control like mineet's grey screen. I have noticed several issues with Construct 2 now and it seems random, but something will work and display normally when I preview a game of mine in test browser. But, as soon as it is published to Scirra Arcade, it plays or displays differently, which is absolutely frustrating.

The issue about 1-star ratings in Scirra Arcade would be a moot point if other members actually rated the games they played. Pick to Win had 40 members play so far, but only 2 ratings. That's a poor ratio.

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I left a message on one of your games;; I tried last night on chrome and firefox both latest versions (which gave me a blank screen). This morning I tried on internet explorer and played two of your games. And they worked fine..

I agree with Dave Hailwood that if some people are having the same issues they could give one star etc.

I rated the game at 3 stars, but gave a 4 to compensate for for the 1 star review.

The issue for me is that while the design and sound were great (As well as a high score edge, I love trying to get points!) I had no idea how I was winning; I sat there for ages trying to find a tell tale hint or difference between the gems but I couldn't work one out!

So for me it just came down to guessing; good game design asks the player a question and rewards them on how they respond, with this my response was the same each time, guess a gem, but it resulted in negative reinforcement as the majority of guesses I made were wrong. That's what makes games unenjoyable, and that might be why someone one star'd it.

That said I obviously enjoyed it, please tell me if there's a knack or trick I'm missing?!

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hi I agree with Mr E Bear, it was guess work on which gem to choose. I couldn't see any difference between them. I started by selecting the same colours.. so was a bit unsure if I was playing it right or it was just luck if I got it right... because of my uncertainty if I was playing it right I didn't give it a rating... but I did rate the ball game though.. Unlike Mr E Bear high scores don't interest me though..

I don't think a game with 1 vote should be in top rated games list at all. You can submit a game, rate it 5 stars and have it jump into the top 6 list. That's not right is it?

After reading this post last night I gave 5 stars to a new unrated game to see what effect it would have and it's now 2nd in the top games list with 3 votes. Maybe there should be top new games list and top overall for games with more than x votes.

Some sites don't show a rating until the game receives a certain number of votes. I think that's a good idea because the first few votes are influential and you get people thinking a game is worth 3 stars but giving it 1 to counter the 5 it already has.

You're right about people not voting though. It's the same with tutorials. The top rated (> 1 million views) has only 379 votes.

I don't think a game with 1 vote should be in top rated games list at all. You can submit a game, rate it 5 stars and have it jump into the top 6 list. That's not right is it?

After reading this post last night I gave 5 stars to a new unrated game to see what effect it would have and it's now 2nd in the top games list with 3 votes. Maybe there should be top new games list and top overall for games with more than x votes.

Some sites don't show a rating until the game receives a certain number of votes. I think that's a good idea because the first few votes are influential and you get people thinking a game is worth 3 stars but giving it 1 to counter the 5 it already has.

You're right about people not voting though. It's the same with tutorials. The top rated (> 1 million views) has only 379 votes.

ramones - I agree with you completely. You are right that it works both ways. I like the idea of not showing a rating until say 5 or 10 votes.

I rated the game at 3 stars, but gave a 4 to compensate for for the 1 star review.

The issue for me is that while the design and sound were great (As well as a high score edge, I love trying to get points!) I had no idea how I was winning; I sat there for ages trying to find a tell tale hint or difference between the gems but I couldn't work one out!

So for me it just came down to guessing; good game design asks the player a question and rewards them on how they respond, with this my response was the same each time, guess a gem, but it resulted in negative reinforcement as the majority of guesses I made were wrong. That's what makes games unenjoyable, and that might be why someone one star'd it.

That said I obviously enjoyed it, please tell me if there's a knack or trick I'm missing?!

— E Bear - hey, I'm happy you took the time to give it a try and a rating you thought was fair. I'm glad you enjoyed part of it. I have updated Pick to Win with more combos and bonuses, so you might want to give it another try for a higher score. The game is definitely based on luck and guessing. There are no tell-tale hints. Each gem is equal in a player's eyes until they start eliminating some. In this way, it is much like sqiddster's latest mini-game, Go Faster, as it is based on randomness and luck, too. Go Faster seems hugely popular due to the fact it is featured and has garnered high ratings.

Are there any good games out there? Not the "OEMG I LUV TEH GRAPHICS I WIL VOET IT 5 STARZ" games.

I think this should be implemented. It shouldn't be too hard in code, you literally check if the ratings variable is greater than some number before moving the game up or down.

It's pretty hard to get fair rating when you use a 5-star rating. People tend to go wither high or low with it.

I think this was one of the reasons Youtube stopped with that a few years ago.

I can say only "Welcome to the Club". I was victim of this issue a while ago, and the solution was stop to post new games and Mockups on Arcade while the rate system persists.

Exposure, like the top games has, is an invitation for more players play the game, and it's ciclical, if you don't BOOM with visitation on the very first hours of your game publication, you're done, because the TOP games always will persist on the top, because they have much, much more visitors.

Also, I don't like someone giving me a rate for my hobby, I do it for fun and pleasure, so, it's (on my side) a counter motivation, where give beneficiation for old games (from the time of the Arcade start).

So, without any worry, I surf on the Arcade to find pearls and very good contents, with downgrade, because people wanting their games to be top of something voted it down.

Look, for example, the tutorials.. When someone don't understand it, and probably didn't read the tutorial about it on the tutorial section, will vote 1 star, it's not making justice for the hard job of the writer.