Forums » Writing Workshop » Read Thread

I expect the fact it is a storygame to be used somehow. Even very linear stories can deliver on this, but a completely linear one is probably not going to get ranked highly.

But this ties into my major consideration, which is trying to figure out if the story accomplished what it set out to do (by my totally objective opinion). That's where I give 8s. The story doesn't have to be perfect, it just has to deliver (among a few other things, those being):

• Being readable.
• Not being unfinished / a demo.

Contest stories having a deadline would then, for example, be something to consider when rating it.

I've def mellowed out on stuff like dialogue punctuation, as I can generally ignore it if done wrong, and still understand the story. If the mistakes confuse me and make it impossible to follow along, that's when I take issue now.

I did consider getting a more defined rubric, but that's effort that probably won't matter too much. Might steal what others do if anything sounds good tho.

I will say that I don't expect good prose, but it can certainly be a great addition. If a story has subpar prose (where it starts making reading less enjoyable) I might still not care if other elements are enough to make up for it (such as strong branching).

Really, I should probably put effort into comments more than ratings, since they can be more impactful to receive. Rating a story where you don't read everything can also feel iffy, especially for big stuff, but leaving a comment on the path you read can't go wrong. That said, ratings are still nice (and I do like getting my 'free' point).

I've veered off track a bit, so will end it there. Seems I had more to say on this than I was anticipating, aha.

You haven't rated a game since December. e.e

I know, and soon I'll forget my rating approach too. v_v

I mostly just go off general impressions, I don't have a rubric or anything.

I think I probably pay a lot more attention to grammar, sentence structure, and polish than most raters. How easy the story is to read is a big part of my rating. If the phrasing is clunky or there's more than a few grammar mistakes, it can knock my rating down 1-2 points, more if it's really noticable.

I don't rate based on personal preferences. There are times I've rated stories I didn't like much better than stories I liked more because I knew they were objectively better written.

Generally speaking:

1. Incomprehensible drivel.
2. Very badly written. No meaningful plot or character development to speak of. The concept is genuinely bad.
3. It's obvious that there was meant to be a plot, but it really doesn't make any sense. The writing is distracting and difficult to understand.
4. Diverting enough, but I don't feel like I got anything valuable from the experience. The plot was meh, the characters were meh, the writing was meh. Still, not terrible.
5. My default for a genuinely good game that didn't impress me with anything in particular. The game did what it meant to do. What stops me from rating a game higher than this is if I feel like what it meant to do wasn't particularly impressive or meaningful. I also might rate a game this way if it has a very good story but poor writing, or very good writing but an uninteresting story.
6. Good. I enjoyed this. The writing is strong, the plot is strong. I usually end up rating games like this if I feel like they could potentially be 7s, but aren't polished enough. I've sometimes rated games like this that were 7/8s for what was written, but seemed to end abruptly without any major narrative satisfaction.
7. Potentially publishable. The writer has a strong grip of language, character, and narrative structure. The plot is well-constructed to create narrative satisfaction, doing more than just moving the story through the necessary beats. The story feels like it means something. That said, I can think of some things that would improve it which the author hasn't done.
8. Definitely publishable. Everything a 7/8 is and more. I can't think of anything that could easily improve it. The story is resonating and emotionally affecting.

I am a simple man.

 

Every game is 5 by default.

 

I give a full point for every page with a car crash, explosion, well-written safecracking scene, sword duel, extrajudicial killing, description of boobs, boxing match, airplane joust, Non-anime mech battle, stimulating multiple choice question, comedically busted toilet, interaction with a lemur, overwhelming swarm of bees, and/or out of control fire.

 

I detract one point every time I notice a typo, a rogue goblin, a blatant violation of Cyslamic Jurisprudence, a negotiation with terrorists, the color mauve, a pacifist resolution, the word cum (it's pornographic), an End Game and Leave Comments link, socialist talking points, a horse for any reason, gibbon abuse, stale paintings, a pineapple, a modernist ideology, Big Dick Rick, a woman giving birth to an animal, or a pagan idol.

 

If the story appears to have been posted by a federal agent, it's an automatic 1- Regardless of whether or not the author is actually a federal agent.

Very arbitrarily. But generally like this:

0-3: just objectively very bad stuff

4-5: It's alright, but it loses my attention pretty quickly either because certain plot elements are confusing, characters are bland and I cannot tell them apart or anything that makes me struggle to comprehend the text. I give it a 5 if there are passages in it that I like or if I get the overall gist of the story. 4 is for everything else. I'm actually not that strict on typos and grammar stuff, am already pretty used to reading novels through deepl translations and those are really bad. What i do want to see is clarity in the prose and knowing what the fuck is happening at any moment. Surprisingly lots of stories fail on that certain aspect which makes me want to tune out immediately. 

That's the reason why i don't write a review for every single story. To fully critize it, i need to fully understand the story and what the author was going for. That forces me to often reread it again and that's quite painful if the story is long and very very incomprehensible. 

6: it's either two options. Option 1: Lots of reviewers say it's the best shit since sliced bread, i think it's fine and think it's more of a 5. I'll find a passable midway point so I give it a 6. 

Option 2: i actually like the story, but just as slice of life manga or YouTube videos, I'll probably forget about almost everything within a week. Some plotpoints were probably skimmed through or i didn't bother checking out the other routes.

7: things i genuinely enjoy and am proud to say I'm a fan of them. Most of the time it is when it brings some form of emotion out of me. It doesn't have to be tears, it could also be amusement or laughter. If it cannot accomplish that, then it would most likely stay a 6. I've probably read the main route and skimmed through all of the possible endings, but I will probably not extract every single word out of the game.

8: childhood nostalgia or things that made me comb through and carefully read every road. After i finished reading them, i should be feeling hollow and sad that it's over. 

Btw. Lots of my old ratings are made by looking at the current score and either giving it one point higher than its current rating if I like it or find that it's warranted. I'll deduct one point if I think it doesn't deserve the rating it has.

I used to judge based on the title and how easy it was to get through but now that it's clear CYS has gone soft with ratings I endeavor to give more 1's than anything else. 8's are for if the author (or the authors' owners) will ban or punish me for rating less than an 8 and middle-ratings are for games that cause me to click enough times that I am forced to read.

I also give 8's if the game deserves to be deleted, because doing so is funny. Sometimes I give 1's to authors and games that I know will do well, as an attempt to keep them humble but also as a personal hostile attack.

I've been lucky and not read through any of the truly truly terrible stories, so most of my ratings have been generous.  Basically I will start at a 5.  If the story actually has some kind of decent ending or an interesting use of the platform, that will bump up to a 6.  If the story is interesting enough, or promises (and eventually delivers) on some kind of cool outcome or premise, to make me run through more than 2-3 branches, then I may bump it up to a 7.  If there are egregious spelling or grammar issues I would drop it to a 4,  any worse than that and i'm probably not going to finish the story and just rate it for the trophy.

I read the story, think 'yeah that seems about a 3', and then move on with my life. No special gimmicks here.