Here’s the way I make my ranked list in a different, and hopefully, easier context.
If given the chance to rank the Star Wars movies using our system I would order them like the left handed image.
Now the reasoning.
I liked the first 3. The 4th and 5th were kind of stupid but after seeing the Phantom Menace, I didn’t really expect a whole lot from them. I really looked forward to Phantom Menace when I heard about it and it was ended up being a letdown. I could say Attack of the Clones & Revenge of the Sith were letdowns, yet I really didn’t look forward to them after seeing the Phantom Menace.
Some people see the Ranked List as some sort of Good game list and the Letdowns as some catch all for bad games or games they personally do not like or want to like. This is fine, the list is capped at 10 so the site doesn’t just become a site for haters.
Side Track Note: Wonders if the term Haters is still net speak…
The Ranked list is meant to be is a list of All games you played and in the order of how you liked them. For me, I do this in combination of how much I like the game and what I am currently playing. So if I’m currently playing Battlefield 3 and enjoying it I will rank it high. After a while I may stop playing the game and as new games come along, I’ll rank those above Battlefield 3 and it will begin to drop down the ranks.
Some games, like DC Universe Online I recently tried and wasn’t very impressed so I ranked them pretty low on my list right away to signify that they aren’t very good. It wasn’t very good but it wasn’t a letdown, as that list is meant for games you looked forward to but they didn’t meet your expectations.
But what line separates good from bad? Well, for video games, there really isn’t a black and white case on what is good and bad. Some games,like Extreme Paintbrawl, which is horrible, I imagine have a few fans. In my example I have Return of the Jedi as #3 and Revenge of the Sith as #4. I liked Jedi and wasn’t very fond of Sith, yet they are very close to each other in ranking. What this means to me is that if another Star Wars movie came out, and I enjoyed it, but not as much as Return of the Jedi, then it’ll go right below it and Revenge of the Sith will fall in rank.
The good games will stay at the top, the less then good games will move their way down. Or maybe it was a decent game but not very memorable, there are many reasons why a game would be ranked where it is. This is a dynamic system and the lists are meant to change. Some games for nostalgic reasons will filter their way to the top and that’s perfectly acceptable.
So how can anyone tell if a game is worth playing if the rank system is done on an individual basis? This is where the masses come in. If a thousand people rank a game high, chances are it’s fun to play. If there’s a game that doesn’t have many ranks but you feel it’s worth trying out, the next best thing to do is write up a review. This is a big focus of the site. We don’t have one person doing reviews. A game, technically, could have an unlimited number reviews. If you look at a particular review and are still not sure, look at the rankings of the reviewer, they may have a similar play style as you, or they might be the complete opposite. If so you can add them to your followers. On your portfolio page you get an overall ranking breakdown of all the people you follow.
It’s not meant to be an Old Classic vs Newer games system. There are many examples of new games that are near the top of the rankings. These you can go out and play. Looking at a games comparables can help gamers find new games to play, whether they are Brand new or a few years old. All games have merit to some degree.
Do you have to rank the same? Not if you don’t want to, but if the ranking system confuses you in anyway, hopefully this helps.
We’ve been in launch mode for almost a month, so the site does and need work. This is also an ongoing thing, so if you have questions, or suggestions, we have a forum now, it’s kind of empty but it can be vibrant with time. You can contact us using the brilliant named Contact Us form.
Shane
On twitter @mprshane
