Hello everyone! Before I release my A Hat in Time review/critique I wanted to make a post about a topic I have a lot of opinions on, that of rating scales.
What do I mean by "Rating Scales"?
When I say "rating scales" I mean any numeric scale which somebody uses to give a shorthand description on their opinion on something. The most common rating scales used are the 5 point scale, and the 10 point scale. Some people use stars, some use thumbs up or thumbs down (which is really just a 2 point scale) and some (like rotten tomatoes) use percentages (which is really just a 100 point scale). Now why am I talking about rating scales, and why do I think they're important?
What do I mean by "Rating Scales"?
When I say "rating scales" I mean any numeric scale which somebody uses to give a shorthand description on their opinion on something. The most common rating scales used are the 5 point scale, and the 10 point scale. Some people use stars, some use thumbs up or thumbs down (which is really just a 2 point scale) and some (like rotten tomatoes) use percentages (which is really just a 100 point scale). Now why am I talking about rating scales, and why do I think they're important?
Why rating scales matter
What prompted me to make this post at all is that I recently had a conversation with someone about Pokemon Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee. Here's how the conversation went down.
Me: "So I can get a better understanding of if I should buy the game or not, what rating would you give the game out of 5 in comparison to other Pokemon Games?"
Him: "Honestly, I would probably say a 3.5 out of 5"
Me: "That's the 10 point scale, I asked you what is it on the 5 point scale?"
Him: "I guess I would say at its peaks its a 4, and at its lows its a 3."
Now I know a lot of people would look at this conversation and say "so what, why does it matter if he's using the 10 point scale or the 5 point scale" and first off you are all degenerates, but second off please hear me out on why this distinction is actually important, and why rating scales matter.
The function of any rating scale is to give a short and concise opinion on how you felt about a particular piece of media. It's used most often when recommending something to somebody, for example "honestly Rusty's Pizza is like a 2 out of 5". In my eyes this is the quintessential element that makes up a good rating scale. Sometimes I don't want to write an essay on how Rusty's Pizza is the most generic pizza slice with notes reminiscent of Pizza Hut, Little Ceasers, and an easy bake oven. Sometimes I don't wanna lay it on too rough for my friends with bad Pizza opinions, sometimes I just wanna say "It's a 2/5 in my book, but it's pizza so I will eat it".
So that may be why rating scales matter or are important, but why do I care so much whether this guy used the 5 point scale or the 10 point scale. It's pretty simple honestly, it's because a 7/10 really doesn't tell me much without knowing anything else about this guys opinions. Why isn't this game an 8? Why not a 6? Without having any other knowledge, I don't learn much of anything by asking what this guy thinks of the game out of 10. Out of 5 though, that shit is basic as hell. A 5/5 is obvious, this game is good. A 4/5 is basic, this guy likes the game. A 3/5 is universal, this guy doesn't think the game is bad. A 2/5 is easily understood, this game has some big flaws. A 1/5 is trivial, this game cannot be redeemed.
Why I'm spending all of this time Praising the 5 point scale just to tell you I'm not going to use it
In all honesty, although I do like the 5 point scale, I just don't think it has enough numbers. For me I often find myself wishing there was just one more number between 4 and 5, and between 1 and 2. This is mostly because of the weight that something like a 5/5 or 1/5 brings with it. Many will misinterpret that a 5/5 is a perfect score, or a 1/5 game is nonredeemable (like I did above); however, there are plenty of things I like more than "above average" (what a 4/5 entails) and things I dislike more than "below average" (what a 2/5 entails).
As well many people misinterpret a 3/5 as more than "average" since 3 divided by 5 is .6; however, if you payed attention in math class you would notice that nobody uses 0 on the 5 point scale, so this is wrong. With 5 points on a 5 point scale 3 sits squarely in the middle. In the end, I prefer a scale with 3 points on either end.
On even versus odd rating scales
Alright, now I have to be honest with you guys... I was wrong. The 5 point scale with .5 intervals isn't the 10 point scale, it's the 9 point scale. The 10 point scale actually carries another sin with it though, that is that it is an even rating scale, not an odd one. This is to say, that it does not have an average. Now this has to be a problem right? a rating scale needs to have an average, how am I gonna rate the things that I don't think are above or below average, those that are... in the middle?
Well hold your horses cowboy, because it turns out, not having a middle in a rating system can actually be beneficial... at least I think so! For me and I'm sure many others, a 3/5 is an easy place to put all the stuff you have mixed feelings about. Stuff you aren't sure you like or dislike, so you throw it into the ethereal world of 3/5 never to be seen again. But for me, well, I like having opinions about everything. With an even rating scale, I am forced to make a decision on whether I like something or don't like something more.
Now obviously this is a small bit disingenuous; however, I have one other problem with an average on a rating scale, and that is in the diction behind the word average. An average in math is simply something that lies in the middle, but average as an adjective has a distinctly negative connotation behind it. If I played a game and my take away was that it was... average? I would honestly probably give it a below average score, because if something was so generic that I didn't have any opinion other than that it was average, I probably did not enjoy it. Even bad games can leave a mark that they tried something interesting. Now I know that there is a huge difference between average numerically and average as an adjective, but it doesn't stop it from making me uncomfortable.
So with this all being said, I like rating scales with 3 numbers on each side and without an average. So yes I will be using the 6 point scale on all of my reviews. I will also be using stars because stars look cool. If you want to know my opinion on anything, I'll try and use whatever rating scale you want; however, if you tell me that something is a 3.658/6.918 I will have an aneurysm.
- Malachi
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