Instruction Manual

 

On this page you can learn about:

• Our different content types
• Our numerical scores and grading scale
• Our format featuring the 8-Bit Review

 

Our Content Types:

 

Critique – Long-form critique is what our predecessor site, The Well-Red Mage, was built on. Reviews come in many shapes and forms across the internet, from consumer reports to personal takes, but our critiques at The Pixels are aimed at covering multiple elements of each subject and delving as deep into the history, narrative, mechanics, context, and architecture as possible. Deconstructive critiques examine the working parts of a game. Each critique comes with an 8-part grading system called the 8-bit Review meant to analyze a variety of concepts.

 

Review – The short-form companion to the longer critique, our reviews resemble consumer reports giving an overview of a game after completion or significant time spent playing. Reviews end with a simple 2-part system that expresses whether we would recommend the game or not. Pixel Perfect is a “yea” and Broken Pixel is a “nay”.

 

Hardware Review – Unlike game reviews or critiques, hardware reviews feature no final score at the end, but they do address the context, history, limitations, and specs of the hardware in question. The goal of a hardware review is to address any problems with form and function as well as take an overhead perspective of the product’s lifespan.

 

Opinion – Opinion pieces, think pieces, thoughts of the day, whatever you want to call them, a variety of posts of different lengths fall under this category, so long as they reflect the opinion of the writer without taking the form of a review or critique.

 

Collab – Collaborative projects are something we’re passionate about because they are so inclusive! Collabs come in all shapes and sizes and can include writers, readers, and sometimes even anybody at all. Collabs feature unique rules and limitations, so pay attention to the fine print before participating. Challenge posts that we’ve done in the past are examples of collabs.

 

Interview – Interviewing industry professionals, developers, writers, other bloggers are something you can expect to see now and then. Typically in written form, these take the form of a series of questions and answers.

 

Eyes On Me – Highlighting a single game from any era, console, or company, the Eyes On Me post represents a brief 400- to 800-word look at a game which the writer feels is underappreciated, unloved, obscure, or otherwise unknown. These are not critiques and talk much more broadly about games.

 

Demo Disk – First impressions are something worth capturing and so you may spot posts like these when a new release hits the shelves or before a new game cools off entirely. The goal is to capture the writers earliest and rawest feelings about a game, before they’ve had the chance to completely and exhaustively examine it in a critique, generally 400- to 800-words long.

 

Podcast – The Pixels is affiliated with a variety of podcasts and so the odd podcast post may surface on our main page, but each podcast and podcast host is responsible for their own views and content.

 

Blog Post – Just in case we missed anything… there are posts that serve as journals, essays, commentary, walkthroughs, tips and hints, social media events, anything, really. These may each have their own category but it’s a delicious mixed bag.

Our Scale:

At The Pixels, we utilize a 10-point grading scale with a baseline of 5/10 representing “average”, what may be called a non-skewed or uninflated scale.

We do not believe that this is the only way to grade video games or that video games need to be graded at all when being critiqued but The Pixels attempts to resist both nostalgia and hyperbole when grading games. This means that our reviews and critiques take time. We’re not going to rush something unfinished and shallow out for an embargo and older games must be replayed before being criticized.

 

10/10: Perfect

The highest possible score. Rare, a perfect score takes historical context, hardware limitations, authorial intent, functionality, and more into consideration and posits that the game is a flawless execution. Perfection in these terms means complete, that which nothing could meaningfully be added to or taken away from without doing significant damage.

 

9/10: Definitive

This score is awarded to games that are so awesome they have come to define their genre, platform, or industry. Only one major or a few minor flaws bar it from the highest possible score.

 

8/10: Wonderful

This score is for the greats, games that you’ll remember for years to come. These games create a fondness that never fades and frequently make both favorites and best of lists. With a wide appeal, there’s much to enjoy.

 

7/10: Commendable

This score is for titles we commend to you on the basis of their many merits, despite some gray areas and some cracks. Though a game with this score can’t quite rise to the highest heights, you’ll still likely have a pretty good time with it.

 

6/10: Notable

This is our above average score. Above average games stand out from the crowd on a few good traits, some innovation, or an interesting vision. They are still worth playing.

 

5/10: Average

Average is not a bad thing, particularly if the context is already good. It’s not the same thing as “pedestrian” or “forgettable”. You can still have a good time with these. Filler games between the greats. Those with less time and finances should look upward on the scale.

 

4/10: Substandard

Exactly what it says, this is our below average score. Something in the game is lacking and its failures stand out more than its better qualities.

 

3/10: Unpleasant

This score is for games that both turned us off and made us turn them off. This is when you can begin to think of a score as “harsh” or “brutal”. It’s hard to find redeeming qualities in games with this score, games which displease instead of entertain.

 

2/10: Disgraceful

This score is for games in which nearly everything has gone wrong. Perhaps only the tiniest shred of light prevents it from earning the worst possible score.

 

1/10: Reprehensible

We played it so you don’t have to. A learning experience that’s thankfully rare. The game must be absolutely broken, tedious, unplayable, and truly deserve this score across several of its failed elements. Review bombing is not suitable criticism.

 

The 8-bit Review

Here’s how we rate the various core elements of a subject. Our readers can choose to either read the bulk of the critique or get a glance at the 8 core elements, or both. The 8 elements that we select for any specific subject will be chosen based on its genre, context, and content. It would be unfair to give a bad score for narrative on a multiplayer racing game that has almost no story, so elements like multiplayer would be chosen instead of narrative. Similarly, why would we give a bad score for the development of themes in a game as simple as Centipede? You get the idea.

These sections explain and unpack each gradable element. Each element grade serves merely as a symbol for the actual discussion. Writers should purpose to be as objective as possible (while allowing for and being aware of the subjectivity or bias) by gathering and presenting real information concerning the game as their subject before arriving at conclusions.

The purpose of this system is to allow the reviewer the opportunity to analyze the entire game as a whole as well as its individual parts and their relationships.

 

 Visuals

The writer explains their score for the visuals of the game, considering things like fidelity, definition, context, art design, clarity, visual accessibility, legibility, user interface, how far the subject pushes the hardware’s limitations, and theories of beauty. It’s not enough merely to say “it’s pretty”. Why is it pretty? And how do the game’s graphics serve the game itself? Do they prevent the player from experiencing the game or do they aid the player? Age should be taken into consideration and this is where historical context becomes important: it’s obvious that a game from 20 years ago does not have the visual detail of a AAA from today, but set within the context of 20 years ago, how does it measure up?

 Audio

Sound design is under scrutiny when it comes to audio, which may include things like music, soundtrack, mixing, sound effects, and voice acting. Musical taste is one thing, but explaining how well a track fits the themes presented in the game, how well an actor performed, or even the balance of the audio effects is another thing entirely. If I can’t even hear the voice acting over the cacophonous music, that’s bad. Sound is communication, so what is the music telling the player? Is it intelligible? Is it clear? Is it mumbling? Does it serve the final product?

 Gameplay

Structure, architecture, purpose, direction, glitches, fixes, bugs, patches, systems, menus, mechanics, battles, fighting, speed, responsiveness, inputs, controls, load times, technical issues… there is so much to talk about with gameplay, the subject of the bones of the video game. This is about examining the functionality of the game, and as such it’s maybe the most important of the graded sections. Gameplay is what makes a game a game.

 Multiplayer

For both cooperative or competitive gameplay, local or online. The goal of this category is to examine the efficiency of the game’s multiplayer systems. Are they needlessly complex or simple to use? Are they fun for all players or do they favor one player over another? Are they fair? Are they easy to teach to a new player? Are they reliable? Even silly party games can miss the mark here.

 Online Play

Going online can open the horizon for new kinds of gameplay, but this category is for judging the online experience specifically for games with internet connectivity, obviously. This represents considering things like activity, stability, communication, and features that connect players in as many ways as possible.

 Narrative

What’s the difference between a good story and a bad story, between an amateur’s and a master’s? If storytelling is a craft (which it is) and storytelling can be skilled or unskilled (which it can be), then it can be scrutinized, studied, and criticized, its value and worth measured and assessed. Plotting, characters, character development, story execution, clarity, setting, bare premise, overreliance upon clichés and stereotypes, heck even mixed metaphors, or the story simply making sense are all things we want to look out for. A silly story can be just as good as a serious one, but the story should be true to the characters and the things the characters do should be in character. “It made me cry” is not good enough. Why did it make you cry?

 Themes

This is about execution. How well does the game communicate and stick to its themes?  Are they too vague and incomprehensible? Contrariwise, are they too transparent and preachy? The development of thematic elements can take place over the course of an entire game, so for a critique, our writers are encouraged to finish the games before critiquing, as a general rule. Keep an eye out for the sappy, the saccharine, or the stilted.

 Accessibility

Accessibility represents two concepts: how easy the game is to learn and what features it contains to make itself more accessible to individuals who require those features. The first consideration can examine things like demos, tutorials, over-tutorializing and hand-holding, withholding too much information, convoluted control schemes, overreliance upon exterior walkthroughs or guides, and more. The second can examine things like age appropriateness, the capabilities of features for the color blind, and so on. This second consideration should only be graded when a game intentionally includes such features, evaluating how effective those features are or not.

 Challenge

Is the game too hard and why? Is the game too easy and why? Is the difficulty curve too steep or too shallow? Being too hard isn’t necessarily good. A game may be too hard because it is broken, glitchy, unfair, or unfinished. A game may be too easy for the same reasons… or because it patronizes you. More challenge does npt equal a higher score. Better challenge equals a higher score.

 Collection

This is solely for updated remixes, compilations, and HD collections of retro games, many of which are being released now. This category judges the merit of a collection in terms of its additional perks, side content, unlockables, art, historical tidbits, faithfulness, and accuracy, or the overall quality of the titles included in the collection.

 Replayability

Replayability is replay value, measured by things like how many difficulty modes there are, the presence or absence of new game plus, the addition of DLC, the multitude of collectibles, the game’s addictive properties, meaningful trophy/achievement hunting, beating vs completion. What keeps you coming back? What specifically makes the game a longer play?

 Uniqueness

Derivative vs innovative, that’s the question which this category attempts to answer. Uniqueness requires special consideration of context and making connections between a subject and similar, pre-extant subjects which may or may not have served as direct inspirations. Should uniqueness be graded? Surely there’s more value in something fresh and new rather than something that comes off as trendy, in a rut, a rip-off, or a copycat. Other considerations aside, how unique is the game?

 Personal

Recognizing that subjectivity is an inseparable part of the consumption of media and playing video games, this category is always here for the writer to outline their personal experiences, personal memories, and most personal takes on the game. Maybe the game caused an emotional response? It might not do the same for you, but that’s the beauty of the Personal grade. It is the most human.

 

*Note that a final aggregated score based on the eight categories chosen by the writer will conclude each critique.