Mar

24

1001 Crazy Game Design Ideas: #4 You Like Me, You Really Like Me

March 24, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Since the dawn of time, man has been living by the wonderful axiomatic reality that it often isn’t what you know, but who you know which determines your success in any endeavor. I wonder if game designers might implement a way to help incorporate this aspect of community in the game empowering players with knowledge of the opinions of other players about their peers.

Some games have offered ways that the engine itself could flag players for bad behavior, but I’m proposing a whole new mechanism for black-balling and/or sucking up to people facilitated by the game.

What I am saying is that a system could be implemented which is similar to the one used on eBay, whereby people could rate group and or guild mates. Those ratings might help a group decide if prospective invitees are a good fit for their purposes.
Will this warrior fight on even as the last man standing? Does this rogue pull too much aggro? Does this jedi run when the battle hangs in the balance?

In most games, one has to wade through the archives of message board posts to get this kind of opinion and the reality is that most gamers never find their way to the appropriate message boards for whatever game/server they are playing. Using this system helps establish some degree of accountability for behavior and skill and provides a global voice for those who have had experience with a player to express it and have a pretty good chance that their opinions will be seen by others who might consider the merits of the individual’s prior reputation in the decision making process.

In my example it would work like this:

  1. First-hand ratings only – in order to rate someone you would need to be a) in a group with them or b) in a guild with them
  2. 3-tier rating – positive, neutral, negative plus a limited comment field.
  3. Ratings are visible to all – special menu option to view ratings on queried player.
  4. Your name goes with your rating – don’t like someone? Well, expect them to ask you about it.
  5. Rating is changeable – each time you a) group or b) guild with a person, you may alter your rating.
  6. One rating per character – That’s it. No spamming of +’s or -’s.
  7. Ratings displayed by most recent first – Chance for redemption / remediation over time and the number of total ratings could be capped with the oldest rolling off the list.

The argument could be made that a system like this might seem to be a totally artificial construct and not fit the nature of most MMORPGs, which is a valid point. I believe that something like this, however, is simply a community empowering tool without a true downside.

Will it be used in some circumstances for griefing a player’s reputation? Certainly.
Might it curb some of the asshole behavior which is typical in many games? I’d like to think so.
Is this a fairly controversial idea which could polarize a potential player base? Heh, heh, heh… who knows ? :)


 

 

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