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[...] Casual Games =~ Social Software http://suttree.com/2006/03/23/casual-games-social-software/ warpedvisions.org – Blog Archive – Social gaming in Python http://warpedvisions.org/2006/03/22/social-gaming-in-python/ Start on Travian MMOG http://www.hanshyong.com/blog/2006/02/08/start-on-travian-mmog/ iPod Diagnostic Mode http://www.methodshop.com/mp3/ipodsupport/diagnosticmode/index.shtml Levy: (Some) Attention Must Be Paid! – Newsweek Technology – MSNBC.com http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11899893/site/newsweek/ Raph’s Website – PowerPoint Presentation – Putting the Fun in Functional http://www.raphkoster.com/2006/03/11/powerpoint-presentation-putting-the-fun-in-functional we make money not art: eTech – Amy Jo Kim http://www.we-make-money-not-art.com/archives/008152.php Links hosted by del.icio.us [...]

1. A softer way of doing leaderboards that I mentioned in the talk is to say where your score relative to everyone else’s scores on a scale of 0 to 100. This is soft in the sense that a good score will tend to rank high no matter how many players are in the system. But half the players will be rated below average, which can be disheartening.

2. Another way is to reward improvement, which is competing against yourself. Less competitive, but what if you hit a plateau?

3. The softest way is simply to reward participation, e.g. a point for every time you play. Excelling simply takes persistence, which is within everyone’s reach.

I bet there are other ways to do ratings that reward other desirable behaviors. As Kristen says players will make their own leaderboards if they aren’t already present. What other reward systems have players made?

[...] These are my notes on this session from the Mobile GDC. It’s got significant overlap with the previous posting on this topic, but there’s a lot of new material too. [...]

[...] UPDATE II: More notes from around the Web – here’s some excellent, detailed notes about my talk from ‘we make money not art’ . And some perspective from Alice in Wonderland, one of my favorite game-oriented bloggers. And also some comments from Raph Koster, my friend and colleague from Ultime Online days.  I’m thrilled that people whom I admire are responding to my work, and finding it useful. W00t! [...]

It’s sort of like being a millionaire today isn’t the same as being a millionaire 50 years ago. But it’s still good, I’m assuming.

But what if a game offered none of that, but instead concentrated on self recognition. Suppose that only the individual saw their level, for example. That would satisfy the “points” side in them. Recognition by others can be had through other aspects of game play, rather than through such lists and titles.

Or, the players will find a way to make their own leaderboards if the game doesn’t provide them. That site takes user submitted “scores” and “skill lists” and builds the tables out of them. It can also tell you who the best characters to learn a given skill are (both currently online and otherwise) or even the best person(s) in your group to teach you. You can also do one-on-one comparisons with other characters.

It is a VERY useful tool for learning how to build and improve your own character.

A small community helps there… most muds offer that.