What Are Your Game Rating Standards? (part 5)

It's impossible to avoid making comparisons when rating a game. Often, games emulate the successful formulas of their predecessors. If you remember Blizzard's “Diablo,” then you may also remember the horde of Diablo-clones that were released in the years after its debut. Some games even improved on Blizzard's incredibly successful formula, but ultimately, most ratings were based on comparisons to Blizzard's three Diablo games. A lot of games, though, are hybrids of a number of other games. In cases like these, comparisons may only be useful if you're trying to describe the game to someone else, rather than helping determine a fair rating. My visual novel video game is a long way from being completed, but my hope is that when I do eventually release it for sale, ratings will be given based on the genre it falls under, the story, the visual and aural presentation, and how fun it is to experience. I hope to make the best game I possibly can within my means. I can tell that the designer of Infinite Adventures by Stormseeker Games did his very best, and I am very impressed with the result. I'm looking forward to the next chance I'll have to spend some more time with it!