Scoring Points: Difference between revisions

While today many games don't even keep track of score - and the ones that do keep track do it for no reason whatsoever - most [[Muggles|outsiders to the gaming world]] still believe points are our coke. The truth is, score was never a big deal. Even ''[[Pac-Man]]'' players were more interested in what the new fruit in which level was.

 

 

Games nowadays use "[[Cosmetic Award|achievements]]". Now ''those'' are [[Serious Business]]. They started with Microsoft's Xbox Live service. All online Xbox owners get an online account, and MS decided to design their system so that accomplishing specific objectives in a game would result in earning an "achievement" that can be viewed on that player's online account, by themselves and other players, even when not playing the game. The idea proved popular, and similar functions were added to the Playstation Network (where they are called "trophies") and Steam. A certain few gamers are hell-bent on getting as many of these as possible, but most understand that anyone can buy a crappy game and get the achievements for it, so for most gamers, it's used to simply compare one's stash of achievements with another, especially across the same game.

 

For three hundred thousand points, see also [[Pac-Man Fever]], [[Ultra Super Death Gore Fest Chainsawer 3000]], [[New Media Are Evil]], [[Just One More Level]], and [[Pinball Scoring]].

{{examples}}

 

* [[Sierra]] had an age-old tradition of giving out points whenever the player did something positive, often for completely arbitrary reasons to inspire players to come back to the game later to try and get all the points. For their more comedic games, the developers would deliberately give goofy, arbitrary scores for some actions, most [[egregious]]ly in [[Leisure Suit Larry|Al Lowe's]] ''[[Freddy Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist]]'', which has a maximum score of 1,000 points, and you get 500 points for [[What Do You Mean It's Not Awesome?|opening a locked door at the very start of the game]]. Congratulations, you're already halfway done!

* If you use the cheat code to win in [[The Secret of Monkey Island]], the game tells you you scored 800 out of 800 points. This is the only reference ''ever'' the game makes to your score.

 

* ''[[MadWorld]]'' uses points to determine your progress in a level. At certain score plateaus, new areas or power-ups will be opened in the level. You need a minimum score to face the level's boss. The score itself is justified as being the scoring system of the [[Show Within a Show]] lethal game, ''Deathwatch''.

* The port of ''[[Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Turtles in Time]]'' [[Embedded Precursor|included in]] ''Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 3: Mutant Nightmare'' removes the score counter, reflecting how useless it was.

* ''[[The Warriors (video game)|The Warriors]]'' had points you could earn for just about anything you do. Punched someone in the face? Points. Smashed a window? Score. Mugged someone? Even more points. Smashed a bottle on the ground? [[Overly Long Gag|You get the picture]]. However, high scores are needed to unlock bonus content in the game. Luckily, if you happen to die and restart from a checkpoint, you still retain your score from that point.

 

* ''[[Super Smash Bros.]]'' had a completely arbitrary score in the main mode. This system is in Classic Mode in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' and Adventure Mode in ''Melee''. ''Melee'', notoriously, had a laundry list of modifiers to the score that awarded a trophy if all were earned... which was nigh-impossible. In modes other than Classic, the score disappears and is replaced with something meaningful (such as kills or time in the Multi-Man Melee or distance in Home-Run Contest).

** There was also an optional mode in Melee called "Bonus Mode" which decided the winners based off, you guessed it, score.

* ''[[BlazBlue]]'' has a scoring algorithm that can lead to [[Pinball Scoring|scores ranging in the trillions]]. It's very easy to score a billion points before the end of the ''first round'' of your first battle.

 

* ''[[Wolfenstein 3D]]'', the [[Trope Codifier]] for the [[First-Person Shooter]], had Scoring Points and a [[Video Game Lives|Lives]] system as baggage from earlier video games. Later FPS games, starting with ''[[Doom]]'', removed these.

* Return of scoring points in first-person-shooters appeared in ''[[Serious Sam]]'' series. In Serious Sam XBOX and Serious Sam II and in certain co-op modes in ''III'', score actually provides the player extra lives.

* Points in [[Team Fortress 2]] are used to determine who the most valuable players in a particular round are and otherwise don't do anything unless the server settings are such that it determines the winning side based on points under certain circumstances. Other servers have a separate ranking system that's just there for the bragging rights.

 

* Late in 2008, ''[[World of Warcraft]]'' introduced the Achievement system. Certain activities will give your character special achievement points. These have absolutely no effect on how the game is played, except by giving nearby people a fright when an achievement is made.

** Some of these achievements to have rewards, usually cosmetic in the form of a title visible to other player characters, a tabard or a mount, that while visually distinctive aren't any faster than the ones you pay money for or make yourself.

** That's not entirely true. End-game raiding achievements award flying mounts which increase your speed by 310%, instead of the usual 280%.

 

* Minigames usually have a scorekeeping system. That's usually because they are meant to evoke a vintage, arcade feel to a current game. Like ''[[Chrono Trigger]]'' 's racing minigame.

* The entire goal of the ''[[Wario Ware]]'' series once you've beaten the story mode is trying to get as many points as possible, with 1 point being gained for every microgame completed (or in some, survived with at least one life left afterwards).

 

* The original ''[[Mega Man (video game)|Mega Man]]'' had a score counter, which was completely useless. (Particularly since the game was so [[Nintendo Hard]] that you'd usually get a few game overs, losing all your points.) It even had power-ups that did nothing but add points at the end of the level. For obvious reasons, later games in the franchise dropped the score counter entirely.

* Averted in ''[[Sonic Adventure 2]]'', where the score defines the rating, from E to A. What gives the score some sense is the fact that the very last emblems require the player to get an A rating on [[Last Lousy Point|EVERY FREAKING MISSION]].

* [[Pac-Man World]] 2 had points—mostly on account of tradition. You ''did'' get an extra life for a certain amount of points, however, though the total was so high you actually had to do very, ''very'' well on any individual level to get it.

 

* Unusually used in [[Boppin]]. Long story short, the goal of the game is to clear the screen tossing alike blocks together, but with points you can exchange unwanted pieces without losing lives, and kill [[Big Bad|Hunnybunz]] faster (more points, [[More Dakka|more damaging]] [[Buffy-Speak|spike thingies]], less exposure-to-death time). Still, [[Save Point|being able to save the game anywhere]] just makes the task less daunting. Also more fun, if you are competing with someone.

{{quote|If you were able to solve all the screens before the final battle without ever having to continue, you could theoretically beat the boss in a ''couple of seconds''. Good luck.|[http://www.jenniverse.com/boppin%20instructions.html How to play Boppin', complete instructions]}}

* Depending on how many points you scored in ''[[Irisu Syndrome]]'', you would get the bad ending, or the good ending. After you get the good ending, getting even higher scores will cause text files and a secret picture to appear in your game folder.

 

* The ''[[Time Crisis]]'' series went the opposite direction of the ''Mega Man'' example. Originally a game in which the goal was to [[Speed Run|beat it as fast as possible]], ''2'' introduced a point system that put much emphasis on accuracy and combos and less on time. Although you get time bonuses, they typically don't amount to a whole lot.

* In the [[Light Gun Game]] ''Police Trainer'', most of the [[Mini Game]]-like stages have point quotas. Meet the quota and the stage will be marked cleared. If you don't, you'll lose one life.

 

* Rhythm games are generally the exception to the rule. While the old ''[[Dance Dance Revolution|DDR]]''s had a weird scoring system, all the new DDRs, as well ''Guitar Hero'', ''Rock Band'', ''In The Groove'', etc have logical ones. These games usually have a grade (or star rating) that is based directly on the score (e.g. x range of points results in x grade), which is more memorable than a bunch of numbers and is usually specific enough for non-competitive play. The fact remains that points are important in these games since they solely determine the grade.

* However, the scoring in ''[[Guitar Hero]]'' and ''[[Rock Band]]'' is ruined by the fact that comboing notes will multiply the point value of each additional note you hit; a screwup in mid-song will do more damage to your score than if it were at the beginning or end of the song. The aforementioned ''In The Groove'', as well as the DDR series from ''SuperNOVA'' onwards, ''DJMAX Portable'', among some other Rhythm Games use percentage-based scoring systems that don't care where in the song you did your best (and worst).

** It is possible: Get enough unskilled virtual-musicians to play setlists and put no fail mode on: Bam. You're earning 1-2 stars per song (generally without no fail mode on, you have to try '''really''' hard to get less than three stars without trying), and probably losing fans (if you have any at all. But if your unskilled virtual-musicians get better, the problem will basically solve itself.

 

* ''[[Nethack]]'' has a point-scoring mechanic. There are four mindsets about these:

** Most expert players value a reasonably low score, indicating efficient play - to these, high scores mean you over-prepared, a mark of inexperience.

** And the large majority of players don't care about score at all.

 

* ''[[Final Fantasy X-2]]'' has a reference to "respect points". This is completely not gameplay-related, but an obvious parody of point systems.

** ''[[Final Fantasy XIII]]'' and ''[[Video Game/Final Fantasy XIII 2|Final Fantasy XIII 2]]'' had two types of scoring: A numerical score, and a [[Gameplay Grading|Battle Rank]], denoted by stars. Your numerical score determined what battle rank you got, and was calculated largely by your stat level and time battling during encounters. In the first game, Battle Rank determined the rarity of your drops and how many Technical Points you regenerated at the end of battle, but the sequel reduces their overall importance.

* In the multiplayer mode of ''[[Mass Effect 3]]'', you earn points for killing enemies, assisting others with killing, and completing the wave's specific objective. In the first case, you earn more points the more powerful the enemy (killing an [[Boss in Mook Clothing|Atlas]] is far more rewarding than killing a random [[Mook|trooper]]). In the second, you earn more points depending on how much damage you did to the enemy. In the last, the amount of points a player can earn depends on the specific objective in that round. A player can also earn bonus points for certain tasks (''x'' kills, surviving ''x'' waves, ''x'' [[Boom! Headshot!|headshots]], etc.). At the end of the match ([[Total Party Kill|if you get that far]]), all players earn more points depending on the difficulty level of the match, whether you got a full or partial extraction, and whether you played an "Unknown Location" and/or "Unknown Enemy" match. These points do have a purpose: at the end of the match, every player's point total is added up, and that number of [[Experience Points]] is rewarded to their characters. This happens even if your party doesn't make it through to extraction, discouraging [[Rage Quit|rage quitting]].

 

* The whole [[Shoot'Em Up]] genre has a lot of fans fixated on getting the highest possible score, to which end they spend hours upon hours of practice improving their reflexes, dodging skills, and game-specific scoring tactics. Sometimes they go a little too far, and "counterstop" the game, which means the in-game score hits a [[Cap]] and literally won't go any higher.

* ''[[Geometry Wars]]'' is entirely about how far can you crank up your score. No less, no more. Actually addictive thanks to its blazing fast pace.

* Played with in ''[[Thwaite]]''. Blowing up incoming missiles scores no points; conserving ammo and keeping houses protected at the end of each round does, as the [[Score Screen]] after each round explains. Because of this, there is only one score even in co-op.

 

* The ''[[Trauma Center]]'' series uses a point system that determines your rank in every operation. Tasks such as stitching and extracting foreign objects can be done carefully or hastily, and such actions will be ranked either Cool, Good, or Bad with Cools getting the most points. In order to get the highest rank (either an S or XS rank), you must have a high enough score, as well as fulfill certain conditions such as no mistakes, beating the operation in a certain amount of time, having a high chain, etc.

 

* ''[[Wii Sports]]'', but mainly because they are based on real sports that are point-based.

* ''[[Backyard Sports]]''. In most games, the reason is obvious, as they are sports games. But in the minigames and ''Backyard Skateboarding'', the amount of points can unlock new things.

 

* The third-person-shooter ''[[The Club]]'' has been unfavorably compared to other more action-focused shooters by some. However, as discussed in a PA podcast (link at the bottom of [http://www.penny-arcade.com/2008/1/25/ this page]), the aim of the game is more about finding the right pace, maintaining a combo and trying to get a perfect 'lap' in order to maximize your score, making it more comparable to other games by Bizzarre Creations, such as ''[[Geometry Wars]]'' and ''[[Project Gotham Racing]]''.

* [[Gungrave]].

* The first [[Die Hard]] game in Die Hard Trilogy, including the other two.

 

* ''[[Plumbers Don't Wear Ties]]'' is another example with meaningless scores. How meaningless? {{spoiler|For starters, you can let the [[Corrupt Corporate Executive]] [[I Have You Now, My Pretty|ask Jane to take her own clothes off]]. Not only that action would give you ''negative'' score, but the one is in fact ''[[Violation of Common Sense|required]]'' in the course to get the [[Happy Ending]].}}

 

* [[Minecraft]]

* ''[[Grand Theft Auto]]'' converted score into currency.

* In ''[[Total Overdose]]'', kills are scored on quality, style and sheer ballsiness, and multiplied by the killing streak maintained for a period of time. Upgrades are unlocked by reaching high scores, upgrades such as more health, more adrenaline, dual weapons, unlimited ammo and Loco Moves. Global scoring becomes irrelevant early on, but Mission scores remain important to unlocking upgrades for survivability in later missions.

 

* It's mentioned on one episode of the ''[[The Simpsons]]''...

{{quote|'''Homer''': I can't believe our luck, ten thousand bottle rockets and [[George Bush]] [[It Makes Sense in Context|is doing toe-touches by an open window]]!

'''Bart''': If you get one up his butt, it's a million points! }}

 

{{reflist}}

[[Category:Dead Horse Trope]]

[[Category:Older Than the NES]]

[[Category:Video Game Tropes]]