Review Writing Questions

Goddess FallenAngel · Sep 15, 2005

I've just started writing reviews (working on #1 now! Yay!) and I didn't want to keep filling Crothian's Review Project thread with questions on writing them.

So, my question:

How detailed should a review be? I realize it shouldn't be a breakdown of the pros and cons of every rule/feat/skill/class in the book, but let's say for example the product introduces a PrC that is over- or under-powered (compared to core DMG PrCs).

Obviously, one wouldn't want to leave it at "The PrC that this product introduces is over-/under- powered", but how detailed should one get with examples to support your conclusion?

As a reader, what detail would you like? As a publisher, what detail would you like?

Voadam · Sep 15, 2005

I would say try to get in the following into your review no matter the length of the product.

1) give an overview of the product

2) How well does it do what it tries to do

3) things you liked

4) things you did not like

5) overall feeling about it

Optional would be comparisons to other similar products and analysis of specific elements in the product (most significant ones or sample ones).

Crothian · Sep 15, 2005

As detailed as you want. If you want to break apart every feat and class in the book (like Cooper does with monsters) that's great. People like that, its just hard to do.

Psion · Sep 15, 2005

I feel that you should have one example for each quality assertion you make. If you say "the classes are badly written" for example, give me an example of at least something they did wrong IYO with that class.

DaveMage · Sep 15, 2005

One thing I'd like to see in reviews that is not mentioned enough is this:

What will you, as the reviewer, immediately take from this sourcebook and add to your game (if anything). It's nice to say that a rule is "cool" or "innovative" but I want to hear a reviewer say "I will use this" or "I will NEVER use this". If you're not going to use any of it in your game, then how well the product is written or balanced is less of a factor.

If it's an adventure, tell me if you want to run it in your game.

And please, unless you're doing errata, brevity is your friend!

Crothian · Sep 15, 2005

DaveMage said:
What will you, as the reviewer, immediately take from this sourcebook and add to your game (if anything). It's nice to say that a rule is "cool" or "innovative" but I want to hear a reviewer say "I will use this" or "I will NEVER use this". If you're not going to use any of it in your game, then how well the product is written or balanced is less of a factor.

That's not as useful as you might think. To be useful to me not only does it have to be good, but it was to be better then everything else I have on the subject. Magic of Fareun is a good biik, but I never use it since I perfer the spells from other spell books. So, maybe one or two things from that book ghets used, but no becasue it is bad but becasue other books I own are more useful. The thing is, I doubt many people have the books I do sicne I have quite a few.

Also, many books are narrow in focus. I just reviewed Medival Players Manual and Legends of Dark Ages. Great books, but becsaue they are histrorical fantasy I have little use for them now in my pure fantasy game. Also, those books are beyond my ability to use, I'd have to set up a game with players that want to play in a more historical game.

DaveMage · Sep 15, 2005

Crothian said:
That's not as useful as you might think. To be useful to me not only does it have to be good, but it was to be better then everything else I have on the subject. Magic of Fareun is a good biik, but I never use it since I perfer the spells from other spell books. So, maybe one or two things from that book ghets used, but no becasue it is bad but becasue other books I own are more useful. The thing is, I doubt many people have the books I do sicne I have quite a few.

I disagree. I think it's very relevant. If you are using something else better then TELL US that because we should go get the other book (or at least read reviews of it to decide if we share opinions). Some here *do* have a library comperable in size to yours.

I want to know if you're reviewing a product you're going to use, or reviewing a product that will be a dust collector (or in the case of a .pdf, a disk space hog) , no matter how well (or poorly) it's written.

DaveMage · Sep 15, 2005

Crothian said:
Also, many books are narrow in focus. I just reviewed Medival Players Manual and Legends of Dark Ages. Great books, but becsaue they are histrorical fantasy I have little use for them now in my pure fantasy game. Also, those books are beyond my ability to use, I'd have to set up a game with players that want to play in a more historical game.

Thinking on this a bit more, I'd still like to know this too.

For instance, I have several of the avalanche historical d20 books. I think some of them are great reads for historical information. However, I would never recommend people buy them as a gaming product since I'd never actually use anything from them in my game.

Crothian · Sep 15, 2005

DaveMage said:
I disagree. I think it's very relevant. If you are using something else better then TELL US that because we should go get the other book (or at least read reviews of it to decide if we share opinions). Some here *do* have a library comperable in size to yours.

Well, so far I get way more negative feedback when I mention other books in a review to a great extent. In fact, the few times I've done it I never got a postive response to it. And I'm not going to cater reviews to the few people who have a few thousand RPG books like myself since the vast majority of people do not.

Crothian · Sep 15, 2005

DaveMage said:
Thinking on this a bit more, I'd still like to know this too.

For instance, I have several of the avalanche historical d20 books. I think some of them are great reads for historical information. However, I would never recommend people buy them as a gaming product since I'd never actually use anything from them in my game.

I have them all, too. If a person was going to run a historical game I would recomend them to that peron. But I would not recomend them for someone running Scarred Lands. I would use those books as a refernce if I was running that type of game. But in truth if I wanted a historical game, I'm going Ars Magica. So, now it beocmes recommending those books for people who want historical and d20.

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