What reading level are most games written for?
- Thread starter Emirikol
- Start date
Azure Trance
First Post
I recall being told once that most newspapers are written for the junior high school level.
Reading levels
This information is about thirty years out of date but I remember two systems for measuring reading levels from my college days. One was based on the percentage of multisylable words in random passages and the other was based on the inclusion of words from a vocabulary list.
This information is about thirty years out of date but I remember two systems for measuring reading levels from my college days. One was based on the percentage of multisylable words in random passages and the other was based on the inclusion of words from a vocabulary list.
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
I think it varies depending on the game, and the reading ability of the person. I know I work with some adults who would not "get" the D&D books. Likewise, there are some 7th graders who would not have a hard time with it at all.
I know I had friends who played when they were 5th grade, maybe even younger.
I know I had friends who played when they were 5th grade, maybe even younger.
frankthedm
First Post
3.xE is definity set to a lower reading level than 1E
Michelle Lyons
Explorer
On average, it's good to shoot for roughly an 8th grade reading level for most mass-market or business documents.That will let you reach the widest range of literate individuals. I'm not sure you could really write a serious gaming book at anything less than that (and 3.X is certainly not at a grade-school reading level, yet is definitely less than the arcane original books. 
). It allows you a good bit of variety in topic and presentation, and yet avoids a lot of esoteric or difficult vocabulary.
Depending on the game, however, I've written for much higher. When I write for WW, I'll often hover around 11-12th grade, simply because of the focus of the material and the level of literary and historical reference often used. That's true for a lot of their work. Guardians of Order varies, depending on the book and the license. Shadowrun is often higher, especially when a section is focusing on scientific or thaumaturgical research or theory within the setting.
In general, reading level is based on a few things:
1) Sentence construction. Does it use simple or complex (or compound, or compound-complex) sentence structure? Are there lots of phrases and clauses? How much does alternative punctuation play a role?
2) Vocabulary. How common are the words? How technical or specialized is the vocabulary?
3) Readability. How long are the sentences? How long are the paragraphs? How many sentences are in the paragraphs, and what sort of sentences are they? Is the organization easy to follow?
4) Content. by this I don't mean "what's the book about," but rather things like how the text is structured. Are there a lot of fragments or other unusual constructions? Are there a lot of advanced grammatical and literary structures? Are concepts such as irony, metaphor, allegory, or other such tools being used?
Reading level is not determined on an individual basis, but according to what one is expected to be able to handle at a given grade. While individuals can and do vary, there is a standard that has been accepted and is used in children's books and on up to determine what sort of book is appropriate for what level of reader. Microsoft Word can tell you what grade level text is when it does a spell check, but I don't know whether it works strictly on multi-syllabic words, grammar, or what. I do know that it strikes me as being reasonably accurate.
). It allows you a good bit of variety in topic and presentation, and yet avoids a lot of esoteric or difficult vocabulary. Depending on the game, however, I've written for much higher. When I write for WW, I'll often hover around 11-12th grade, simply because of the focus of the material and the level of literary and historical reference often used. That's true for a lot of their work. Guardians of Order varies, depending on the book and the license. Shadowrun is often higher, especially when a section is focusing on scientific or thaumaturgical research or theory within the setting.
In general, reading level is based on a few things:
1) Sentence construction. Does it use simple or complex (or compound, or compound-complex) sentence structure? Are there lots of phrases and clauses? How much does alternative punctuation play a role?
2) Vocabulary. How common are the words? How technical or specialized is the vocabulary?
3) Readability. How long are the sentences? How long are the paragraphs? How many sentences are in the paragraphs, and what sort of sentences are they? Is the organization easy to follow?
4) Content. by this I don't mean "what's the book about," but rather things like how the text is structured. Are there a lot of fragments or other unusual constructions? Are there a lot of advanced grammatical and literary structures? Are concepts such as irony, metaphor, allegory, or other such tools being used?
Reading level is not determined on an individual basis, but according to what one is expected to be able to handle at a given grade. While individuals can and do vary, there is a standard that has been accepted and is used in children's books and on up to determine what sort of book is appropriate for what level of reader. Microsoft Word can tell you what grade level text is when it does a spell check, but I don't know whether it works strictly on multi-syllabic words, grammar, or what. I do know that it strikes me as being reasonably accurate.
Sir Whiskers
First Post
Michelle Lyons said:On average, it's good to shoot for roughly an 8th grade reading level for most mass-market or business documents.That will let you reach the widest range of literate individuals. I'm not sure you could really write a serious gaming book at anything less than that (and 3.X is certainly not at a grade-school reading level, yet is definitely less than the arcane original books.
Depending on the game, however, I've written for much higher. When I write for WW, I'll often hover around 11-12th grade, simply because of the focus of the material and the level of literary and historical reference often used. That's true for a lot of their work. Guardians of Order varies, depending on the book and the license. Shadowrun is often higher, especially when a section is focusing on scientific or thaumaturgical research or theory within the setting.
In general, reading level is based on a few things:
1) Sentence construction. Does it use simple or complex (or compound, or compound-complex) sentence structure? Are there lots of phrases and clauses? How much does alternative punctuation play a role?
2) Vocabulary. How common are the words? How technical or specialized is the vocabulary?
3) Readability. How long are the sentences? How long are the paragraphs? How many sentences are in the paragraphs, and what sort of sentences are they? Is the organization easy to follow?
4) Content. by this I don't mean "what's the book about," but rather things like how the text is structured. Are there a lot of fragments or other unusual constructions? Are there a lot of advanced grammatical and literary structures? Are concepts such as irony, metaphor, allegory, or other such tools being used?
Reading level is not determined on an individual basis, but according to what one is expected to be able to handle at a given grade. While individuals can and do vary, there is a standard that has been accepted and is used in children's books and on up to determine what sort of book is appropriate for what level of reader. Microsoft Word can tell you what grade level text is when it does a spell check, but I don't know whether it works strictly on multi-syllabic words, grammar, or what. I do know that it strikes me as being reasonably accurate.
Just as an example, MS Word rates your post at a 9th-grade level. I would have guessed slightly higher.
Djeta Thernadier
First Post
Michelle Lyons said:
[thread hijack] You know, I write children's stories and I had NO idea Word could do this. Just ran one of my stories through the Reading Level test and it came back with 93.something reading ease (which I presume is good for small children) and a reading level of grade 2.2 which was exactly the age my stories are written for. Wow. You just made my world much easier by mentioning that. Cool.
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