0

In a project I'm involved in there's an app (currently only for web) which is heavily gamification-centered. In this app users perform "bets" and are ranked according to "hit" percentages.

I'm looking for a ranking system which will normalize quite quickly, so the veteran user will have little or no advantage over the new ones.

Here are some of the things I've though about:

Percentages are not good here because in this specific application, a good player will normalize to about 70% "hits" - an unappealing figure.

Stars don't provide the level of granulation I need. I was hoping for at least 10-15 levels. 10-15 stars is unruly.

Discrete "titles" will require some code work to normalize, and are not immediately understandable.


Can anyone think of a better system to rank players by?

Cheers.

Improve this question
5
  • any reason not to use just levels from 1 to 15? are you looking for something "fancier"?
    – Alejandro Veltri
    Commented Jul 8, 2015 at 18:40
  • I think numerical value will cause problems in the future with a global ranking table, and certainly is plain, but it is definitely worth considering. This global table is not majorly important for this particular application.
    – Navot
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 0:02
  • what do you mean by "a ranking system that normalize quite quickly"?
    – Alejandro Veltri
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 1:53
  • @rewobs Let me rephrase: I would like for new players to be able to get a meaningful rank after only a few rounds. This is, however, a less important aspect, as I guess newbies can have a special case, fiddled with and made to be meaningful. (sort of like how OK cupid gives you match percentages only after you've answered at least 5 questions.)
    – Navot
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 11:49
  • What about a combination of color/metal and number of stars? 1 to 5 stars of bronze, silver or gold represent 15 levels.
    – Crissov
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 19:12

2 Answers 2

Reset to default
1
  • You want normalization, with at least 10 - 15 levels.
  • You want the visualization to appear next to player names, in isolation from other players.
  • You don't like percentage, stars, or textual titles.
  • You feel that a bar (graph) is an idea, but would not be immediately legible.
  • You suggested using colour, feeling that this would enhance the legibility.

A bar graph with 10-15 "progressively" colored blocks/segments (perhaps transitioning from green to red) might suit your circumstance.

Improve this answer
5
  • A bar is a very nice idea. However, although the UI is still in a very early stage, I imagine the ranking displayed next to the player name, meaning, quite small. So a bar wouldn't be instantly legible. I could color the graph according to rank (first quarter green, second quarter yellow and so on), which is perhaps a good way to introduce more granularity to a discrete system.
    – Navot
    Commented Jul 7, 2015 at 23:01
  • post-edit: I like your presentation style! :) I'd like to wait a few days before accepting
    – Navot
    Commented Jul 9, 2015 at 0:03
  • it doesn't really address the "70% dilemma" in that it will still show a good player being, well, 70% - 7-10th bar out of 10/15 Maybe use a little cheat - to use a reduced generic scale (i.e. 10 for a score of 0-60%) and only add further bars if the user actually exceeds that. Color Scale: red-green might not be the best, depending on the "emotional" value of the rank - a blue-green range might be more neutral
    – rogerovo
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 14:58
  • @rogerovo if we will adopt this method, 70% (or thereabout) will probably be counted as '100%'. Players who exceed that may get a special case: different color or badge, something like that. The main thing is I'm hiding the unappealing figure under something nicer
    – Navot
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 20:16
  • @navot ok cool, that is what I was suggesting ;)
    – rogerovo
    Commented Jul 11, 2015 at 9:51
0

My only idea would be to use the alphabet.

You could use the letter from A (best) to O (worst). Additionally you could made them part of a medals (15 to 11 bronze, 10 to 6 silver, 5 to 1 gold). I would probably add extra detail for the A level too.

Improve this answer
2
  • "i'm in the F grade"?
    – rogerovo
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 14:53
  • The application will currently be in Hebrew. I'm don't think using the hebrew alphabet is right here
    – Navot
    Commented Jul 10, 2015 at 20:18

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.