1. Subjectivity and Objectivity Andrew Williams http://www.bolton.ac.uk/staff/adw1

2. Subjective Your opinions – “I did not like this game” – “I thought this game was great” – “In my opinion, this game was boring” – “I can’t believe that anyone could seriously like this game” – “My opinion is worth something” Your opinions might be interesting – For the time being, however, assume that they are not

3. Objective Facts – I played the game for approximately 35 minutes but only saw three of Joseph’s stories – I managed to complete the first level – There were more than fifty enemies in that level – I made $25000 on that quest Objective statements cannot be disputed

4. Why prefer objective measures? Opinions: – John says, “Starguard is great fun” – Jane says, “Starguard is not fun at all” Whom should we believe? Let’s try again. Marks out of five for Starguard? – John: 4/5 – Jane: 1/5

5. Beware! 4/5 looks more objective, but it is just as subjective as “great fun” Suppose you are looking at buying a game – You go to Gamespot and they give it 8.5/10 – You go to IGN and they give it 7.5/10 – You buy Edge …. seven – You go to 1UP and they say 9/10 Subjective or objective?

6. Metacritic/GameRankings It is not possible to “convert” subjective opinions into objective facts However, we can improve the reliability of subjective views by aggregating several – Generally speaking, the more the better Think again about what Steve Manning was talking about