When reviewing, recapping, and adjudicating something like video games, TV shows, books, and movies, most reviewers and critics tend to allow their personal experience to conclude what is objectively good and bad.
This is often observed in critics’ video reviews on how they felt something didn’t meet the expectations and standards of what they define as “good.” It leads to them placing themselves as the authority and expert because they had proper schooling or achieved success by outputting many critiquing pieces, garnering follows and clout.
As consumers of media, they become the expert authority that we turn to for insight and knowledge to help us decide on purchasing a good. We’re often conflating subjective reviewing as objective reviews, especially when they place a video game somewhere on a grading scale.
The line between the two points becomes blurred, and everything is seen as objective. Although, several people will disagree with a critic about how they saw the book or how a video game is played. In no way am I saying critics’ reviews are set in stone as universal canon, but it appears that way to some people.
Objective vs Subjective
Break down the differences between Objective and Subjective realities by looking at the definitions.
Objective is defined as “expressing or dealing with facts or conditions as perceived without distortion by personal feelings, prejudices, and interpretations.” This definition comes from Merriam-Webster Dictionary. For example, when someone looks at an object that’s a hard-top surface with four legs, one would conclude they are looking at a table because it’s in the shape of a table. If the table read, then one concludes they are looking at a red table. When one feels the table, one will feel the table’s smooth, cool surface.
This could go on and on.
Subjective is defined as “modified or affected by personal views, experience or background.” Once again, this definition comes from Merriam-Webster Dictionary from the 4th definition. An example of Subjective is someone sees the red table and likes it because the color red makes them happy. Another example would be someone who enjoys sci-fi films because they like the genre, but their spouse doesn’t like the genre because he doesn’t care for its incredulousness.
Personal Feelings become the Facts
When a video game critic rates a video game like it is a mid-term exam, he is saying from an objective viewpoint the video game rates as such. In actuality, he is grading it based on what he deems is a good game. He could be basing one game compared to another game, which is the case for a number of reviews. Not of all of them, mind you.
Let’s keep looking at how video games are reviewed. When playing a game, from an objective standpoint, does the gameplay well? In other words, is there a large lag between pressing the jump button to when it happens in the game? If yes, then the game is already not good. Does the game have frequent glitches on play-throughs? If yes, then it’s not much of a playable game.
When a video game functions on the structural level, we review from the subjective standpoint.
Reviewing a game from a subjective viewpoint is different. Playing an action-adventure game boils down to the subjective or personal experience with the game. The first Resident Evil game received chief complaints about the “tank controls,” which from the objective point the game’s controls function where the up direction always moves you forward, no matter the camera’s perspective. For me, that has never bothered me and never stopped me from enjoying the creepy, intense atmosphere of the first Resident Evil.
Because of my enjoyment of playing the first Resident Evil game, I also enjoyed playing the first Silent Hill game. This is how I came to enjoy God of War because of how much I enjoyed playing Devil May Cry.
Now, put me in front of Madden 2002, and I’m not going to have a grand time. I find, from my personal experience, that I do not enjoy football games. Even more, I’m not into any sports games at all, but that still doesn’t mean others enjoy them. Some people enjoy watching football and want to play as their favorite team dominating an opposing or disliked team.
In other words, I think sports games suck, but someone else thinks they are great and keeps buying every Madden released every year. My feelings on the franchise don’t impede their enjoyment.
Make sense, right? I think so.
Feelings, Viewpoint, & Knowledge Determines How Something is Enjoyed
Take this perspective when reading a book. From an objective viewpoint, does the book have sound grammatical structure. One can scrutinize if the sentences and paragraphs flow well. Finding a stumbling on poor grammar and seeing a long run-on sentence can throw a reader off. This keeps her from enjoying the book.
Then judging a book based on one’s subjective reality determines if she really enjoyed the story or not at all. If she read a mystery novel where she didn’t connect with the characters kept her from saying this is a good book.
Drill further down if too many “ten dollar” words go over a reader’s head and keep them from enjoying a book. I read the book Parasite Eve and disliked it because of the science jargon used throughout the novel. A scientist authored the novel, so he knew his stuff.
Another book I read kept using words with more than three syllables which wouldn’t have bothered me if it weren’t for the author using unfamiliar and complex words every two or three sentences. I want to sit down and read a book, not stop every other sentence to look up a word to make sure I understood it. It took me out of the immersion.
One can observe this when people watch sci-fi films and can’t get into it because they don’t understand all the words being said on screen. One character says, “We need to reload the repulsor nacelles or else we can’t achieve FTL to the Archimedes leyline.” Can you see how someone wouldn’t be able to get into something like that if everyone spoke like that?
I’ve liked movies that many others do not like, and vise versa. Killer Klowns from Outer Space was considered a terrible film in 1988, but the film has a strong cult following. The film Repo! The Genetic Opera is another with a cult following, and I’ve liked it, but I don’t think it’s a very good movie. Conceptually, I like it, and some of the songs are fun, but it ends there.
Where do I go from here?
I would like to start reviewing video games I played, books I read, and movies I watched. It is important to know what I feel is a good movie or book that might be different from yours. I’ll do my best to identify where my feelings about something are separate from the observable facts.
Most of the time I will extrapolate from my viewpoints, feelings, and experience as I review something. When that happens, I will make it known to you the reader. I’ll sum up at the end in a few words and if I recommend it.
Thank you.
Still Foxes 