David Braben Clarifies "Metacritic for Game Journalists"

Kinectimals and Elite creator David Braben has clarified the intention of his "Metacritic for computer game journalists" idea, rejecting the claim that it was an attempt to categorise and criticise writers.

Speaking to me on the red carpet at the GAME British Video Game Academy Awards ceremony last night, the Frontier boss recalled that "most people reacted very positively" to a controversial opinion column he wrote that suggested that journalists should be rewarded for outstanding copy, regardless of the publication.

Aggregate website Metacritic recently argued against the idea, with co-founder Marc Doyle opining that "penalizing a brilliant critic who happens to utilize the lower end of its publication's scale more often than a middling critic who never gives lower than a 6/10 doesn't make sense."

"I think a lot of people assumed I was criticising journalists, which wasn’t the intention," Braben said. "What I was really saying was that actually, it’s a really hard job. Because if you want to try and make your reviews stand out, you end up producing something that, with time, will make you look silly.

"So, in actuality, hitting Metacritic early on is a challenge, and I am impressed by the writers who manage to do it. Essentially, yes it’s a very hard job and I apologise to those who either misunderstood what I said or disagreed. I’m happy to debate with them if they want at some time!"

Kinectimals was nominated for the Family Game and Technical Innovation awards.