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[Angelo]

After creating a new poll in my game's blog, I decided to attempt to start a discussion here also, since this topic interests me a lot.

Before I start, I have a suspicion that there is a better terminology for these things, and I'm making a fool of myself . Anyway, the options are two.

Numerical representation of properties
This is the system that most games use. For example, Sword Damage = 5, Armor = 10, Hunger = 20, and so on. Makes players know exactly where they are, but reduces the whole experience to a number game. Not that it's completely bad, let's face it: we all, at some level, gain satisfaction by watching numbers grow.

Use of adjectives to describe properties
This is an obfuscated but more immersive system. For example, Very Sharp Sword, Heavily Armored, Very Hungry. Makes it a little more difficult comparing properties at the beginning, but eventually grows on you. In the end, the more hardcore players end up finding out the formulas and translate these adjectives to a numerical value.

What is your personal preference? Do you think that any of these two systems could be applicable to any type of game? If not, what types of games do you think each system suits? Are there more than these two?

[Hajo]

There are also postfixes like "Ring of the Fox", and you can combine them with adjectives. E.g. a "Sharp sword of slay giant", (sharp = +20% damage, slay giant = +50% damage if target is a giant). But as a player I like it, if I can see those numbers somewhere in game, since I cannot remember 100+ pre- and postfixes for item names, as some games have them.

But in general, I like the words more than the numbers.

Edit: This answer was written with RPGish games in mind.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

i've done this in ziggurats for red turtle (unfinished game), it's pretty neat -- i don't use numbers at all in that game, instead using verbal descriptions of everything in the game state. even when it comes down to, say, number of soldiers, i use words like 'a gaggle of soldiers!' 'a swarm of soldiers!' 'a paltry unit!' and so on

[Pishtaco]

Just as an interface thing, a lot of numbers on the screen can be overwhelming. Displaying a certain number of icons can be easier to read, for example, four hearts instead of the number four. I'm thinking in particular of something like Civilization, which shows populations and productions of cities with rows of icons, looking much friendlier than, say, Europa Universalis 3, where the information displays are full of numbers shown to two decimal places (which also doesn't help the historical feel much).

In fighter planes, the altimeter shows your altitude both on a rotary dial and with a digital readout. I've read that the digits are good because they let you quickly see what your altitude is; the dial is good because it lets you quickly get a sense of how your altitude is changing, from how fast the pointer is moving.

[FatHat]

I think of the two options you described, the descriptive text is much better than being inundated with numbers. This is one of those cases where being vague is good -- having a little bit of mystery of just how good this item the player has adds a bit of intrigue to the game and gives them an opportunity to play with it a bit. I'm not really a fan of either approach though.

Ideally, if you have time, I think it's better to show why the item is cool rather than trying to describe it. If it's a sword, make it look really scary, and have the player practice with it by cutting a previously difficult enemy in half or something along those lines. (Or if it's a really lame sword, make it look really boring) In other words, the old fiction cliche of show-don't-tell applies in this case... but that's obviously in an idea world, sometimes you just don't have time

[Aquin]

I think Realms of Despair did an excellent job using adjectives.  When you picked up an item, used an attack, or considered an opponent, the game would be quite vague.  You got a sense of what it meant, but had no real data.

However, if you used certain abilities you could discover the true numerical value of things.  I suppose it always comes back to that right?  We may prefer adjectives as players, but the computer *has* to use numbers for the calculations.

[Lyx]

I prefer adjectives IF they easy to understand and give a finegrained-enough value. What is "enough" depends on the circumstances and the game.... if i can without significant issues play the game and be successful in it, then sure, why not?

By the way - another alternative is to have unlabeled bars instead of numbers. That way, you still get a quite finegrained value, but without the "abstract" feel to it. Or you could also use symbols/icons to represent an attribute, if screenspace is expensive.