History Main / ScoringPoints

* However, the scoring in ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' and ''VideoGame/RockBand'' is ruined by the fact that comboing notes will multiply the point value of each additional note you hit; a screwup in mid-song will do more damage to your score than if it were at the beginning or end of the song. The aforementioned ''In The Groove'', as well as the DDR series from ''[=SuperNOVA=]'' onwards, ''DJMAX Portable'', among some other Rhythm Games use percentage-based scoring systems that don't care where in the song you did your best (and worst).

Nowadays, this is an UndeadHorseTrope. Most games stripped score out entirely except if scoring is relevant -- such as games with short, replayable levels, most commonly {{Shoot Em Up}}s and {{Rhythm Game}}s, where beating another's high score or getting a good rank/grade is a big part of the game. Then there were the [[EndlessGame endlessly repeating games]] where score was the only practical way to measure success: Creator/{{Activision}}'s UsefulNotes/{{Atari 2600}} games always would have specific guidelines in their manuals for what score you should aim to attain to get their special patches or t-shirts for having become a pro at it if you could send them proof. {{Pinball}} is a good example that has survived (somewhat) into the modern age. {{Casual Video Game}}s are also very score-heavy; you'd be hard-pressed to find a ''VideoGame/{{Bejeweled}}'' or ''Videogame/{{Peggle}}'' player who ''isn't'' trying to beat their best scores. {{Roguelike}}s, also, interestingly enough, often have a score system of some sort; since the FinalDeath elements often make players want to keep track of their best runs, though often [[MinimalistRun low scores are sought after here]].

* ''VisualNovel/FleuretBlanc'' uses this as an instance of PlayingThePlayer. The points are worthless and you only even see them at the end of the day, yet upon seeing the obvious gameplay mechanic many players feel an irrational urge to make the numbers go up. Combined with the CentralTheme of obsession and hoarding, [[YouBastard this can lead to some uncomfortable self-reflection.]]

* Points might, sometimes, add to something useful, [[EveryTenThousandPoints like extra lives]]. But, as soon as ''VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1'', these were often replaced by another variable, [[OneHundredCoins like "coins", "rings", or "crystals"]].

* ''VideoGame/{{SWAT4}} scores each mission on a 100 point scale, with points awarded for minimizing casualties - officers ''and'' suspects - and following proper procedures in making arrests and collecting evidence. Major penalties are incurred for violating the rules of engagement. Depending on the difficulty level, a certain minimum score is required to progress to the next mission.

* ''VideoGame/XWing'' and its sequels, ''VideoGame/TIEFighter'' and ''VideoGame/XWingAlliance'' use the cumulative scores of each mission to determine player promotions and other awards. The first two games keep the scoring system largely hidden, only reporting a score during debriefings, while ''X-Wing Alliance'' updates the player's score in real time. All of the games impose a 90% penalty deduction for activating cheats - even momentarily; ''Alliance'' also deducts a lesser amount of points whenever one of the player's wingmates are killed.

** Finally there is Platinum Score, introduced in ''O.N.G.E.K.I. R.E.D.'' You get 2 points for getting [[RankInflation Platinum Breaks]], 1 point for non-Platinum Critical Breaks, and 0 points for a Break, Hit, or Miss. And just to make things more NintendoHard, you also lose 2 points for every point of Damage (from hitting the pink bullets) and every Bell you don't collect.

** Then there is Technical Score, which omits all the RPGElements. You can gain up to 950,000 points (out of 1,010,000) from hitting notes, with the full amount of that only obtainable by getting all Critical Breaks. The remaining 150,000 is earned from collecting Bell items throughout the chart by moving your team over them.

** Finally there is Platinum Score, introduced in ''O.N.G.E.K.I. R.E.D.'' You get 2 points for getting [[RankInflation Platinum]] Critical Breaks, 1 point for non-Platinum Critical Breaks, and 0 points for a Break, Hit, or Miss. And just to make things more NintendoHard, you also lose 2 points for every point of Damage (from hitting the pink bullets) and every Bell you don't collect.

* In ''O.N.G.E.K.I.'', you can gain up to 950,000 points (out of 1,010,000) from hitting notes. The remaining 150,000 is earned from collecting Bell items throughout the chart by moving your team over them.

* In ''O.N.G.E.K.I.'', you can gain up to 950,000 points (out of 1,010,000) from hitting notes. The remaining 1.5 million is earned from collecting Bell items throughout the chart by moving your team over them.

** ''maimai Deluxe'' redoes the Achievement system a little bit. There are now four decimal places (in order to make scoring more like ''Chunithm'' and ''O.N.G.E.K.I.'') and each chart has a fixed maximum Achievement of 101%. [[Over100PercentCompletion The extra 1%]] is obtained by getting [[RankInflation Critical Perfect]]s on Break notes (if you only get regular Perfects on them, you will only go up to 100%). Break notes are the only time Critical/regular Perfect differentiation is used in score calculations; on all other note types, both types of Perfects are valued the same.

** ''Deluxe'' redoes the Achievement system a little bit. There are now four decimal places (in order to make scoring more like ''Chunithm'' and ''O.N.G.E.K.I.'') and each chart has a fixed maximum Achievement of 101%. [[Over100PercentCompletion The extra 1%]] is obtained by getting [[RankInflation Critical Perfect]]s on Break notes (if you only get regular Perfects on them, you will only go up to 100%). Break notes are the only time Critical/regular Perfect differentiation is used in score calculations; on all other note types, both types of Perfects are valued the same.

* ''VideoGame/{{maimai}}'' uses accuracy-based scoring, and weighs each type of note differently: up to 500 points for hitting a Tap note, 1,000 for a Hold note, and 1,500 points for a Slide note. Breaks are weird, in that not only can you get up to 2600 points per note, but each of the combo-incrementing judge ranks has a few "sub-ranks" that have a slight influence on your score (50-150 points). Score is also expressed as an "Achievement" percentage, and you need an Achievement rating of 80% or higher to clear the Song. Achievement can go slightly above 100% depending on how you hit Break notes[[note]]more specifically, 100% is based off of an all-Perfect run where all the Break notes are hit for 2500 points each[[/note]]; it's even possible to get 100% ''without'' getting an "All Perfect" as a result.

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan1'' has a score counter, which is completely useless. Aside from the fact that getting a Game Over wipes your score, the game also has enemies that respawned when put offscreen and no time limit, so getting points is as simple as just killing the same Metool over and over until you get bored. It even has power-ups that do nothing but add points at the end of the level. For obvious reasons, later games in the franchise dropped the score counter entirely.

* Points might, sometimes, add to something useful, [[EveryTenThousandPoints like extra lives]]. But, as soon as SuperMarioBros, these were often replaced by another variable, [[OneHundredCoins like "coins", "rings", or "crystals"]].

* ''VideoGame/MegaMan1'' had a score counter, which was completely useless. (Particularly since the game was so NintendoHard that you'd usually get a few game overs, losing all your points.) It even had power-ups that did nothing but add points at the end of the level. For obvious reasons, later games in the franchise dropped the score counter entirely.

As games moved from the arcades to the home consoles and home computers, initially many games still had points there, even the ones that had endings, but as said above, players didn't care and went for the ending. It helps that in the home version, you couldn't show your high scores to everyone until the days of the internet, and also, many games that came in cartridges couldn't even save your high scores after you turned off your console unless the cart had a save battery.

Opinion varies from gamer to gamer, even in the early days of arcades. On one hand, for example, many ''VideoGame/PacMan'' players were more interested in what the new fruit in which level was and those who play most video games could care less about high scores since they generally dismiss them as mere bragging rights. On the other hand, "high score" ''can'' be SeriousBusiness and there are huge communities of people competing for who gets the better score in some games.

* The ''Franchise/ProfessorLayton'' series gives you picarats for completing puzzles; getting a wrong answer makes a given puzzle worth fewer picarats the next time you attempt it. This carries over into ''VideoGame/ProfessorLaytonVsAceAttorney'' and also adds Phoenix Wright's trial segments being worth picarats for a successful completion, with bonus picarats awarded for each unused penalty.