Already posted this on another forum but I'll repost it here because I'm curious if this is a good forum for game-design questions.
I'm looking to design a player ranking system for my game. The game is similar to a racing game where you get a score for individual tracks you play (based only on your own performance). Beside the score for tracks played I want a player rank. The purpose of this player rank is to:
- Make you feel like you are progressing and getting better
- Encourage you to play more
- Encourage you to play better and improve your skill
- Be enjoyable
Another way to state it is that I want to encourage playing more levels (increasing amount of play) as well as improving skill (getting higher score). It's not necessary for the rank to actually reflect your skill. Although, I suspect some amount of accuracy is needed for the score to feel meaningful.
The only ranking system I'm familiar with is the ELO-type ranking system which I feel is lacking in some ways. Although it accurately reflect the skill of the player it has the problem of not being enjoyable in my experience - it punishes bad plays, gives no rewards for trying/experimenting with new plays. It also puts a lot of pressure on you to perform well in every game which discourages casual play.
Any ideas?
Thanks