And after some thought I’ve finished up the scoring system for the Meta-reviews. One section that gave me considerable difficulty was the Character development page, and it finally dawned on me that there are three sub-sections to character development that need to be scored separately before being combined into a final score for character development. This may also end up influencing how future Meta-reviews are written concerning the character development segment, but I still need to think further on this.

Character development – primary characters
0 ribbons – characters rarely remain constant and often act contrary to previous actions unless that is the nature of the character
1 ribbon – characters are consistent but do not change over time and have a tendency to deviate from established norms in an unrealistic fashion
2 ribbons – characters are consistent and more fleshed out, tend to behave in cliché terms but remain in-character
3 ribbons – characters are detailed and will evolve over time in a realistic manner with some explanation behind behavior deviations
4 ribbons – characters are detailed with background histories that are shown to effect their actions and influence character evolution, and behavior deviations often have logical explanations behind them
5 ribbons – characters have significant detail and background histories that effect their actions and tend to evolve over time realistically. Behavior deviations have logical reasons behind them but are not necessarily explained at the time.

(Fairly self-explanatory; the primary cast is the most important part of character development as a whole, but secondary cast and antagonists are also important and thus deserve their own segments)

Character development – secondary cast
0 ribbons – background characters are basically scenery that don’t have any impact on the primary cast
1 ribbon – background characters have a bare modicum of personality and minimal impact on the primary cast
2 ribbons – background characters have basic personalities and some impact on the primary cast
3 ribbons – background characters have varied personalities and some development, some impact on the primary cast
4 ribbons – background characters are varied and show character growth, are important to the primary cast and have an influence on them
5 ribbons – background characters are varied and have character growth, their stories intertwine with the primary cast and influences the character development of primary characters

(As can be seen here, secondary characters often don’t have nearly as developed personalities as the main cast. What’s more important for them is their influence on the main protagonists. Ultimately, well-designed secondary casts can seem more like an ensemble cast with the primary protagonists who just don’t have as much screen time.)

Character development – Antagonists
0 ribbons – antagonists are just obstacles for the protagonists and have no personality or development
1 ribbon – antagonists are primarily obstacles for the protagonists and have minimal personalities and no character development
2 ribbons – antagonists show signs of having a purpose besides opposing the protagonists and have basic personalities that don’t change much
3 ribbons – antagonists have a purpose beyond the protagonists, their personalities are varied and developed, some character growth is apparent
4 ribbons – antagonists have their own plans which the protagonists may be unaware of and have varied and developed personalities. Character growth is apparent; antagonists may adjust plans according to the actions of the protagonists
5 ribbons – antagonists have detailed plans that account for the protagonists and which are well thought-out. Their personalities are distinct and developed with apparent character growth and the ability to change as a direct result of protagonist actions and arguments.

(Naturally, what would we do without antagonists for the comic? The best antagonists, however, don’t exist for the protagonists… often it’s the protagonists who are secondary to the plans and situations of these antagonists, except for the fact protagonists “meddle” and force the antagonist to react to the protagonists. This need not be large-scale. It could be something so simple as a girl trying to isolate an ex-boyfriend because she’s in pain over his treatment of her, and going against a female protagonist who either doesn’t know the situation or feels it is unfair, or something as large as an Evil Overlord planning some massive conquest.)

Character chemistry
0 ribbons – no character chemistry apparent
1 ribbon – minimal character chemistry between cast members
2 ribbons – character chemistry is apparent and has a minor effect on character development
3 ribbons – there is apparent chemistry between primary characters and has an effect on character development
4 ribbons – there is apparent chemistry between primary characters which has an effect on character development and plot evolution
5 ribbons – there is significant chemistry between characters, both primary and secondary, which has a significant influence on character development and plot evolution

(Character chemistry is fairly self-explanatory. It is also mixed in with the secondary cast mentioned above; chemistry works best when it involves even those who are not a primary part of the comic.)

Story Continuity
0 ribbons – continuity is mostly non-existent, no ongoing storyline
1 ribbon – minimal continuity, bare-bones storyline
2 ribbons – some continuity and storyline apparent with frequent retcons and/or mistakes apparent
3 ribbons – comic has an ongoing storyline and attempts to keep continuity but will have occasional retcons and/or mistakes as current storylines conflict with past events
4 ribbons – comic has an ongoing storyline with signs it is fully planned out, minimal continuity errors
5 ribbons – comic has no continuity errors and is fully planned out

(Continuity is an iffy situation. After all, a gag-a-day strip like “Far Side” would have no continuity (and thus not qualify for this). Other comics have minimal continuity (such as reusing the same characters). Yet even gag-a-day strips can end up with continuity and the like. It seems likely that strips such as xkcd and Penny Arcade shouldn’t be scored for continuity due to their lack of storyline, even if there is some level of continuity in them.)

Web content
0 ribbons – No navigation, no extra content, comic consists only of the strips
1 ribbon – comic consists of the strips with bare-bones navigation and no archive list or extra content
2 ribbons – comic consists of strips with navigation and one extra detail (such as archives or cast page) or multiple incomplete systems
3 ribbons – comic consists of strips, navigation page, cast page, and some background information
4 ribbons – comic is fleshed out with an easily-used navigation and some form of archive system, a cast page, background information, and/or art gallery
5 ribbons – comic is fully fleshed out with an easy-to-use navigation system, full archives, search function, cast page, background page, art gallery, and other details

(While some people might protest my assumptions on content, I feel that having a cast page and other detailed information is important, not just for new readers who may have no idea of what is going on, but also for readers who might be interested in a fuller understanding of the background behind a comic. Also, I believe such things as galleries and forums help create communities for fans, and increase interest in the comic as a whole.)