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I'm writing a video game and I'd like to know if I should include the "successful" attempt in the count of "total attempts".

For instance, in a clay shooting game, if the player needs four shots before they hit the target:

bullet one = miss
bullet two = miss
bullet three = miss
bullet four = hit

Does it equate to three attempts, or four attempts? What text do I need to write at the end of the round?

You needed three attempts to hit the target!

or

You needed four attempts to hit the target!

Vaillancourt
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bibble triple
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  • I think it does count, at least in most cases, every action with intent is an attempt, the result is another thing. Say for example, that you make 3 attempts to hit an enemy, and you only hit it once. You could get a ratio of success by dividing successes / attempts (in this case, you'll get 30%). So the successful attempt counts also. – LifGwaethrakindo Sep 07 '18 at 19:34
  • It largely depends on where you do the increment of the count of bullets. In the example in your question, I would say it took 'four' attempts. – Chad Sep 07 '18 at 19:36
  • Semantics of "attempt" is ambiguous, but in this case, I'd say 4 attempts, for sure. Might be a better question for EL&U. – DyingIsFun Sep 07 '18 at 19:49
  • It is kind of off topic, but a lot of work goes in to finding the right words to describe something. I might add more detail, like "You made 4 attempts and successfully hit 1 target". – Zymus Sep 07 '18 at 19:54
  • If you don't think a success counts as attempt, why do you use the word successful attempt in the header? That kinda anwers the question itsself. Yes it counts as attempt, it is a successful attempt... – some_user Sep 08 '18 at 08:45
  • When you go to the shooting range and you are told you get 3 attempts how much bullets do you expect to get? – Madmenyo Sep 08 '18 at 13:00

1 Answers1

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According to dictionary.com:

attempt
noun, an effort made to accomplish something

So based on this, something like

You needed 4 attempts to hit the target!

would make more sense because the player had to make an effort four times in total.

Now, that might not be the most question to ask. We need to take into consideration the context in which this will be used.

If the fact that they failed many times before succeeding is important in your context, for instance if the "ratio" of "hit" vs "miss" is important because you're keeping stats, you may want to present it with the failed attempts too:

You had 3 failed attempts before hitting. Your score is 25%.

or we could get rid of the concept of "attempts":

You missed 3 times before hitting. Your score is 25%.

Highlighting the fact that they missed 3 times before hitting might help the players see what you want them to see.

In any case, whatever you choose, you should have your game tested by multiple people and see if they understand clearly the information you try to transmit; adapt your user interface as required.

Vaillancourt
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