 Games usually approach stats by comparing the player to everyone else in the world. This is only really of interest to those who are near the top. With Team Fortress 2, we decided that a better approach might be to compare the stats to the player's previous successes, ensuring them from a worldwide comparative system into a personalized, motivational one. The beginning player gets encouragement and acknowledgement that while they're not highly skilled yet, they're getting better all the time. The veterans get to see when they've managed to come click onto their previous record, which encourages them to beat that record. The personal stats system also acts as a validation system. When a player feels like they've had a really good run, the stats system pops up and essentially says, you're right, that was a great run.