Monday, February 21, 2011

Grrr!

I just have to get something off of my chest.

And hopefully this will be something you think about next time you comment on a game, regardless if it's on a portal, a blog, or anything else.

Please please please make your criticism constructive. Hell, make your compliments constructive.

First of all, people view their games as a part of themselves. Or at least, kind of. When you insult their game, developers might take it personally. Secondly, unless it's the rare occasion where the game is this developer's final game ever, they are putting the game on the site you found it on to get feedback. Obviously it's also to get noticed.

But when you leave a comment like "terrible" or "awesome," the only thing you are doing is making the developer feel "terrible" or "awesome!" That's it!

Feeling good might make your day. It might get you through the day. It might help you wake up in the morning. And feeling bad could do the opposite. But it will not make you a better developer.

I want to be great. And if you don't give me good criticism, how can I learn from my mistakes? An example of great criticism is the group of comments I got for the "Challenging vs. Frustrating" post a few posts back. They told me what the problems were with some of the games, and then helped me fix it. That is what should happen. That is how you do it.

Okay, rant over. Thanks for reading!

6 comments:

3dpprofessor said...

I just have to get something off of my chest.

And hopefully this will be something you think about next time you read comments on your game.

Please please please take any comments made with a grain of salt. The intenet is full of, for lack of a better term, dickwads. Look for the constructive criticism or constructive complaints, but don't expect them.

Don't view your games as a part of you. I know it's difficult but when an internet douche insults your game, even if they're saying their insulting you, they have no idea anything about you so don't take it personally. You're putting your game out there to get feedback and fame. Even bad press is press. Rejoice, you've been noticed.

When you see comments that are little more than "terrible" or "awesome," you can weigh those comments to see how you're doing. I like to use this little formula: (# "awesome"s)/((# "terrible"s) * 0.1) = how well your game is doing. If that number is over 1 you're doing great. If it's below 1 then chalk this game up to a learning experience and move on.

Not everyone can give criticism. Not everyone thinks like a developer. Most people are consumers, and pretty dumb consumers at that. For instance, look at how well every carbon copy FPS does provided it looks pretty for the screen shots on the cover. Consumer's don't think, they consume. Their voracious appetite is never satisfied, so they focus all their time an energy on filling the gaping void in their souls. If only they understood that by feeding it they're only making it bigger. All they'd need to do is make one game, hell a text based interactive fiction or even a pencil and paper game would be enough, and they could start the journey from consumer to creator, but alas most will never make that journey. It's sad, but it's the state of things. Don't let it get you down. The folks playing your game are idiots. Get used to it. You're the awesome on just for the fact that you are creating something.

Okay, rant over. Thanks for reading!

3dpprofessor said...

That comment was meant in satire, but the point is all the begging and blog posts in the world can't change the dunces commenting on your work. You can only change how you react to them. See them in a different light.

Which reminds me, I have a MrJoeRants rant to write on a subject tangential to this one.

Ethan said...

Haha I could tell it was satire, don't worry. I like the equation. I think you should test it out to see how accurate it is.

You're right, people aren't going to change because of this silly post that I made. But I feel better because of it.

Jack Brockley said...

Ethan got told. Heh.

Ethan said...

And it was on my own turf! He went into my house and kicked me in the balls, haha.

3dpprofessor said...

@Ethan - If you feel better sometimes that's all you need.

@Jack - Yeah, I told Ethan, but I also got a jab in for the dim wits who can't make a constructive comment to save their life. I hate those guys, too.

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