"CUSTOMER IS ALWAYS RIGHT" - TAKING FEEDBACK

May I say I think you people are misinterpreting the phrase "the customer is always right". I think it means you should always treat them as if they're right, to avoid arguments and get more sales(/downloads?).

post=207328
May I say I think you people are misinterpreting the phrase "the customer is always right". I think it means you should always treat them as if they're right, to avoid arguments and get more sales(/downloads?).

It's about applying the "the customer is always right" mentality to indie (in our case, free) gaming. Obviously there's no money changing hands, so we move on to the next measures of success: critical reception and level of consumption. Setting aside those that genuinely have no interest in how their game is received by the public (rare), the majority of us do have this concern, and struggle with feedback that they disagree with.

First thing to consider, feedback from each other here in the community is a very twisted concept of a customer. We're already over-critical of each others' works right from the start, first of all. Many of us look at each others' games and view things we don't like, and when we're providing feedback we taint with ideas of how WE think the game should be made differently, as opposed to merely identifying those things and why they didn't work for us. Some people genuinely need the direction in the fundamentals of game making. Others really don't, and receiving feedback in that way feels condescending and demoralizing.

So, in summary, a very important distinction: unless a game creator very obviously lacks the fundamentals of game-making concepts, "I don't like this because..." is much better criticism than "this would be better if..."

If Max doesn't mind me picking him out as an example, I'll bring up the issue with enemy evasion brought up in his reviews. Saying, "I don't like how high enemy evasion is" is useful feedback. Max knows that there is someone that noticed it, and can follow other feedback received to see if it's a common complaint. However, a very subtle difference in wording, "You should reduce enemy evasion because it's too high," already implies, "you did something wrong, this is how to fix it." Unless it's a game-breaking bug (which it isn't even if a few people complain that it is), what does or doesn't need to be fixed is up to the creator.

Which brings us to the meat of the issue: what to do with the feedback we receive. It's possible to be a really good or really bad designer with great creative vision, and the difference is in the feedback. Here's my opinion:

Bad game designers ignore player feedback to pursue their creative decisions.

Good game designers make compromises in their creative vision if it makes their game more accessible to others.

Great game designers can achieve their creative vision while giving the people what they want.

And the masters (Miyamoto) know what the people want before they ever have to ask.

In my opinion, believing in the "the customer is always right" mentality is a good thing to do, but it DOESN'T mean that you just give them what they say they want (and I believe there's another adage that indicates that consumers have no idea what they want). To do this, you do need to recognize when your ideas genuinely aren't very good.

Not saying that the walking speed choice in Dungeoneer was bad (slowing down walk speed to add to atmosphere is a thoughtful thing to do, and sounds good on paper), but look into it a little bit more. What is the player's expectation when the walk speed is slowed down? Were they trained to expect a "jump" moment? Are they looking for something in a location that isn't apparent, and are afraid to uncover something horrifying? Or, do they know where they need to get to and are just trying to make their way there?

If someone tells you something about the game was annoying, re-examine it. Was there a real, creative thought process behind your decision to make the game that way? If not, then you've just gained insight to another detail you could enhance your game with. If you did make a creative choice that wasn't received well, think about it again. It doesn't hurt you to think, you're not committing to changing anything. If it's a gameplay issue that interferes with your creative vision (like the Dungeoneer example above), look beyond trying to decide what's more important. Use the opportunity to elaborate on that creative vision (a noticeable gap in the gameplay is a gap in everything else, including story and atmosphere). I could probably go on in detail about the walk speed issue (which Calunio could ask about in IRC if he really wanted to), but I'm trying to stick with the point.

Summary two: don't assume the player is asking for a game you're not trying to make. Approach their criticism from another angle and see if you can actually add creative elements to address their concern. Consider the motivation behind a criticism (ie, "it's annoying trying to get to the door with a slow walking speed," you know that THEIR goal in that instance is to get to the door, and there's a lot that can be done with that information...both atmospherically and gameplay-wise).

tl;dr - What the player says they want and how to give it to them isn't a black and white issue. Just because some feedback is creatively insipid doesn't mean it isn't an opportunity to make your game better.