OCEAN'S PROFILE

Well, the other thing is, that's how it's like out there. You can be all sheltered here and have everyone say sweet and happy/fluffy things, but really, when it comes to people playing a game, they'll say what they want. Even the best games have people just flat out going "This game sucks", "This game was tedious (rated 4/10)", and even some pro developers have reacted badly when they see this type of feedback given to them, and the consequence being that people can get even MORE negative or generate more hate for them than if they had responded nicely or not responded at all. You also have to learn how to deal with that kind of criticism/posts, not just feedback on the game itself. It's not nice, but you can't expect everyone to be nice or even set a rule that everyone must be smiley and happy!

RMN is probably not the only community you'll ever visit or post your game on, so I don't think it even makes sense to go so far as to be like "no one must ever be mean ever or else u r banned". It's nice to receive encouragement or feedback but you have to remember there's all different types of people out there that you'll encounter. If you want to make a game and go beyond just posting it to the same nice 3 people, you have to accept that some people will flat out hate it, swear at you for it, find it tedious, overstate how bad some parts were, be jealous of your project, or like it a lot more than you think or create an unexpected fanbase.

I had thought of putting up a demo but it doesn't seem too necessary if the full game will be released not too far after. But yeah, I'll see what I can do!

author=Large
I think the plants clash with the grass; they're too vivid, while the grass has a less saturated color.

Also, is that a blond hooker?

I wanted it to stand out more, makes the game a bit more colorful.

And yes, yes she is. There will be all kinds of people once I get around to spriting them all. A lot of the NPCs are actually going to be quite poor.

Remapped the town in Adalyn, here's a screen.

I dunno, depends on the personality of the newbie and the personality of the one giving feedback. Not everyone starting out feels or acts the same way. Some with valid constructive criticism will go on a rampage and defend their game instead of looking at the feedback, and that person would just get ignored or maybe drama would start up and they'd leave. Some may see the negative reactions as a sign that something is wrong and might start looking up other games or asking what went wrong so they can actually... improve.

As was mentioned, it hurts them more to lie to them, because even if you say "Gr8 gaem, 10/5!!!" for some dumb RTP game, they'll just think what they did was fine and continue doing it. You do not need to be mean about giving feedback, just honest and fair. Point out the positive, point out what can be fixed, maybe don't even give a score if it's something like an early demo.

Note for people making their first games: You may want to hold off on releasing it. If you think it would be enjoyable enough for people, then it's your decision to release it, but I think it's a good idea to try using your first project to learn from and then later projects to do what you wanted to do. Look at some well made games, see how they tick, study them (don't just COPY everything from it) and that could really help. That applies to commercial games too. Take the time to look more in depth at something to see why it could be enjoyable. Some people may go "I love the mining/fishing systems in MMORPGs, I will take that into my game!", but I would suggest going deeper in to think "Why do they provide entertainment to me?".

And another note, it's a good idea to do a private beta-testing before you do decide to release something. People are generally fine with doing this, and they'll do you the favor too so you can see what you need to work on before you release it to a public who may give your game a -30 / 5.

It's not like veteran games are free from criticism. In fact, they get more of it usually. There's rarely the "perfect" game that does not need anything improved at all. If you're well known enough, people might be even MORE picky about stuff you show. "OH THERE'S A WRONG PIXEL ON THE LEFT SIDE", "HEY YOU SEE THE TOP LEFT SIDE THAT NO ONE WILL PAY ATTENTION TO IN GAME? IT'S WRONG." and stuff that barely matters at all. I guess over time you have to figure out what criticism is useful and what isn't.

but rather we should try and point them in the right direction and show them what they're doing wrong in a civil way

Pretty much this. No need to be a jerk to someone who like you, wants to make games. If the person responds to the civil feedback in a terrible manner, then hey, enjoy the resulting drama.

Note: Personally, I don't think our standards are high enough.