Short 3-question survey

[jonthefox]

Hey all, I'm in this research class for school, and I'm doing a project on game design.  Would you be so kind as to answer this extremely short (only 3 questions!) survey for me?   Thanks!  

(I got permission from a mod to post this this here).

https://survey.zohopublic.com/zs/teyYUw

 

[hadecynn]

I did it but might I recommend you to add some definitions or descriptions? e.g. your definition of a "fighter", "mage", and "rogue" are probably different from what I have in mind; as is your definition of "balance" versus "not balanced".

Good luck with the school project though. =)
 

 

[jonthefox]

Thank you!   Yeah you're definitely right about that, I just wanted to keep it as TLDR-friendly as possible to make it quick for people answer and to hopefully get a lot of responses.  

 

[EternalShadow]

I don't like any of those optional dungeon ideas

Replied, though.

 

[hadecynn]

Thank you!   Yeah you're definitely right about that, I just wanted to keep it as TLDR-friendly as possible to make it quick for people answer and to hopefully get a lot of responses.  

I understand where you're coming from with the TL;DR, but I don't know if you'd want to compromise the potential quality of your data though. Sometimes having bad data is worse than having no data. 

 

[jonthefox]

I agree; though in the context of my class, having no data would be worse.

in case you or anyone else is curious or willing to / have read this far, i would broadly define those terms as follows:

fighter - durable and well-rounded.  typically straight-forward and simple to play, often serving as a baseline for other classes.

mage - very potent but also very fragile.  their squishyness and large reliance on resources (mana/cooldowns) typically makes them harder to play, as mistakes are more punishing.

rogue - carry utility outside of combat that allows them to progress through non-traditional means (stealth, stealing, lockpicking, traps, assassination)

"Balanced" = from a min-max perspective, there is no inherent, greater-than-negligible advantage to selecting one class over the other, i.e. selecting a class would be a purely stylistic decision. (I believe this is something that is probably never actually achieved, but is what designers strive for most of the time).

 

[Prescott]

That third question is a bit strange, because I feel like depending on the game, different dungeons are acceptable.

 

[metronome]

It would be nice if I could know the survey results~~~

Put my answers into your survey btw.

 

[jonthefox]

@prescott - a lot of people have told me this, so there's definitely something to that.   i probably could've worded the question better...oh well, i guess this is what i'm supposed to learn.

@metronome - sure, i will post the results if you want.  might even generate some interesting discussion.

 

[Wavelength]

Yeah, definitely post the results here when the survey's done!

What kind of information/insight are you hoping to get from this?

I took "random encounters" in a very literal sense, to mean walking around on the map and being tossed into a battle every X-Y steps.  I hope this is what you meant?  I believe some people think of 'random encounters' in the sense of all the baddies you fight in a dungeon except bosses and mini-bosses - so also including things like normal Visual Encounters.

 

[jonthefox]

@ wavelength the way you interpreted it is correct.

I've got 35 responses so far; was hoping to get to 50 but i may just cap it at 40 or whatever I have in the next few days.   I'd rather not say what my research question is until the survey is closed, as it could affect how people respond.  If you are really interested though feel free to shoot me a pm.

 

[Wavelength]

I'm happy to wait until it's closed to find out but - with such simple questions on the slate (compared to your normally very in-depth and specific ones in this forum) - I'm quite intrigued about the purpose!  Looking forward to the reveal.

 

[jonthefox]

Thank you everyone who responded.  It was very helpful in completing this assignment for my research course. Below is more information about what I chose to do my project on, and some of the results found.

-----

Research Question: What is the relationship, if any, between a player's preferred playstyle and his or her attitude toward random encounters?

 

The variables are operationally defined as follows:

 

Preferred playstyle reflects a generic class or archtype which is (mostly) characterized by its stylistic approach to combat.  

 

Fighter = succeeds through brute force, i.e. his parameters, equipment, and items allow him to survive enough incoming damage and put forth enough outgoing damage to succeed.  Confronts the problem head-on.

 

Mage = succeeds through use and mastery of a variety of powerful spells, despite being fragile themselves.  Also (usually) relies heavily on the optimal use of resources (mana, cooldowns) to succeed. Treats the problem as something to be solved through the proper use of knowledge and intelligence.

 

Rogue = succeeds through non-traditional means (stealing, lockpicking, traps, stealth, deceipt, bribery, assassination, etc.).  Seeks to circumvent the problem by ignoring or going around the norms and limitations that would be typically assumed.  

 

 

The purpose of this study is to see if there is a relationship between a player's preferred style and the like or dislike of random encounters.  Would Fighters tend to be more receptive to them, since they seek to be confronted with problems (in this case, enemies) head on?  Would Rogues tend to dislike them more than others, because of their disinclination for confronting problems head-on?  

 

------------

 

RESULTS:

 

46 people were surveyed. 

 

---- 

 

9 (20%) chose Fighter.

 

16 (35%) chose Mage.

 

15 (32%) chose Rogue.

 

6 (13%) had no preference.

 

----

 

ATTITUDE TOWARD RANDOM ENCOUNTERS:

 

36 (78%) responded they don't mind them *if* they're designed well.

 

9 (20%) responded that they typically dislike them.

 

1 (2%) responded that they typically like them.

 

0 (0%) responded that they always hate them.

 

--

 

APPEAL OF DUNGEON TYPE

 

This question was to get another measure of a person's approach to a problem (in the form of a dungeon generally this time, instead of enemies specifically).

 

14 (30%) responded: have to survive against lots of really tough enemies.

 

5 (11%) responded: have to stealthily sneak past a series of enemies.

 

16 (35%) responded: have to solve a series of challenging puzzles.

 

11 (24%) responded: no preference

 

-----

 

I haven't yet fully analyzed the data, but a quick look through it shows there was NO correlation found for the research question.  For example, of the 9 people who said that they typically dislike random encounters, 1 was Rogue, 2 were Fighter, 1 was No Preference, and 5 were Mage.   Also, for preferred dungeon type, fighters responded in different ways...tough enemies, puzzles, stealth.  I still have to look at things more closely, but so far no significant patterns have been found.

 

It should be said that of course there are some big limitations of this survey.  Firstly, the sample size is small.  Second, the sample size is potentially biased - this is a forum of jrpg game *designers*, which is a very specific type of player.  Finally, the questions were put together rather quickly in the interest of time, and could probably be improved.

 

That's all for now!