You don't have to listen to all critique

[Celianna]

I was browsing some Steam games, and noticed one that had been in development for a long time (years), and was finally fully released. I checked the reviews, and while most were positive, there was some very angry 1 star reviews.

I read them, and while most brought up valid points (the release date took 2 years, which was too long for being an early access game), some points left me scratching my head. It basically boiled down to unimportant details, or the player's own preferences. Myself, I put up a small beta of my visual novel, and one critique I got, was that the player was upset they were forced to choose a name for the main character - even though the main character also had a default name. Quality critique right there.

Critique is important to us, we cannot live in a bubble after all, only receiving positive praise, and never changing our way of thinking. That's why people are such strong supporters of critique.

But ... you never really see the other side; sometimes, critique should be flat out ignored. You don't have to listen to all critique and keep it in mind. It is written by one person, voicing their opinions, which are influenced by their own sets of biases. Sometimes, the things they say, are flat out wrong, impossible to achieve, or simply mean spirited. The amount of "the art sucks" comments probably outnumber any of the valuable comments one will receive.

Art is quite subjective, sometimes it speaks to you, sometimes it doesn't - if someone tells you they don't like the art style of your game, you just shrug and move on. You don't need to change your art style for one person.

Someone has an issue with the front view battle system of RPG Maker VX/Ace? Tough luck, move on.

Someone really hates the fact your main character is male? Nothing to be done there.

Someone would rather you have 3D graphics? Haha, go browse some other games then.

The point is - not every single thing someone has to say about your game has merit. Sometimes, you can happily ignore it, and that's okay.

But for real though, when multiple people voice the same problems, it's time to do some introspection.

 

[KayZaman]

Yup. There will be dislike, but not all people dislike.

 

[bgillisp]

Those are valid points. I've always said you can make the best game in the world, the one that all the game magazines give you 10/10 or 5 star or whatever...and someone out there is going to hate it.

In fact, this isn't limited to games. In my field (college teacher) someone once told me to take the best evaluation and worst evaluation we get of any term and chuck them in the trash. The important details will be in the rest of them. While that slightly exaggerates the point, the basic idea is no matter what, someone is going to love it, and someone is going to hate it. Focus on what you can fix, and ignore the rest.

 

[Kyuukon]

Well said.
I, for once, think players don't know what they want even though they tell you they do (that even goes for me lol). So, you just focus on creating what you think it'd be cool the best you can and sit back. You can't please everyone!

 

[gub]

You can't please everyone!

This is a great motto for new game devs,but in my opinion, leads to some of them taking it too far and making straight-up broken games and hiding behind this argument.

 

[Ms Littlefish]

Agree. It's extremely valuable to read through critique, let it stew a bit, and think. However, there are always going to be those critiques that more or less read like "your game should be an entirely different game." Sometimes the game is just a bad fit for the player due to their own tastes and bias but if you want to make one thing you can't completely put it through the shredder every time someone who just isn't interested in the core concept rolls in.

 

[Reapergurl]

@Celianna Yeah, girl, tell it like it is!

As far as criticism goes, I get a lot more than what is a remotely-fair-share of what I like to call destructive criticism in both Real Life, and in all aspects of my creative efforts. However, I also know why I get this sort of criticism (not a whole lot of which I could say here without stirring up drama).

So, in all occurrences, I take the majority of it with a brick of salt, do the necessary revising (if any need apply), and move on.

Of course, there are times when it does come to a decisive fork-in-the-road, and I cannot just speed by.

That's when I deliberate and make a decision based upon my deliberation.

But For The Record, 'Yeah, your game/art/job ethic/life/S.O./(whatever a troll would say) sucks.' is only going to get said troll reported, and blocked.

 

[Caitlin]

I just want to add that you have to take the source of critique in mind, because (at least, on youtube) there are a few people whose followers go around and give a thumbs down to whatever their favorite 'youtuber' had a video about. I am certain there are people like that on Steam and video game sites, too. So just because something is getting the same 'critique' doesn't necessarily mean that it's a problem. Otherwise, I agree that listening to people is the way to go, even if you don't always DO want they are suggesting. At times, people just want to be heard and to be acknowledged. My brother loves the old games, but can't stand my art style on my games... 3D all the way. ... .. It goes down to the you can please some of the people some of the time, but you can't please all of the people line.

 

[mlogan]

Good point. I do this with items I buy. I try to find something with overall good reviews and then see what the worst reviews say. On Amazon, a lot of times the 1 star reviews may have things to do with packaging or a customer service issue or "the color wasn't exactly what I was expecting" and not the actual performance of the product. I dismiss those (unless maybe a LOT of customer service complaints).

Rambling point being, I agree.

 

[Rhaeami]

It's hard to keep my thoughts succinct; this is a ripe topic for philosophical thought. Obviously I agree with the OP.

In the end, I try to treat critique as just another source of ideas. It's not there to tell you whether you did "good" or "bad", it's there to give you ideas about what to do differently, or things to try. If you can't look at the critique and say "Hmm, yeah, that's a neat proposal actually," then it probably isn't worth changing anything over.

Someone will always hate your work, merited or otherwise. Coping with such things is one of life's big challenges.

 

[Roden124]

Agree!

As an independent developer, the entire point of making your game is to make the game you want. To echo the original post, your vision should be guided by criticism, not shaped by it. Listen to your heart, it is quite literally your life support!

There are only three questions you must ask yourself to release a good game:

-Is my game fun? If I didn't know I made it, could I earnestly enjoy my time here?
-Does everything communicate clearly to the player? If I sold my game to a child, could they beat it themselves and say "wahoo!"?
-Am I proud of my game? Could I call it my baby, and nurse my game baby as if it were a breathing human youngling?

If you've got a lock on that checklist and have honestly done your best with an open mind, suggestions are just a matter of flavor.

 

[Stanley]

Good points, Cel! We should appreciate all perspectives. But if we're gonna comply to all its directive, we'll never accomplish our motives.

 

[lianderson]

Just had a conversation today where an old friend, who just found out I make games, proceeded to ask question after question after question with critiques and advice in between every other sentence I spoke. It was over 10 min into the conversation that he realised my game was front view turn based. (he thought it was an action rpg for some reason) He then switched his advice to how I should get battle graphics like Golden Sun and cater to a mass audience.

It´s like, look... if you´re gonna backseat design, at least know what the game is and what it´s trying to be. The arrogance of some people.

 

[Azmor]

The truth is: Critique can only hurt you, when you're insecure about your own work.

The one who is able to look at his own work and nod when he think it is good, or shake his head when it is not, is one step closer to create the absolute "thing" he had in mind.

Protect your work, like a parent protects his child. But let your child learn from the enviroment and speak the language of his fellow others.
Only then the creator is able to fully grasp the critique of others & understand the difference between what is helpful and what is not.
And so the child can grow up with your help and the first thing you would love to say is "I'm proud of you."

Then you'll realize the true meaning of "I'm proud of you", ... it is to say "It is done."

Before your work becomes solid, you have to become solid first and stand on your own ground.
Otherwise a simple critique ...
a simple "I don't like it."
Will be like a soft blow towards your house of cards.
Like a kick against your castle of sand.

Art has many interpretation, as does life. Everyone has different views on different things. And they see value differently.
Find value that you can share with others in your own work and it will be unshakeable, the next piece of art.

Cheers.

 

[Zevia]

A point I haven't seen mentioned in this discussion is that I think, as an independent game dev, you should make the game you would want to play. We are not making mass-marketed triple-A games where the goal is to make as much money as possible - largely, we are here to make "good" games.

Sometimes, an aspect of a game is not objectively good or bad - like its difficulty. I think the best feedback on the difficulty of a game is a Let's Play of it - you can watch a player attempt your game, then decide, "Am I happy with how many tries it took? How long it took? How much they were rewarded for X behavior, but punished for Y behavior?" Some people might say, "This game is too hard, you need to dumb down its difficulty," but you may look at their behavior and go, "But all you did was spam the same ability over and over without any thought to strategy whatsoever - and that's not the gameplay I want to reward."

The same goes for your art assets, your music, your story, your theme. If someone says, "Your game is too dark - you need to lighten up the mood," but you wanted to make a dark game with an emotionally draining story (a la Black Mirror, let's say), then that's not very useful critique. That is where you should say, "I realize that would make the game better for you - but this is not a game for you."

Several people have remarked that you can't please everyone, but to really emphasize that argument, I think it should be supplemented with, "Make the game you wanted to make."

That doesn't excuse poor design or implementation, of course - if you wanted a game that was challenging, but fair, but then you get feedback that most fights hinge on luck in order to succeed, then you have not made the game you wanted to make. If you wanted a game that was dark, serious, and emotionally wrenching, but you get a lot of feedback that it just feels very whiny and emo, then you have not made the game you wanted to make. You should find the players who appear most attuned with the target audience you were after and value their critique above everyone else's.

But sometimes it's OK to say, "This game just isn't for you."

 

[bokunoyuki]

Can't really say much without repeating what you said, which is why it's such a good post.

If you're developing your game with the mindset of satisfying someone else's particular needs, you're developing for the wrong reasons.

 

[Reapergurl]

If you're developing your game with the mindset of satisfying someone else's particular needs, you're developing for the wrong reasons.

I second that, and if that's the ONLY reason you're in the dev at all, then I ask why tf are you in the dev department when you should be in the Q&A department.

 

[HexMozart88]

These are very good points. Because while there are some people who overreact to every single critique they receive and call it bullying, there are actually some people who just want something to complain about. I've learned to take quite a few of my art teacher's comments with a grain of salt because I know she loves to criticize everything I do. And, oh gosh, this "cancer" comment needs to stop. "This fandom is cancer." "This game is cancer." Why does everything have to be stinking cancer?! The best thing to do (I say as I'm the supreme ruler of this) is to try not to be overly defensive or it'll give people an excuse to hate on your work even more.

 

[Reapergurl]

I've learned to take quite a few of my art teacher's comments with a grain of salt because I know she loves to criticize everything I do.

Same here, except it was my English teacher. Oh yeah, 'he' was a REAL piece of WORK (and I'll say no more other than that he was beyond perverted)

The best thing to do (I say as I'm the supreme ruler of this) is to try not to be overly defensive or it'll give people an excuse to hate on your work even more.

Yeah; I have that problem too on occasion. Of course, I am not one to care what other people think, but at times it still can get the best of me. But in my creative efforts, I always have the final say; don't like it, there's the door, and my not-ring finger.

 

[Tai_MT]

As someone who has been writing for a really long time (sometimes I do it well, sometimes terribly), I've had to grow accustomed to "critique" in all its forms and mannerisms. I've run into every form of it and made ever mistake in the book in dealing with it.

My experience has taught me that while not all criticism is valuable, it does all represent a point of view. I, personally, have just learned that you read it, think about it a moment, maybe two moments, and decide whether or not that's really important to you or not. Does it compromise the integrity of your work and what you're trying to do? If yes, it may be worth spending more time on. If no, then you can ignore it.

But, one of the most important things I learned is that if you've got something like 20-30% or more people criticizing a single thing your game (or writing, or painting, or whatever else), then it may be that it's just not done well. You should probably spend more time on that thing because it's not giving you any points to ignore it. You take a look at it, maybe decide if anything can be done about it that doesn't compromise your own work in some way (like by changing the message, etcetera). If it's just a mistake that can be fixed and you can add your own flair to it, why not fix it?

However! No matter what criticism you get, it is always important to just ask for details. "Your writing sucks!" isn't helpful. Ask for examples. Maybe suggestions if you aren't sure how to improve it (most people won't ask for suggestions, but at the very least, it lets you know what a person thinks might be better, even if you don't view it as such). There will be people just out to haze you and be jerks. You can quickly get them into the "rubbish" pile by simply asking for details. People out to be jerks won't have details. People out to offer you valid critique will be willing to point out problems and list exact places. Helps make it easier to figure out what to ignore.