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[Stane]

Does it hurt?

Be honest.

[Kramlack]

What a broad question.

[Ashkin]

Yes.

[aeiowu]

it can, and while taxes and laws do oppress a lot of people, there are also many benefits.

[Nate Kling]

hahah nice catch aeiowu

[Stane]

Indeed, criticism is necessary, that is how we improve. But we are all subjective, by definition, about our own work. Then again, even critics are only human, also. Sometimes we are too much 'in love' with our own creations. But sometimes a critic is just a 'moron' How do you draw the line. What is a credible criticism and what is ignorance?

I'd like to hear your experiences.

[nickgravelyn]

I'm pretty good with criticism of my work. I had a good number of people who didn't like Bloc or Pixel Man and that's fine. What floats my boat might not float yours.

The only time I did run into issue was when I saw a review of an app I made for iPhone that reviewed it under some imaginary idea of what the app was. The app was a basic talking picture frame app. Choose a picture, record some audio, done. A few other things (like a slideshow) but that's basically it. And the app description made very clear that it was a talking picture frame.

Yet this one reviewer criticised my app for not being a good replacement for the iPhone's then lack of video capture. Somehow he had gotten it in his head that my talking picture frame application was somehow trying to act as a video camera. Because when I see this I totally think about this.

But oh well. I didn't take it personally; just as an example of how to recognize that some reviews are just going to be crap and should be ignored. Of course it sucks that a potential customer might be turned off by that review, but there's really nothing I can do about it.

[Simon Andersson]

Well, if a several people says the same thing, even if they're acting like jerks while they do it, they might have a point.

Don't get too depressed and look upon the ways you can improve.

[JMickle]

i am more offended when someone just says my game/music is crap rather than explaining why, but i dont get upset by it. if someone says my game is awful and explains why he thinks this, i take the advice and go and change stuff. if someone just says 'AWFUL GAME' then i try and prise a reason but usually it comes to nothing so i take it to flame wars 

[Dacke]

The app was a basic talking picture frame app. Choose a picture, record some audio, done. A few other things (like a slideshow) but that's basically it. And the app description made very clear that it was a talking picture frame.

I'm kind of curious: when would one want a talking picture frame on an iPhone? (Not to criticize your app!)

[Amirai]

Criticism at first hurts. However, if you learn to look at it as a way to discover ways to improve, it should not hurt nearly as much, if at all. In art school you learn this skill fast.

Criticism is most often an honest expression of one's opinion (even if it's an unfounded one based on ignorance). You should listen and try not to get your emotions riled up, while considering if the person knows what they're talking about or not, or perhaps has no idea what they're talking about but might have a good point anyway.

Sometimes we get so wrapped up in what we create that any crits against it are hurtful, but the crits themselves are most of the time not meant to hurt your feelings. These honest crits should be listened to, because they can make us realize the way things are interpreted by other people. However, there is noise there. I believe the rule is, if one person says it, it's probably not worth worrying about. If 2 mention it, maybe you should consider what they're saying. If 3 mention it, maybe they have a point. The number of people obviously depends on how many people you ask.

What is a credible criticism and what is ignorance?

Also, people's personal opinions get mixed in to their crits, too, stating sometimes that they don't like what you made because they don't like even the TYPE of thing you made, so if a person doesn't like paintings, it wouldn't matter if you painted the mona lisa. Learning to tell the difference, IMHO, requires experience, wisdom, and most importantly the ability to keep your mind open and consider that someone else might be right about something.

[starsrift]

Criticism doesn't hurt, it just tells me how to make my next thing better.

[aeiowu]

every criticism about your work is right and it's up to you to figure out why.

for instance...

If someone says: "I dunno I don't like it, it's just too hard."

That doesn't mean go and halve all the hit-points of every enemy necessarily. It might mean they were frustrated with the game or that they weren't given enough time to learn all the mechanics. Something needed to change for them and a lot of times this kind of critique is what you'll get, but it's also the hardest to discern. It's rare you find someone that is good at expressing what they think should be changed.

Basically, the majority of players are usually right, in some way... a way that they don't know how to express well enough so that you know what to fix.

[Stane]

My day job involves putting my work at public display. Making games is just a hobby for me. I use my hobby, among other things, to train myself at dealing with criticism in my real job. I was recently reflecting on this topic. That's how I got the idea to start this discussion. Also it struck me as a good idea to get to know people of this forum a bit more.

We all know how it is supposed to work, but how good are you (me, anyone) at actually sticking by our own advices?

[moi]

This is the answer to all your questions:



The ultimate indie warrior, must not accept any criticism

[pgil]

This is the answer to all your questions:

Too long.

[TheDustin]

This is the answer to all your questions:



The ultimate indie warrior, must not accept any criticism

  That video was awesome. I love Edmund.

I'll refrain from making a "could have been better" joke though.

[nickgravelyn]

The app was a basic talking picture frame app. Choose a picture, record some audio, done. A few other things (like a slideshow) but that's basically it. And the app description made very clear that it was a talking picture frame.

I'm kind of curious: when would one want a talking picture frame on an iPhone? (Not to criticize your app!)

Kind of the same reason people carry pictures in their wallets, except this lets you attach little audio messages with them. I admit it's probably not the most needed app (and it didn't do very well), but it can have it's uses.

[Hangedman]

[hatu]

With my first few games I took it pretty hard. A few months later when you go back to them, you'll probably see the same flaws too.

Also don't get your first round of criticism when the game is "done", then you're pretty much just screwed. If people say the control scheme is stupid halfway through the project, it's no big deal, but if you're ready to ship and hear that...