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[moonmagic]

What is the first lowest? I am thinking it is Youtube comment threads on videogame trailers.

[s0]

Gametrailers is pretty bad too. Most posters are just high enough above the "drooling idiot" level of intelligence to be semi-literate. I wish some sites would disable their comment functions. 

[team_q]

What is the first lowest? I am thinking it is Youtube comment threads on videogame trailers.

Completely anonymous forum posts. You would think that would lead to some of the most honest criticism, but it just seems to make people big jerks.

[s0]

What is the first lowest? I am thinking it is Youtube comment threads on videogame trailers.

Completely anonymous forum posts. You would think that would lead to some of the most honest criticism, but it just seems to make people big jerks.

I don't really get what you mean by "completely anonymous". Do you mean someone registering on a forum just to bash a particular game? 

[gimymblert]

What is the first lowest? I am thinking it is Youtube comment threads on videogame trailers.

Completely anonymous forum posts. You would think that would lead to some of the most honest criticism, but it just seems to make people big jerks.

I don't really get what you mean by "completely anonymous". Do you mean someone registering on a forum just to bash a particular game? 

4chan

[moonmagic]

I find critical feedback more useful when it arrives with some positive reinforcement. What this says to me is, "I am somewhat invested in your game because there is a good experience lurking in there, somewhere. Here is what is not currently broken:" etc. I don't necessarily need the positive comments, but unless the observations are particularly insightful, I tend to ignore them if they are overly negative. I am trying to make something that is fun for me, first and foremost, and I understand that the games I turn out won't be for everyone.

[Hempuli‽]

This leads us to the equation:

"These things are wrong" < "These things are right"

I like to think that I'm good at handling criticism, but I'm not sure if that's actually the case. I even tend sometimes to overthink the matter, like "that guy gave me negative feedback and I answered him. Wait, was my reply showing some anger?" and then worry about it. I guess I usually try to protect my game before actually giving in for the change suggestions, but otherwise, I think I seldom become enraged, at least not so much that it could be seen in my posts.

[Inanimate]

I find critical feedback more useful when it arrives with some positive reinforcement. What this says to me is, "I am somewhat invested in your game because there is a good experience lurking in there, somewhere. Here is what is not currently broken:" etc. I don't necessarily need the positive comments, but unless the observations are particularly insightful, I tend to ignore them if they are overly negative. I am trying to make something that is fun for me, first and foremost, and I understand that the games I turn out won't be for everyone.

Really good observations there! I'm not easily angered by anything, and it also helps that I'm totally into self-deprecation... so negative critique is usually entirely expected and wanted. I always enjoy a little gem of a compliment or anything, but negative critique and failing is what makes you learn, and all. And yeah, it helps to differentiate between 'I don't like this game', subjective, and 'This game isn't good', objective.

[MattF]

Depends.

The first time I got really negative criticism I spent time changing most of my game just on that one bit of feedback even though other feedback was generally positive.Eventually, I was able to stop myself but the critism certainly influenced me.

Constructive feedback is great though, whether positive or negative.

[JParkWildPockets]

Like many have said, whether or not the criticism is constructive or not is really significant.  Still, it always hurts; you never want to hear that work has issues.  But honestly, I'd almost say constructive criticism hurts more because I just ignore all those people who say "you suck" and then go off to do their own thing; it's when people are actually trying to help me that I look at my work from their perspective and realize what they're seeing.  I've never developed a game, but I was pretty active as a musician before and criticism was essential to my development.  You just have to realize that you're probably not the best at what you do and take it in stride... 

[saimo]

Like many have said, whether or not the criticism is constructive or not is really significant.  Still, it always hurts; you never want to hear that work has issues.

I have to agree.

(I couldn't follow the whole thread, so please excuse me if I'm going to repeat something that has already been said.) I would add that criticism hurts also when it's bad (i.e. off the mark) and public (especially when the source is supposed to have a certain authority/credibility), as that unfairly puts you and your work in a bad light. F.ex., a couple of times my game has been "reviewed" by somebody who clearly (and even admittedly!) didn't even play the game: in practice, those reviewers spent longer to write those 10 lines of useless and damaging hot air rather than playing the game

That said, it goes without saying - and I guess it's already been said numerous times - that one has to learn to take criticism and make the most of it.

[Valter]

I've found that dealing with criticism becomes much easier once you discard your dignity and self-esteem.

[Ashkin]

What's self-esteem?

[J. R. Hill]

Criticism hurts because I'm all-knowing, never wrong, and the sole arbiter of good taste and opinions.

[increpare]

Gerald Cumberland: " But suppose," I urged, "a new work of yours were so universally condemned by the critics that performances of it ceased to take place. Would you not then read their criticisms in order to discover if there was not some truth in their statements?"

Sir Edward Elgar: "It is possible, but I do not think I should. But your supposition is an inconceivable one: there is never universal agreement among musical critics. I think you will notice that many of them are, from the æsthetic point of view, absolutely devoid of principle; I mean, they are victims of their own temperaments. They, as the school-girl says, 'know what they like.' The music they condemn is either the music that does not appeal to their particular kind of nervous system or it is the music they do not understand. They have no standard, no norm, no historical sense, no . . ." He stammered a little and waved a vague arm in the air.

Cumberland: "There are exceptions, of course," I ventured. "Newman, for example."

Elgar: "No; Ernest Newman is not altogether an exception. He is an unbeliever, and therefore cannot understand religious music - music that is at once reverential, mystical and devout."


It is becoming more and more clear that Ernest Newman, who writes for The Manchester Guardian, is the world's premier music critic of these years and perhaps of all others. Music criticism consists usually of muddled impressions expressed in standard terms of the profession, meaningless yet full of majesty, such as " nothing to say " or " splendidly architectural" or " pulsing rhythms." Newman brings to music a blessing always rare in music—intelligence. He is clear and simple, but not with the epigrammatic clarity of the French, whose clarity is mostly a crispness and pointedness of rhetoric, nor with the badly labored simplicity of the American, who, with a great display of abandon, translates the stale terms of esthetics into the equally stale jargon of the sporting page. Especially does this British critic shine in violating the ancient saw " to understand all is to forgive all." Only the man who understands has a right not to forgive.

[Rob Lach]

For me, criticism only hurts when I don't know right then how to fix whatever is being criticized.

[Demon Lizardman]

Itonly hurts if the criticizer is not being helpful and just saying things like, It sucks or you Suck!

[darthlupi]

One of my best experiences with criticism was using Flash Game License First Impressions.  Sure there were times when people posted perfectly useless reviews and suggestions, but there was a little button that you could click to post that the review use useless, and it would vanish the next day.

It is a shame that all things in life didn't work that way.

Personally negative reviews are some of my favorite, and I use them as quick way to reverse the trend that one foul review turns quickly into a litany of insane negative criticism.

What you do is really dig into the pointless negative review of say, " I don't like shooter games with big ugly pixels, and I can't barely press the buttons where they are.  It's sad because I want to play it but you get a 0/100.  I would play it if it wasn't that way.  Probably a 100/100 then."

I like to respond with something SUPER postive like " Dude, you are having issues with the controls?  I can see how that would happen.  Shoot me a PM with a suggestion, and maybe we can work it out.  Also, I the sprite was intended to look that way.  I know some people don't dig it, but I just couldn't help myself.  I am glad you enjoyed the parts you did though!"

Next thing you know you have a new fan, and better yet the damned flame flood has been blocked.  Even though some people are angry and inarticulate, that doesn't mean they don't want to play the game.  They really do.  So feather in my cap.

[dumbmanex]

I just take in what is said with a thank you and roll it around in my head.  Never act on it too fast though, that can lead to work that didn't need done.  Get some second opinions also on what others have told you, see if it's a real problem and not someone's unique preference.  You should eventually come to the right conclusions.

[TheLastBanana]

I'm generally of the opinion that any criticism, good or bad, is better than no criticism at all (which is often something you get on smaller game projects).