Programmers how do you tackle the feedback problem?
14 01 May 2016 15:19 by u/InnocentBystander
The game I am currently working on is about to hit beta status. I have made a copy publicly available for feedback purposes.
But I face the usual lack of commentary. According to Google Analytics, about 10,000 people have played it with an average engagement time of about a half hour. That indicates that it has been played, and many people feel it was good enough to keep their attention for a bit.
The problem is that nobody takes the time to comment on it. I am guilty of this behavior myself. I have often played games in development and then not bothered to give my view. So I understand, but it leaves me in a bind.
The few people that do comment tend to be outliers. They are not 'typical' people, so feedback from them may point me in the wrong direction. The ones who are most likely to respond are the ones who love the game and have nothing but good to say. Which is nice, but does not help.
What do you do to get constructive honest feedback?
17 comments
9 u/zwy 01 May 2016 15:43
1) make it as easy as possible to comment
2) give them something for commenting. Free paid version, upgraded item, etc
7 u/Pantsuit 01 May 2016 16:24
^ What he said. As a user, I'm going to avoid commenting out of spite if you shove it down my throat. And to get somebody to do something, you have to make them want to do it. Include a non-intrusive option touting some free crap, and all the user has to do is leave a comment on it. If a user has no interest in it, no harm no foul. Otherwise you've got your feedback.
2 u/anoneko 01 May 2016 16:17
You too, Brute? Enjoy your mainstream crap for normies.
0 u/InnocentBystander [OP] 01 May 2016 17:54
Ha, this game is definitely not mainstream. About as far from it as you can get.
I have no problem with feedback from outliers. But I just fear getting a skewed perspective if I only hear outliers.
Also, I do not mean outliers from society. I mean outliers from my target audience. Which is not a mainstream audience. This is a niche game.
2 u/roznak 01 May 2016 19:45
Just a warning, feed back does not mean that the user is right. It might be a vocal minority that wants something but the rest does not.
Edit: I just saw the part where you commented on a vocal minority. But my point is that sometimes users do not know what they want. They might say A but in reality they prefer B.
1 u/InnocentBystander [OP] 01 May 2016 19:57
This is very true. Something I am aware of, but it was good advice for you to point out.
It's actually a very complex thing learning how to 'interpret' the feedback in a useful way. I'm become somewhat proficient at it in contexts where the feedback was mandatory. Often I find that the information the user stresses the most can be the least valuable, and sometimes it's the things they don't say that tell me the most.
But all of that is worthless unless I have the feedback first.
1 u/Amadameus 01 May 2016 17:06
I've reviewed several games that are in beta before, and usually enjoy doing so.
We should get a reviewing group together, so people can look at each other's work.
0 u/DrBunsen 02 May 2016 06:51
Than you would get biased reviews?
0 u/Amadameus 02 May 2016 16:16
True, a reviewing group would be somewhat slanted compared to the average marketplace.
However it's much better than getting no feedback at all!
1 u/tribblepuncher 01 May 2016 20:37
You may want to consider putting telemetry in there - with one huge, HUGE caveat.
IT MUST BE OPT-IN ONLY.
Otherwise what is a debugging tool for you becomes spyware for them.
I don't know if this would give you the feedback you're searching for, but it might help in any case.
One additional thought - let people know their opinions matter. There's an MMO that I am on that had a very large change. I didn't comment on these changes, though, even though I had ideas, because I felt that nobody was going to listen to me. Considering how much response I got from other feedback I've sent in, I was probably right. Replying to feedback may help with this, or at least, would make it somewhat more likely that someone who gave feedback once will give additional or more detailed feedback in the future.
1 u/JohnQCitizen 02 May 2016 02:35
Use logs. You can use logs to find whatever is causing rage quits, or whatever.