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Bluetracker

Tracks Blizzard employees across various accounts.

Today's thread is for both players and new devs, and is a bit adjacent to design. Let's talk a bit about player feedback. For aspiring devs and players, how to make yours more likely to be impactful and engage well. For everyone, how to make it better.

Today's thread is for both players and new devs, and is a bit adjacent to design. Let's talk a bit about player feedback. For aspiring devs and players, how to make yours more likely to be impactful and engage well. For everyone, how to make it better.

  • MorelloNMST
    Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
    Today's thread is for both players and new devs, and is a bit adjacent to design. Let's talk a bit about player feedback. For aspiring devs and players, how to make yours more likely to be impactful and engage well. For everyone, how to make it better.

    • MorelloNMST
      Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
      My background is honestly a bit specific here, working on live-service, competitive titles at a place like Riot that has a unique player feedback relationship. But in today's DLC/expac/patches world, this should all apply a bit for most games.

      • MorelloNMST
        Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
        I've also done this as a dev for a long time, and have a lot of experience here. I've been on the front-line of communications on most of the major titles I worked on. In short, I've *seen some shit*.

        • MorelloNMST
          Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
          For a dev, feedback can be overwhelming. Even ignoring the very-real issues of vitriol or having to sift for gold, a lot can be contradictory, or not well-explained. You have to dig through a lot of information and sort that - it's a lot of work. Usually unrecognized work.

          • MorelloNMST
            Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
            If you are a dev, here's some tips for effective engagement. * Be honest and forthright. Most people can smell tiptoeing and double-speak well. Even if you're not hiding something, people will assume you are if you try to sugar-coat. If it sounds like an Apple Keynote, ng

            • MorelloNMST
              Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
              Importantly, never try to make a bad things seem good. Don't "spin" stuff. If something's a problem, it's OK to admit it. You'll find people are more appreciative generally, and people feel less talked-down-to. It's OK to go "yeah, I don't like that either" (respectfully).

              • MorelloNMST
                Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                * Don't reward the worst behavior. There will be vitriol, and shit-spewing. Responding to these (with one notable exception - I'll share later) reward this behavior and tell people that when they're assholes they get answers. Avoid the bad shit. Never feed the trolls.

                • MorelloNMST
                  Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                  * Look for trends, themes and "whys". Your game will probably have different player groups, and often what they want will be opposed. And even though a lot of feedback is still skewing towards highly engaged players (who take the time to leave feedback) this isn't 1-size either

                  • MorelloNMST
                    Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                    Understanding what people dislike is not as useful as why they seem to dislike it. This both makes sure you're not playing whack-a-mole (I have done this - especially on LoL) and what you're learning is more broadly applicable. Changes via feedback should result from new insight

                    • MorelloNMST
                      Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                      * Protect your boundaries! Everyone is different, and frankly internet communities are scary places. I even have all the advantages - straight-passing white guys get a lot less bullshit than anyone else. And if I have to watch my boundaries, it only gets worse from here.

                      • MorelloNMST
                        Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                        I might do a whole thread on this later, but at the end of the day if you feel unsafe, or your boundaries are being violated, you don't owe people anything, comms-wise, as a dev. If you're not interested, or feel it's risky, OPT OUT. It's not worth your sanity.

                        • MorelloNMST
                          Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                          This is a lesson I think Riot should take to heart. I personally like interacting, but even I felt a pressure to feel thankful for abuse, "that people cared at all." I mean yeah, it's great people care, but let's not be stupid about it.

                          • MorelloNMST
                            Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                            Now, for players; if you want your feedback to be heard and used, then you should work on making it useful and attractive. Devs have limited time in a day, and there's more feedback than we can parse. We'll filter just from sheer time alone if nothing else.

                            • MorelloNMST
                              Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                              Generally speaking, developers need to parse useful and helpful information about your experience if we hope to use it to make the game better. Especially stuff that appears when lots of people start doing something, or when a lot of unexpected interactions happen. Some tips!

                              • MorelloNMST
                                Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                * Use "I" language - not "we." A common mistake is when players try to make their experience representative of a larger group. But what you can speak to with confidence is how *you* felt, and how *your experience* is. It might seem semantic, but it is a good communication tip

                                • MorelloNMST
                                  Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                  Let's take even a frustration post and try both: "We're tired of having to play against imbalanced characters all the time and your game is going to fail" vs. "I'm frustrated when I play against imbalanced characters all the time, and it makes me want to quit playing."

                                  • MorelloNMST
                                    Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                    The former is you claiming to represent a lot of players, or like you're evaluating the game product from a strategic lens. It's debatable, refutable, and judgmental. The second, though, speaks to something no one can argue: YOUR feelings and experience.

                                    • MorelloNMST
                                      Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                      And if quite a few folks are saying that, it could be a good move to push the team to prioritize more focus on balance (instead of X thing). Even though the feedback doesn't go in depth to a lot of things - that's OK. That's our responsibility. How you feel helps in those cases.

                                      • MorelloNMST
                                        Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                        * Share context Discuss the issue in more detail, or expand on the idea with more I language. Let's try our earlier example again;

                                        • MorelloNMST
                                          Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                          "I'm frustrated when I play against imbalanced characters all the time, and it makes me want to quit playing." vs. "I'm frustrated when I play against the OP, because when I try to use the tools the game says should beat them, they don't do what I expect." Useful!

                                          • MorelloNMST
                                            Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                            The latter tells me your feelings and what you believe leads to them. This is useful, especially in a conversation or in aggregate. Your feedback will be impactful if it's more specific. And again, you shared what you expected, and how it didn't measure up. That's so important.

                                            • MorelloNMST
                                              Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                              *Don't be a shitlord It's the year 2021. It's an understatement to mention how tired I am of people whos personality is "a dick on the internet." I just won't pay attention to it if you're a shitlord - especially when there's critical, useful, non-shitlord feedback out there

                                              • MorelloNMST
                                                Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                                This only applies if you care about this; if you just want to yell how mad you are, then this doesn't matter for you. But know that if you do that, we also sorta don't give a shit about it, either. It's a data point -at best-. So yell into the ether, shitlords.

                                                • MorelloNMST
                                                  Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                                  Also, no amount of dev communication can save a company with dumb comms policies, or who feel risk of someone speaking outweighs the benefit. Some people might not be able to speak up without fear of punishment. Always be wary of publishing's role here.

                                                  • Iksar
                                                    Posted 4 years, 2 months ago (Source)
                                                    @MorelloNMST What is an example of a dumb comms policy?
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