Elmiwisa wrote:
So the question is, if after you play a completed game you find that it is bad despite a lot of effort into it, do you...
-Not saying anything?
-Belittle the creator for their misguided effort?
-Just straight up lying and praise it to spare their feeling?
-Try to find what is still good to praise and ignore the rest?
-Or something else...
None of these option work for me. But let's back up one more step. Who is the feedback for?
I write feedback differently depending on if I'm writing a review of a game aimed at prospective buyers/players or if I'm writing feedback for the creator, or if I'm writing a more literary critical essay aimed at other nerds like me.
If I am writing a review for prospective audiences, then my purpose is to give people information on if they should play/buy his game as it currently exists.
If I am am writing feedback for the author, then my purpose is help the author make a better game next time (or to make this particular game better if that is still possible), or at least to give the author information about audience perceptions.
If I am writing a literary critical essay, then I trying to make a larger philosophical/cultural/historical argument about the game.
In none of those instances would it be appropriate to belittle someone or to lie. I actually don't think it is ever appropriate to do those things.
In a review, I want to let people know what the game is about, what it is trying to do, how successful it is at doing it, and who I think might want to play the game (if anyone). A review might end up being harsh, but in this case, my responsibility is to the prospective buyer, not the creator. That said, even in a negative review, I would want to remain professional and fair.
In feedback to the creator, I am am wanting to give the author constructive criticism. I want to be fair, kind, helpful, and honest. My responsibility is to the creator and to bettering the game.
In a literary critical essay, my point is not to say if I like it or not, but to analyze something historical/cultural/aesthetic/philosophical and say something illuminating and larger. My responsibility is to society.
So...be a good human being, be professional, fulfilling your responsibility...those are all my guidelines when I sit down to write something.
Lastly, I also have to ask this one last question...is it worth my time? If there is a game that I don't think is successful in any way, I must ask, do I have a responsibility to spend my limited time writing up something (which will take a lot of time and thought)? At this point in time, I'm still working on my tenure book, and I have articles I'm still working on, I have classes I have to prep for and grading to do. And I'm still working on my VN in whatever spare time I have. So I play a game I think is epically unsuccessful in doing what it is trying to do. Do I write something up? And in my experience, it is much more difficult and time consuming to write a negative, but constructive and professional critique than to write a positive review (where you can get a bit lazy without negative consequences).
If the game is free, I don't necessarily feel a responsibility to write a review for prospective customers.
If the creator doesn't want feedback, I don't necessarily feel a responsibility to write constructive criticism for the author.
If there is nothing really interesting to say about the work regardless of the quality. I don't feel any responsibility to society to write an academic essay about it.
But...here is the one caveat. For me, there is a difference between a game being unsuccessful and doing what it is trying to do, and a game that I think is offensive or harmful to society. If I think a game is offensive or harmful to society, then I do feel I have a larger responsibility to those being harmed by the game to say something. And when I do, I feel I need to do so, as always, ethically and professionally.