{"id":21961,"date":"2023-09-29T18:18:22","date_gmt":"2023-09-29T09:18:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=21961"},"modified":"2023-09-29T18:18:24","modified_gmt":"2023-09-29T09:18:24","slug":"20230929-21961","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/20230929-21961\/","title":{"rendered":"Why devs shouldn\u2019t take player feedback at face value \u2013 Japanese players discuss\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The Late CEO of Nintendo Satoru Iwata once said that when customers in a restaurant complain about portions being too large, it can often actually mean that the food just tastes bad. In response to an episode from game development, Japanese gamers discuss what the correct way for developers to accept and handle user feedback is.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"670\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1200px) 100vw, 1200px\" src=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-21965\" srcset=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001.jpg 1200w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-600x335.jpg 600w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-380x212.jpg 380w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-768x429.jpg 768w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-150x84.jpg 150w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-300x168.jpg 300w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-696x389.jpg 696w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-1068x596.jpg 1068w, https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/20230929-21961-001-752x420.jpg 752w\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Player feedback and testing are an invaluable part of creating games as they allow developers to make adjustments which can significantly improve their work and player experience. However, accepting feedback at face value, even when it seems reasonable, can very easily lead to wrong solutions being made.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u300c\u958b\u767a\u8005\u306f\u30e6\u30fc\u30b6\u306b\u8a00\u308f\u308c\u305f\u901a\u308a\u306b\u4fee\u6b63\u3059\u308b\u3079\u304d\u3067\u306f\u306a\u3044\u300d\u306b\u3064\u3044\u3066\u306e\u308f\u304b\u308a\u3084\u3059\u3044\u30b1\u30fc\u30b9\u3067\u3059\u306d\u3053\u308c <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/UGSenUSEFC\">pic.twitter.com\/UGSenUSEFC<\/a><\/p>&mdash; ohNussy@\u500b\u4eba\u30b2\u30fc\u30e0\u958b\u767a\u8005 (@ohNussy) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ohNussy\/status\/1707178299112525872?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 27, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><font size=\"2\"><strong>Post translation: <\/strong>This is a very good example of why developers shouldn\u2019t correct things the way users tell them to.<\/font><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>A Japanese X\/Twitter user posted excerpts from a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=rJZyPdYIbZI&amp;t=120s\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">video<\/a> by Game Maker\u2019s Toolkit, adding the comment \u201cThis is a very good example of why developers shouldn\u2019t correct things the way users tell them to.\u201d The portion of the video they refer to tells of an episode from the development of the survival horror title Dying Light. According to the video, when faced with the problem of in-game weapons \u201cbreaking too fast,\u201d the director of the project first thought to resolve the issue by instructing the game designers to increase the weapons\u2019 durability. However, this solution was countered by lead designer Maciej Binkowski, who instead solved the problem by lowering the health points of the enemies, making combat feel better as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In other words, rather than interpreting the issue \u201cweapons break too quickly\u201d literally and implementing the most obvious solution in response to it, Binkowski ventured into analyzing what caused the sensation of weapons breaking too quickly, arriving at the answer that players could only kill a few zombies before their weapon broke. Making it so that players are able to defeat enemies more easily resolved the problem at hand and contributed to the game positively overall, as opposed to increasing weapon durability, which could have disrupted the game\u2019s economy, negatively impacting development.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u4e00\u90e8\u58f0\u306e\u3067\u304b\u3044\u30e6\u30fc\u30b6\u30fc\u306e\u610f\u898b\u805e\u304d\u3059\u304e\u3066\u30c0\u30e1\u306b\u306a\u3063\u305f\u30b2\u30fc\u30e0\u3044\u3063\u3071\u3044\u3042\u308b\u3082\u3093\u306a\u30fc<br>\u52d5\u753b\u3042\u3068\u3067\u898b\u308b<a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Yysximk3xR\">https:\/\/t.co\/Yysximk3xR<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u535a\u58eb\u3061\u3083\u3093\u306d\u308b\uff08\u5ec3\u589f\uff09 (@science_2chnet) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/science_2chnet\/status\/1707273219395527113?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 28, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><font size=\"2\"><strong>Post translation: <\/strong>There\u2019s so many games that went to naught because they listened to the loud opinions of a portion of users&#8230;<\/font><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The post has since attracted significant attention within the Japanese community, with users finding the anecdote insightful, some recollecting on games which suffered due to user feedback being incorporated too liberally. Many also mentioned games which went against (very loud) user demands, a well-known example being Pok\u00e9mon Scarlet and Violet making Sprigatito\u2019s evolution bipedal despite fans desperately requesting it remains quadrupedal, but still having the new design appreciated and accepted.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter\"><div class=\"wp-block-embed__wrapper\">\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\"><p lang=\"ja\" dir=\"ltr\">\u3053\u308c\u306f\u304b\u306a\u308a\u300c\u3042\u308b\u3042\u308b\u300d\u3067\u3059\u306d\u3002<br><br>\u300c\u30dc\u30b9\u306b\u52dd\u3066\u306a\u304f\u3066\u3084\u3081\u3066\u3057\u307e\u3063\u305f\u300d\u3068\u8a00\u308f\u308c\u305f\u5834\u5408\u3001\u5b9f\u969b\u306b\u306f\u96e3\u6613\u5ea6\u304c\u9ad8\u3044\u3068\u3044\u3046\u4ee5\u524d\u306b\u300c\u6226\u95d8\u304c\u9577\u304f\u3066\u518d\u6311\u6226\u304c\u9762\u5012\u300d\u3068\u304b\u300c\u6210\u9577\u8981\u7d20\u304c\u8584\u304f\u3066\u30e2\u30c1\u30d9\u304c\u4fdd\u3066\u306a\u3044\u300d\u3053\u3068\u304c\u554f\u984c\u3060\u3063\u305f\u308a\u3002 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/Di6I7Z5g7c\">https:\/\/t.co\/Di6I7Z5g7c<\/a><\/p>&mdash; \u7802\u5ddd\u8d73 (@NewRPGProject) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/NewRPGProject\/status\/1707358369332556141?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">September 28, 2023<\/a><\/blockquote><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script>\n<\/div><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\"><font size=\"2\"><strong>Post translation:<\/strong> There\u2019s so much of this. Often when you\u2019re told \u201cI couldn\u2019t defeat the bosses, so I gave up,\u201d it\u2019s actually not about the difficulty itself but other aspects like the battles being too long and dragging or elements of growth not being developed enough to keep the player motivated.<\/font><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>Users were almost unanimous in recognizing the importance of keeping a healthy distance from player feedback, as players most often complain of \u201csymptoms,\u201d which shouldn\u2019t be treated directly but analyzed in order to discover where they come from (with the previous Pok\u00e9mon example, the developers realized that fans just didn\u2019t want an overly \u201cmacho,\u201d un-cute design, and that being bipedal was not of crucial importance). Even when players suggest specific fixes, they are most often too direct and do not take into consideration the various circumstances that can be seen only from the developer\u2019s side.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Aside from that, there are also points to consider such as player literacy and simply whether the feedback being received is in line with one\u2019s creative vision. After all, as with all artforms, game development too is a realization of one\u2019s vision, so whether a piece of feedback is correct depends not on subjective categories as well.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Japanese users discuss the correct way for game devs to go about accepting player feedback and incorporating proposed solutions into their games. The topic was prompted by an episode from the development of Dying Light.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":55,"featured_media":21963,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-21961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Why devs shouldn\u2019t take player feedback at face value \u2013 Japanese players discuss\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Japanese users discuss the correct way for game devs to go about accepting player feedback and incorporating proposed solutions into their games. 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She grew up playing Duke Nukem and Wolfenstein with her dad, and is now enamored with obscure Japanese video games and internet culture. Currently devoted to growing Automaton West to the size of its Japanese sister-site, while making sure to keep news concise and developer stories deep and stimulating.","url":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/author\/amber-vjestica\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/55"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=21961"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21961\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":21969,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/21961\/revisions\/21969"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=21961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}