The CCC feedback philosophy.

It's always maddened me when people don't actually want to hear constructive criticism about their game, but believe it or not said people exist.

I've always loved Player feedback, because it means that not only have they taken time out of their lives to play something I have given them an option of playing, but they have decided to also leave their two cents. Like, what more could you want?

Oh, you want only praise? Go make a perfect game and yeah you'll get that. Too bad EVERYONE HAS DIFFERENT TASTES AND YOU CANT PLEASE THE 7 BILLION PEOPLE ON EARTH WITH A SINGLE PRODUCT.

Unless it was a game that gave out free money, that's beside the point though!

What I'm saying is that as a developer, you should be honored by ANYONE who would take time out of their lives to play a game you have made, and critical feedback is invaluable in comparison to someone saying 'this looks awesome' or 'HELLS YESSS, THIS IS FINALLY OUT'.

Those are nice things to have said, but! They don't tell you jack shit.

It was actually thanks to some critical feedback I received on Menagerie that allowed me to do better with Exile. I responded in the way I typically do, and I was applauded for not flipping my shit...?

This seems to be a common personality disorder amongst younger RPG Maker developers, they expect that just because they've made a game YOU SHOULD DROP EVERYTHING AND LAUD IT AS AMAZING.

No, fuck you, you grandeur-eluded little shits. I am ashamed that anyone would act this way, and you should be ashamed to call yourselves developers. People do not take time out of their lives purely to boast your ego you fickle fucking idiots.

I don't care how good your game is or how awesome you think you are, no one is perfect, and you should be disgusted with yourself if you think you are.

For some reason I've never really had this phase, maybe it's because I developed a tsunami of bad games in a medium where no one would have to know about them and got off on an okay start but realized that criticism is invaluable early on?

Anyway, I love feedback of any sort, I may act disappointed, but that won't be because you told me "X is wonky or bad etc" it will be me who is the target of disappointment, but I will vow to not make the mistake again.

That said, you also have to make sure that players dont make your game, their game. If someone says "Pep is so crazy, i really like how he does things, but maybe tone his word count down a little?" That's okay! They aren't telling you to change the character, they're telling you they are being strangled by words, which is a technical issue that you can fix without harming the character in the least, however if someone says something like "Rolly is soo thick man. Feels like he is the buttmonkey of the group and he is genuinely bright some of the time so why can't ah blahdy blah".

This is not technical feedback, this is personal preference. I designed Rolly with a thick lovable oaf in mind who while bright, just likes to enjoy things and doesn't examine every detail. Very much in his own world. Making him smarter or trying to making his character more assertive would contradict him entirely. When it comes down to personal preference for your game, you are the pagemaster, so your personal preference is for the majority, the right one.