Criticism Do's and Dont's

[mrgreenwithagun]

Sometimes I download maps and forge them, sometimes I just comment on pics posted. Sometimes I comment on maps from people I interact with a lot, sometimes on maps of whom I have never interacted with before. I rarely indicate how much time I spend looking at a map or pictures, and I don't think I would remember to do so as I comment. I fully understand that my feedback is only from my observations, but whether the other guy realizes this is not something I feel I need to stress over.

Whenever I make a comment about a map, particularly a critique that suggests a change, I always try to explain why. And if the map is beyond repair, I usually don't bother commenting.

I have learned that when someone gives me feedback I need to listen. Every time - and I do mean every time - I get a comment that something needs to be changed, I feel like I am being attacked. This is the truth, I really feel this way. It wouldn't matter how small it is, that is the instinctive reaction that I feel. For about the whole of 3 seconds. Then I get over myself and read what they wrote, over and over until I understand it. If I agree I plan accordingly. If I disagree, I drop it. And if from their comments I see that my map is beyond repair, I chuck it.

The greatest strides in learning to forge that I have had all come from listening to someone tell me that I hadn't a clue about something. And sometimes the criticisms I have learned the most from have come from people that are the hardest to receive from. The best people to receive from are the best players, even if they never forged before in their life. The best resource any forger can have are a group of high level players to test their maps and give them feedback.

If any forger comes up to me and presents the case for why I should listen to them as they have conceptualized the game type for months, or they have a map in match making, or their maps have won contests, etc., I just run from them.

I have witnessed and grieved over "veteran" forgers brutally beating up a map just to prove their forge-ness. There is a word for that - narcissism. What I have learned is just don't reply to them. Not only do you defuse the situation, but you make clear to them what you think of their post. It is hard for me to follow this advice myself, but I have come to realize it is the most effective way to deal with problem critics.

The common "flawed" arguments are just fallacious, and I think they are obvious enough.

 

[Hadokenchild]

I think some of the problem starts when someone says "I don't know, but it looks as if maybe (x) could be a problem with your map. Please fix.". This conveys that the reviewer is speculating off of screenshots that may not be giving enough information to begin with. The reviewer still recommends something gets "fixed" despite not having enough data to make a proper analyzation.

 

[evergreen948]

One must learn from their mistakes. Many people who can't take feedback have potential to make wonderful maps, but often can't achieve that level due to rejecting ideas to improve and change. No map is perfect! When giving positive feedback, it's a good idea to add suggestions to make the map better, just make sure your as informative and least offensive as possible. I personally appreciate the honest opinions and suggestions much more than the "this map is great", as I learn not only how to make that specific map better, but what to take into consideration when making maps in the future.

 

[ShockBolt21]

I don't know about you guys, but I really appreciate it when someone comments on my map from the screenshots. As a forger, I spent a lot of time and effort on that map, but I didn't work so hard to see my map fall to the bottom of the forum without a single comment. I just like to know that people have been looking at my map and thinking about it a little. Besides, if their comment is completely wrong, I can just tell them that and why. Responses to flawed comments can often be a good way to further promote/explain how good your map is, and some of the details behind it. There can be no harm, and its better than no comments at all.

 

[PhantmOfTheOpra]

i'm starting to think there should be a separate forum for guidelines and stuff like this. If people listen, it could do wonders beyond our wildest dreams (well, maybe not Titmar's) in terms of making this a more mature and just plain FUN place to be. I tip my invisible hat to you, Shoeby Doo.

 

[Sikslik7]

Pretty much sums up a lot of the problems with feedback. Please follow these guidelines!

 

[JF Ghost Guy]

Honestly people need to know how to take and give feedback and how to settle a small stupid argument.

 

[EagleTitan99]

Everyone needs to spread this around, these guidelines could apply to tons of stuff, like YouTube videos and such. If only everyone had such wisdom.....

 

[Skyward Shoe]

I just thought of a new addendum to the guide:

For Giving Feedback: Remember that when playing a game of Halo there are a lot of things that may negatively affect your experience that don't have to do with the map. Teams may have been a little imbalanced, someone else may have gotten lucky killing you, or something unpredictable may occur that will never happen again. We have a tendency to want to give feedback after a single game, but much of the time this feedback is flawed because we have only had one experience so far. It is patters that emerge over time that are usually the most important things to notice, and the feedback you wanted to give after 1 game could be irrelevant after a few more. This isn't to say that you shouldn't give any feedback after 1 game, but know that it's not necessarily going to be 100% true and that the author may have seen things in the past that contradict your experience.

For Receiving Feedback: Likewise, remember that while not all feedback you receive is accurate, it is almost always still useful. Sometimes the player giving criticism may not have explained correctly what was bothering them, or they think one thing was a problem when it was really something else, but clearly something hurt their experience. It is your job as a designer to figure out what that was and whether it is something that needs to be fixed on your map, in the teams, or if the player just doesn't fit the demographic you are designing for. The temptation is to try to explain to everyone who gives poor feedback how they are wrong, but unless you can discern what it is they actually meant through doing so this won't do you any good. Instead of passing them off as an idiot who shouldn't be listened to, try to get down to the root of the problem they had. You may discover something you weren't expecting from time to time, and many forgers occasionally run tests with completely new people just for that reason.