Learning for next time

[hardcoremoose]

I thought Pachak Nunas was a great title. I didn't know what it meant until I read your opening post, but it was strange and evocative and I liked it. I was deeply sad when it changed it to 1000 Ghosts. Maybe I should have left that as feedback, eh?

Frankly, what you're griping about does sound like an ego thing. You can say it's about being productive, but if you can't be productive without someone else's encouragement, then you are talking about your ego. That may be harsh, but I've been there (and I'll leave it at that).

The judges will hate me for this, but you might try what I did: I didn't post my game here except to submit, and I didn't participate in discussion until after the contest was over. I kept tabs on my competition, of course (and I thought Pachak Nunas was going to be tough), but that was it. I'm a social butterfly, and I didn't want to get caught up in all the excitement and not make the game I had in my head.

- Scott

[M. Paul Buja]

[Eggo von Eggo]

hold on -- I am not griping, and I'm not (consciously?) looking to get my ego stroked or soothed.

if my question's answer is "tough beans, kiddo. design in a vacuum or give up", I'm OK with that.

and with all due respect, I'm relating my personal experiences. if I'm deluding myself into thinking that I need feedback (positive or negative) to proceed, then that's a completely separate issue -- one that I specifically did not attempt to explore in this thread. That being said, thanks for the friendly advice, but I'd like to return to the point of this thread -- how best to encourage useful feedback if you think you need it.

I'm with Doug 100% regarding specific questions -- I was super-duper guilty of not asking specific enough questions when I did get feedback in the forum.

I'm also big-time guilty of not posting elsewhere. And I'm also self-aware enough to admit that part of my motivation for doing so was jealousy. There were some sweet threads/designs going, and it stung. But just like everyone else (it seems), time was a huge issue for me too.

In terms of generating traffic, I think that it really comes down to being really really aggressive in terms of seeking it out and reeling people in. Accentuating the "it" element of you entry certainly seems like a great way to tackle it, and a catchy title wouldn't help.

(If memory serves, Jack Aidly -- last year's champ -- didn't name his entry until late on. He just smack talked like crazy and posted rock solid mat'l)

Thoughts?

[M. Paul Buja]

[hardcoremoose]

I may have used the word "gripe" a bit too flippantly, for which I apologize. And while I don't want to hijack your thread, I think it's a good bit of advice when I say that no one should let a lack of feedback deter them from their ultimate goal.

And remember that when it comes to feedback, this internet is a fickle bitch. Take The Forge, for instance. I remember a thread, not too long ago, posted by our very own Chairman, Ralph Mazza, about some design issues that had crept up in Robots & Rapiers. Now Ralph's a veteran game designer and R&R is a fairly high profile project, yet his post garnered maybe two or three pieces of feedback, if I recall correctly. Now take the starry-eyed newb who shows up at The Forge with his fantasy heartbreaker idea and he'll generate a 100 posts a day. Some people need the help more than others, and it's way easier to post criticism (constructive or otherwise) than it is to tell you what's right about your game.

But if you want answers to legitimate design concerns, posting specific questions is a great solution. You might only get two or three responses, but chances are they'll be measured responses, saying the things you need to hear most. It worked for Ralph.

- Scott