4 ms·

With some exceptions like Minecraft it seems that most games are basically developed in a vacuum with little user input (except maybe small groups under an NDA?

by jiggy2011 13y ago

With some exceptions like Minecraft it seems that most games are basically developed in a vacuum with little user input (except maybe small groups under an NDA?). I guess the reason is that gamers can be a fickle lot and there's a large risk that the game will be written off as crappy if you release a poor prototype. This is probably more the case with games than other applications because the line between an unplayable game and a great game can be very slim indeed.

sfjailbird 13y ago
> I guess the reason is that gamers can be a fickle lot and there's a large risk that the game will be written off as crappy if you release a poor prototype. You only need feedback from 15-20 people to get the gist of where you stand with the game. For that you don't need to release anything, just post a link on a forum and be sure to engage with the comments that follow.
- jiggy2011 13y ago
  Once you've put it out there though, you can't really take it back.
  - tieTYT 13y ago
    You don't have to release it to the WORLD when you put it on a forum. For example, if it's web based, you can whitelist usernames/IPs. If it's a downloadable app, you can make it self destruct after a period of time or something so that people can't keep playing it.
    - mattmanser 13y ago
      If you've got slated at the beginning and it's had an impact on the web you could always change its name. Which is unlikely anyway as people just aren't going to care enough to do that. Or start off with a codename if you've a name you're especially enamoured with and switch to the preferred name when you're starting to feel happy with it.
jlees 13y ago
It's more because building a game of this kind is an intensely personal effort and developers have trouble seeing it as "ready" for others, plus, don't care about player feedback because it's not the players they're building for -- it's themselves.

sfjailbird 13y ago

> I guess the reason is that gamers can be a fickle lot and there's a large risk that the game will be written off as crappy if you release a poor prototype. You only need feedback from 15-20 people to get the gist of where you stand with the game. For that you don't need to release anything, just post a link on a forum and be sure to engage with the comments that follow.

jiggy2011 13y ago
Once you've put it out there though, you can't really take it back.
- tieTYT 13y ago
  You don't have to release it to the WORLD when you put it on a forum. For example, if it's web based, you can whitelist usernames/IPs. If it's a downloadable app, you can make it self destruct after a period of time or something so that people can't keep playing it.
  - mattmanser 13y ago
    If you've got slated at the beginning and it's had an impact on the web you could always change its name. Which is unlikely anyway as people just aren't going to care enough to do that. Or start off with a codename if you've a name you're especially enamoured with and switch to the preferred name when you're starting to feel happy with it.

jlees 13y ago

It's more because building a game of this kind is an intensely personal effort and developers have trouble seeing it as "ready" for others, plus, don't care about player feedback because it's not the players they're building for -- it's themselves.