Boosting Your Game Dev Feedback Quality in 2024
Boosting Your Game Dev Feedback Quality in 2024
Hey team, remember the whole “Exploding Barrels” incident from last month? Yeah, that’s what I wanted to chat about. It highlights a pretty common communication breakdown we’ve been facing.
It all started with playtest feedback on the new level.
The “Exploding Barrels” Debacle
Sarah [10:15 AM]: “Players are getting stuck in the courtyard. Seems too hard.”
Okay, fair enough. Courtyard was a bit brutal.
Mark [10:20 AM]: “Yeah, I agree. Maybe add more exploding barrels?”
Exploding barrels? Mark, are you even playing the same game?
Emily [10:30 AM]: “I think the AI is too aggressive. They just swarm you.”
So, three different “problems,” one courtyard. The result? A week of wasted time implementing… more exploding barrels that didn’t fix anything. In fact, they made it worse. Players were getting blown up randomly.
The Problem: Feedback Without Context
The issue wasn’t that the feedback was wrong, it was that it was incomplete. We were missing the crucial context. What were the players trying to do? What did they expect to happen? What were their skill levels?
Sarah’s “too hard” could mean anything from confusing level design to unbalanced enemy stats. Mark’s exploding barrels suggestion was… well, Mark being Mark, but it highlighted the lack of clear objectives. Emily’s AI comment pointed to a potentially valid issue, but again, lacking the details made it impossible to address effectively.
A Better Approach: Structured Feedback
We needed a system, something that went beyond random Slack messages and gut feelings. Here’s what we’re implementing going forward, and it’s already making a difference:
Define Clear Feedback Goals: Before any playtest, we need to decide what we want to learn. Is it about level flow? Difficulty? UI clarity? Being specific focuses the feedback and prevents scope creep.
Provide Adequate Context: Players need to understand what we’re testing. Did we intentionally make the courtyard difficult to encourage stealth? They need to know that. A brief explanation upfront sets expectations.
Use Specific Questioning: Instead of broad questions like "Is this fun?", try "On a scale of 1 to 5, how challenging did you find the courtyard, and why?". Get them to explain their reasoning. Drill down with follow-up questions.
Structured Journaling: This is the game changer. We need to document everything. Player demographics, their experience with similar games, their in-game actions, and their verbal feedback. Every playtest gets its own entry.
Journaling in Action
Imagine Sarah had logged her feedback like this:
- Date: 2024-10-27
- Tester: Player A (new to the genre)
- Goal: Assess level flow and difficulty in the courtyard
- Observations: Player repeatedly ran into dead ends. Attempted to rush through combat encounters.
- Feedback: “The courtyard felt really hard. I kept getting lost, and those guards just wouldn’t let up.”
- Analysis: The player struggled with navigation and lacked understanding of the game’s stealth mechanics. The difficulty might not be inherently high, but rather a result of player inexperience.
See the difference? Now we have actionable insights. We know we need to improve level signposting and perhaps introduce a tutorial on stealth mechanics before the courtyard.
Common Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them
- Relying on Memory: Human memory is unreliable. Write it down!
- Ignoring Negative Feedback: It stings, but it’s valuable. Don’t dismiss it out of hand.
- Letting Ego Get in the Way: Feedback is about the game, not you. Separate yourself from your creation.
- Not Tracking Changes: After implementing feedback, document the changes you made and why.
Consistency is Key
The real power of a game dev journal comes from consistency. Regular entries, even short ones, build a valuable historical record of your game’s development. This record helps you track progress, identify recurring problems, and make informed decisions.
And that brings me to a final point…
Track your feedback sessions with clear context and goals using our game development journal and avoid the pitfalls we faced.