I'm going to preface this post by quoting the great Ben "Yahtzee" Croshaw.
Yahtzee wrote:Fans are clinging complaining dipshits who will never ever be grateful for any concession you make, the moment you shut out their shrill tremulous voices the happier you'll be for it.
Sure it's a harsh way to put it, but it holds a grain of truth.
Constructive criticism is worth gold, it helps separate the wheat from the chaff, but you'll also find that most criticism is just chaff. As a creator it can be hard to not focus on the negatives, which is why it's sometimes better for everyone to just ignore the critics altogether. Give in to the detractors and they'll claw at you until there's nothing left.
tlaero wrote:I'm not sure what to make of constructive criticism. People say that they want changes, but, almost universally, when I make those changes, no one cares.
It's an issue all game developers face, big and small alike. You have hundreds of people who all have different ideas and suggestions that cater to their specific want. Most of those people rarely grasp how their ideas affect the whole picture, or how much work is involved in creating it. Most people have no grasp on, or appreciation for, how much work goes into creating a game. Case in point being all the indie games, erotic or otherwise, out there that never get past the alpha stage.
tlaero wrote:Remember when so many people were saying that Marc must be weak because he didn't even pick the dates he and Jessica went on? When I made Lucas pick not one but four dates, did any of those people say, "Yes, that was better"? No, they did not.
Some people are natural leaders(Jessica), some are natural followers(Marc), some prefer forge their own path(Lucas/Miranda). The same kind of dynamic exists in real relationships as well. If all you want is a Alpha male wish fulfillment fantasy, Tlaero and Mortze games are not for you.
tlaero wrote:Remember when Marc was weak because the only hobby I documented in the game was his liking Mayhem? When we described two non-Miranda hobbies for Lucas (including one she made fun of him for), did any of those people comment positively? Nope.
Sure Marc could have been fleshed out more, but at some point you have to decide whether you're writing a game or a novel, and whose character building is more important to the story. Marc isn't the hero of the story, he's the sidekick or support, the vehicle through which Jessica's story is told.
tlaero wrote:Remember when people said they wanted choices in a sex scene? Did they comment positively about the multipath casino sex scene?
I think it was a nice touch, personally I'd love to see more of the interactivity in the last scene in RfJ, or maybe a combination of them where it branches off depending on how well you're pleasing her.
tlaero wrote:How about people who claimed left and right that they wanted at least a little bit choice and branching, and even sent links to term papers full of interconnected boxes that look a whole lot like FM's structure? Crickets when it came out. Actually, negative crickets. People complained that I made them play the game 4 times to see all the content.
To build a highly complex story with multiple fully divergent paths is something that requires a whole team of developers and sometimes years of development time, and time increases exponentially for every new branch. It's a helluva lot more work than most people realize. I'm sure Wolfshadowe can attest to that.
tlaero wrote:People who, after every game, complain that you have to say nice things to the woman you want to sleep with? No notice that in FM you don't succeed or fail by how you treat Miranda, but how you play according to the backstory that you had the choice to pick.
As opposed to slapping their asses while making lewd remarks? This isn't the 1950's, and even back then it was in poor taste. Maybe the fetish or trainer games are more to their liking.
tlaero wrote:Say I give people a game with 16 interconnected branches driven by user choices, that lead to completely different outcomes, with three different females to have sex with? What will happen then?
I'll tell you what will happen:
1) ExLibris will post a hatchet job of a review.
2) No one will talk about how great the "agency" is. Instead they'll say that there isn't any real agency because when you play it all 16 times, you see all the different endings, and some of them aren't as good as others, so I "forced" you to pick one path.
3) People will complain that each individual story was, like, 1/16 as long, and they want long, complex, interesting stories.
4) Other people will post that I used to be good, but then I became a money grubbing whore for Pat.reon. Here on the lagoon, they'll say it differently, but with the same meaning: "I know you had to rush the game out to appease your patrons." Elsewhere on the internet, they'll call me much worse than "whore."
5) In many places (though probably not here) people will say they're fed up with my "feminist agenda."
6) And someone will say, "I'm through with these terrible games. I can't believe the women don't shave."
I want to stress here that these are just my opinions, use them or lose them as you wish.
[Time*devs=complexity] For a small 2 man team it's better to keep branching to a minimum and focus on great storytelling.
1) I'm not familiar with ExLibris' reviews, I am a fan of his/her walkthroughs though.
2) Which is why I think you should keep branching to a minimum.
3) See 2.
4)I think all the games have their strengths and weaknesses, but they're always getting better. I like that you're not afraid of experimenting and trying out new things, some things work, others don't. It's all a learning process. As for the people calling you a moneygrubbing whore, they can seriously go fuck themselves, you don't owe them anything.
5)I've seen feminist agenda, this isn't it. Sounds more like they hate anyone who doesn't cater to their alpha male fantasy.
6) The bush is back, deal with it! Seriously though, maybe it's because I'm a 70's kid but I think a bit of bush just adds to the eroticism. Actually one of the things I really enjoyed, and I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. But in DwE Chloe had a neatly trimmed landing strip, while in RfJ she had full bush. Which to me bespoke how stressed out and worried about failure she was, that she forgot to care about personal grooming.
tlaero wrote:If you think these things won't happen, you don't read the same internet that I do.
"Constructive criticism" is just "criticism" if you don't actually care when the recipient listens to you. I get a lot of said criticism.
Signal to noise ratio on the Internet is huge, the sooner you filter out the noise the better, and never engage a troll or hater in conversation, it's usually a futile endeavor.
tlaero wrote:I have a day job, and, outside of it, I spend 10 - 20 hours a week, every week, writing these games. I give them away for free. Sometimes I wonder why I bother...
And then I remember that the majority of the feedback is positive and that the majority of my players enjoy the games. And I take a deep breath and try to push the ugly out of my head. Some days I do better at that than others.
Tlaero
I have the utmost respect for the work you and Mortze are doing, and considering you're doing it for free, no one has any right to complain.
At the end of the day this is
your baby, if you decide to end it by throwing them all in to a lava pit, then that's your prerogative. Write the story however you like it, and fuck the haters!
//Rob