One part of game development these days that worries me is the ‘We (company) listen to feedback, monitor forums and sites’ etc. and base decisions on this feedback.
We have seen it with the recent reduction in the DR mechanism, now the article on sPvP claims,
‘We’re always listening to our player base, and taking their feedback and ideas into account. We watch the forums on multiple sites. We read the comments on Guild Wars 2 articles. We take off our guild tags, sit in crowded maps in game, and eavesdrop on your conversations and unfettered opinions’
On one hand this is great, players are the ones that play the game. We find problems and we offer solutions. Its the way the game grows.
On the other hand it is also clear that those who shout the loudest about the problems, are the stressed minority. They are often very opinionated, exagerate, and in rare cases out and out lie.
I have seen games go sour because they put to much stake in this vocal minority, no doubt anyone who plays several games, over the last few years has also had this experience.
Why not issue surveys/questionairres if you want genuine feedback from a large player base?
