w00t

I missed you, my love :(

I too hold your oppoinions in the highest reguard.

Okay, maybe not your ability to spell. Download freakin' google toolbar so you can start spell-checking your posts.

good idea, just did that =)

I'm glad that you have decided to continue as well as I have always enjoyed reading your journal entries.

However, the attitude of "if I want criticisms I will ask for it", which is totally understandable in other circumstances, does not really sit well with the concept of posting your ideas in a public journal with an "Leave a comment" link beneath each post.

Anyway, Welcome back! I'll be looking forward to reading your further posts.

well, my goals for this journal are a few things.

1. to get my ideas out and promote my game (self serving)
2. to help stimulate the ideas of others (community serving)

there are times when I do want feedback ('how does this look?') and such, but for the most part it is meant to be a window into what I am doing, not I asking what should be done.

this journal (as far as I am concerned) is a bit different than your average journal, it is more a development log than a 'how am I doing?' spot, again if I want critiques (which I occasionaly do want) I will ask for them.

and if all goes to plan with what I am expecting, then that is how it will work out =)

Phew, glad to hear it EDI.

The very purpose of the Dev Journals is so that everyone can respond to your posts (within the forum guidelines).
If you do not like that, perhaps you should keep a separate development log, on your site, and post here only the things you are find OK to get feedback for.

Welcome to the big leagues. Unfortunately, criticism is a nasty beast; regardless of the actual proportion of good to bad criticism, positive to negative feedback, the negative is always what hits hardest, and is easiest to remember. Even among waves of praise, a single offhand "this sucks" comment can be very hard to take - and even harder to ignore.

The sad fact is that this isn't a job that gets you heaped with volumes of praise 24/7. Sure, a lot of people will say a lot of nice things - but when faced with the complaints, criticism, friendly disagreement, and outright dislike, the nice stuff gets outnumbered pretty fast. It's a harsh truth of the game development world, and being a part of an underdog team makes it all the more poignant. I know it took a while for me to come to grips with when I first started.


It's easy to say, but hard to do - nevertheless, I'll say it anyways: step outside yourself and just ignore this kind of stuff. Don't totally disregard everything that you don't want to hear; instead, look at it carefully, and see what's really going on. A lot of times, complaints and criticism can provide invaluable information about what one is doing incorrectly or insufficiently. With a little bit of consideration, even some of the harshest "flames" can illuminate important weaknesses. At the same time, don't forget to consider the inverse: the things which aren't criticised a lot are probably pretty solid.

Again, it's fairly easy to say, and extremely hard to put into practice. Even still, seeing things from outside your own efforts, dreams, and sacrifices is very beneficial. It's remarkably easy to take things personally, but it's very rarely a good idea to do so.

Resist the urge to throw in the towel when feedback gets harsh. The only time to quit is when the feedback stops coming at all.

Raduprv:

Maybe for you, however for me this journal is primarily meant as a resource to others, I don't need to document my doings publicly for self benefit, so as I said, it should be viewed as a resource and not a place to critique what I am doing.


ApocPiQ:

Again, this was only on the topic of my development journal, nothing is going to stop me from making another game; it is just up to people here weither or not they get to witness it's creation.

My point was that drowning out or trying to regulate the feedback you get is never beneficial. You've seen what happened here when you tried to control the feedback through your journal; I should hope that that's enough of a deterrent to give up the idea. People are going to have their opinions, and resisting that won't endear you to anybody.

I've been in a remarkably similar position, twice. The first time, I boarded up the discussion area and simply worked in silence. Interest in the project waned and died within days - not just on the part of my potential users, but on my part as well. To this day, nobody has stepped forward to fill the void that I was originally trying to fill with that project. It was a poor choice of mine and I invariably regret it when I think about it.

The second time, I decided to make sure that I got some benefit from the criticism I was hearing. I chose to discuss and communicate, accept ideas, and be willing to stand behind my decisions when I knew they were right. If I found myself trying to defend a decision that I couldn't really convince anyone (or myself) was correct, I'd re-examine the decision and look for alternatives. When possible, I'd try to give people as much information as I could about how and why I made my decision. I continue to reap the benefits of that approach on a daily basis.


If this is really meant to be a resource for others, why can't it be a venue through which you can learn something as well? There's a heck of a lot of very smart people around here, and I have absolutely no doubt that all of us can find at least one other journal regular who could teach us something. These journals are an amazing opportunity to interact with and learn from people who we will probably never be able to meet in person. Cutting off feedback doesn't shield you from the evil people that are out to nitpick your every move. Cutting off feedback deprives you personally of some potentially huge benefits. It also makes your postings one-sided, and these will invariably wither and dry out.

This journal (and the Moonpod Insider) were the two things that made me decide to start recording my own activities. Your resource is appreciated and enjoyed by a lot of people here. When people care about things, they try to help make them better; and that is why you get feedback.

It is fine by me, I don't give feedback that is not appreciated (unless if I really really feel it is necesary). But it is ultimately you that doesn't benefit from the advice of others, which is primarly the reason I generally stopped from posting in your journal.