Jump to content

Issue of repetitive feedback and its constant aftermath


RicePigeon

Recommended Posts

I know this is bound to be a pretty controversial topic, but do try to keep things civil here people.

 

So over the course of recent years, certain creators (I won't name any names) tend to chew out character after character, which of course garners the attention of various people in the Mugen communities, which typically follows as so:

 

  1. Creator posts a mediocre/shovelware release
  2. People offer feedback on said release
  3. Creator ignores feedback and repeats said mistake
  4. People begin hounding on the creator expecting some kind of different result, garnering negative attention to both parties in the process
  5. Repeat 3-4 ad nauseam

 

At this point the community reaches a divide. Some people continue with the above, while others simply don't get involved anymore. Regardless, there are then those who come out to the creator's defense over what they perceive to be "bashing", regardless of whether or not said feedback is constructive or not, thus derailing the release thread, even after moderator intervention. I wish I could say that this was a problem exclusive to MFFA, but sadly this isn't the case.

But this does bring up an interesting dillema; the point where one person differentiates between feedback and "bashing" is clearly more subjective than we would like to believe. Which brings me to my question; where do YOU draw the line?

 

Just so we're clear, I'm not defending any one side in particular, nor am I denouncing the actions of any particular group. I just want to see what the general opinion is over here at MFFA.

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I draw the line at zero improvement or exploiting the use of said negative attention for viewership.

If you see something happenning all the time with no discernible changes it's time to move on to something else, said person will have their reasons not to change their stuff, whether be laziness, personal preferences or lack of understanding of what is told to them means, if they are really invested in changing their characters the first one wouldn't be a problem, they can be able to put personal preferences aside at least a few times if it's an important thing, and will likely ask what terms he doesn't understand, AKA involvement. If the creator has no involvement, forget him. This can be usually seen if the creator shits out more characters than a friggin' gumball machine and you see the threads are mostly people throwing fits instead of the creator responding OR stepping forward to any of them. Don't act childish yourself either, I get it you're trying to get the character to play better, but do you think acting all edgy and AVGN clone is going to get a rushjob or a halfassed creator a will to improve, despite the author clearly not wanting to?

 

Notice I never said anything about the creator being a tough guy though, if he acts condescending, you can be entitled of telling him off, but PLEASE for the love of god, DON'T CLUTTER THE THREADS, we don't need any of your stupid negativity there, fight on youtube or via PM or some shit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there's anything productive to be gained from the responses, then great; nobody benefits from such responses as 'another terrible character courtesy of x', to which one would perhaps consider it bashing, especially if it's by the same person/group of people; yes, people are allowed their own opinions, but the core purpose of a release thread is to give the creator worthwhile feedback, not to tell them how much they suck.

 

Now, if you have the case of 'another terrible character courtesy of x and here's why: flaw 1, flaw 2, flaw 3, etc.', that's arguably acceptable, albeit slightly mean-spirited; they're giving the creator value feedback, but presenting it in a way that some people may interpret as 'bashing' because of their established negativity towards x's creations.

 

Then of course you've got the people who take it personally if anyone makes their or their favourite creator's characters out to be anything other than perfect, seeing it as a threat and sparking the arguments we're so accustomed to seeing; I've noticed that some people who fall under this category are against constructive criticism/feedback as a whole because 'MUGEN is supposed to be a fun hobby and not to be taken seriously', so balance issues and/or flaws in a character do not concern them and they perhaps feel it is wrong for people to flag up such issues...? Dunno. Merely my observations.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I want to start by saying that any criticism that isn't aimed specifically at the character in question is not productive in any way, regardless if it's intended as basing or not. Character threads are not discussions about evaluating creators.

 

Barring the extreme (offensive/obscene material), I personally feel that there's never a good reason to rip on anyone's work, at least not on a character thread. That's what general mugen discussions exist for and even then, there's a tactful way to go about it but I digress. All that does is invite unnecessary negativity, hostility, and off-topic dialogue that often has egocentric motives. This is a hobby above all else, and I don't support anything that intends to demotivate people from creating, no matter how horrid the quality of work might be.

 

Seeing that I'm certain that a Chuchoryu char release partly inspired these discussions (figures), it's evident that his works are pretty polarizing. And I found that both threads that I know of (here and MFG, my more active place), the show started with people making comments about CCR's history rather than the character in question. Not going to ramble too much about it, but a lot of trouble would be saved if people would stop feeling compelled to say what they believe in his char threads. If the character sucks and you feel he's not going to improve it or acknowledge your feedback, ignore the thread. This goes for any character or creator.

 

To summarize, feedback stops being such when attention is taken away from the character. Though of course there's more leniency when the off-topic speak is positive or consists of friendly banter, which is fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...