A look at Game design: Learning to Accept Criticism.

Most people won’t see the amount of work Lloyd, myself, and others put into the products Fail Squad Games produces. One of the things I want to do with this blog, is give people a peek into how game design works. I feel that opening the door into our world will help other people make their games better. Game design is not a simple process. It takes a lot of work, you take an idea then shape and mold that idea until it works. Finding out what works means making mistakes and learning from them.

Figuring out Your Mistakes

I recently made my first attempt at creating a class archetype. I had an idea I liked and I spent some time writing it up, then I put it up on the blog. I wanted to hear nothing but praise but nothing is perfect the first time. I did get some praise. There were people who liked the concept, but I also got criticism. While I like praise, I value constructive criticism more.

The Role of Criticism

Criticism is never easy to hear. It sucks being told your idea wasn’t as good as you thought. It hurts to have someone take something you put a lot of work into and tear it apart. The thing is, no matter how much it sucks, you must listen to the critiques. If you don’t listen to criticism you never learn. If you don’t learn, you never improve. If you don’t improve, you wind up being another person who puts out bad products that no one wants. This isn’t what I want, and it isn’t what Lloyd wants either. We both want to be the best at what we do. To be the best, you need to learn what it takes and do it.

Why it Matters

I could easily say “Hey this is a blog, I don’t need everything to be professional quality”. I could, but I won’t. Instead I am going to listen to that criticism and learn from it. I will take what I learn and use it to make my next attempt at an archetype that much better. That attempt is likely to get criticized as well, and I will learn from that just like I learned from the first time. That is how game design works. In fact, that’s how life works. It’s why and how Fail Squad Games works.

I hope you enjoyed hearing a little bit about the process of game design. I know it wasn’t about flashy ways to get things done or about the secrets to a good idea, but it is the truth. Game design isn’t always fun. Sometimes it can be hard, but like the old saying goes, nothing easy is worth it.

Until next time may your soda and snacks be endless.

Ric ?

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