Politics and MMO forums. These seem to go hand in hand a lot and not in the way that you might imagine – I’m not talking about people trying to post about political issues on internet forums.
Rather, I’m talking about people lobbying for certain gameplay ideas or features, as if this is a warzone and the “last man standing” gets the prize of developer attention.
Now don’t get me wrong; if I want developers to implement dancing kittens, then I’m going to voice that opinion and let none stand in my way. The problem here is not the fact that people lobby for what they desire out of the game; the problem is that people are often dishonest about their motives and fight against others’ ideas, even when the two ideas in question are not mutually-exclusive.
Textbook example of this is the divide between “PvE” players and “PvP” players. You will see one “crowd” decrying the other in a variety of ways, ranging from insulting the entire playstyle to claiming that one of the two “groups” is “getting all of the attention.”
How is this dishonest?
If I want more dungeons in the game and I start talking about how Anet neglects PvE and they’re obsessed with competitive PvP, what am I actually accomplishing?
1) I’m not stating my intentions outright – my real intention being that I want more dungeons.
2) I’m hiding my intentions by scaling the issue into a larger problem – that “PvE is getting neglected.”
3) I’m creating an imaginary battle between PvE and PvP players.
The end result is: Developers don’t hear my honest opinion – they just see me insulting and degrading others. And my real agenda may never actually get seen.
People won’t listen to me if I’m honest
It’s easy to look at the way developers respond to feedback and think that to get their attention, you have to write a numbered list, while describing in detail everything that is wrong with the game and what you would like to see in the future.
I’ve been there. But the reality is, sometimes the most honest and simple opinion is the easiest to digest. If I want more dungeons and I just say, “I mostly do dungeons in this game and I try to entertain myself with the existing dungeons and sometimes other content, but it’s hard to do so. I may drift away from the game if I don’t see more content like them, whether I’d like to or not.”
The end result:
1) You are being honest and upfront.
2) You aren’t demanding anything or talking down other peoples’ opinions.
3) The devs get a raw, honest take on what’s likely to happen to your in-game activity if you don’t see more of the content you’re looking for.
TL;DR
Be honest about what you want and if your opinion contradicts that of another player, just be honest about why. If you don’t want Player B’s suggestion to go in the game because you feel it will mess with Mechanic A that you enjoy, just say so.
There’s no shame in having an opinion. But if you disguise your opinion behind posturing and insults, you just wind up looking like a kitten – and not the cute kind.
And now for a message from our sponsors, brought to you in part by, Scarlet Briar:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_gHsliMTzhg
Or words to that effect.
