It doesn’t have to be immersion-breaking – I believe we found a way that would affect players in a minimal way (repost):
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The connection between what players are doing and how they feel while doing it can be difficult to determine using login statistics alone. Allowing players to opt into a an in-game survey would allow the widest range of players (not limited to forum users) to provide instant feedback on the events and the game.
Using this data, Arena Net can not only see what players are doing, but what they like, and don’t like. This data could become a valuable tool in shaping future content.
Below are mockups I have put together based on the ideas o myself and a few users on this forum (Erick-Alastor, Marcus Greythorne, and crazylegsmurphy, who helped me with the screenshots). Please take a moment to look them over, and please don’t hesitate to ask for any clarification or provide suggestions.
See attached images at the bottom of the page
Overview Image 1
Overview Image 2
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1. Giving Players Choice
Surveys are only good if the people taking them actually want to. The following image shows how, once the survey was implemented, players would be prompted at the character select screen with a dialogue box asking them if they want to take part.
Mockup 1a)
If a player chooses not to participate at this time, they are presented with another prompt letting them know they can, at any other time, turn this on in the “Settings” menu.
Mockup 1b)
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2. In-Game Prompts
During initial discussion, most players indicated that they would not be happy if the game was constantly shoving surveys in their faces as they played. To minimize UI clutter, Guild Wars 2 player Erick-Alastor proposed that an additional icon be added to the menu bar which would use the existing paradigm to alert players to new surveys.
Mockup 2a)
This icon would remain on the menu unless the player has chosen to not participate, or turn off in-game surveys completely.
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3. Instant Event Feedback
An in-game survey would allow players to instantly provide feedback to events they’ve just completed. For example, a player has just completed the Jormag world boss fight for the first time. As soon as the event ends, they are given a new survey alert at the top of the screen. Clicking on the icon would bring up the survey window allowing them to quickly provide feedback.
Mockup 3a)
If a player doesn’t have time to complete the survey they can simply close the window. The survey will remain in the list until the player chooses to fill it out.
Mockup 3b)
In the event that a player does not want to fill out a particular survey, they may choose to “skip” it, which would permenently delete it from the list. This gives the players the option to only fill out the surveys that are important to them, without being overwhelmed.
Finally, once a player has filled out each question, the “Submit” button becomes available. This eliminates premature submissions resulting in partial data.
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Pros & Cons
Surveys can be a very good way of gathering data, or very easily manipulated and biased failure. Below are some of the pros and cons I can see with creating an in-game survey. Please feel free to add more, and discuss these.
Pros:
- Potential to reach a wider and more varied percentage of the community
- Allows ArenaNet to gather data about how players “feel” about the game to supplement login/play data
- Players can give much more immediate feedback, cutting down on misinterpretation later
- Allows ArenaNet to provide players with concrete data to solidify design choices.
Cons:
- Additional clutter of the UI / Interface
- Potentially immersion breaking for some players
- Possibility of becoming “spammed” with survey alerts as players participate in multiple events
- Bad questions could result in biased, or meaningless data
