I’m doing an online short course called ‘Writing books for children (and young adults)’ with the Sydney Writer’s Centre. Today, we received feedback on our module two assignment.
Reading through all of the tutor’s comments and criticism caused me to pause and think again about the value of giving my opinion on a work of IF (or choice-based narrative).
I personally prefer directness and honesty. Though it might chafe at first, usually I’ll find the value in it and take the critique onboard. Besides, I’m often my own most vocal critic.
But is there a need for me to post at length about what disappoints me, about what doesn’t work for me? I didn’t really enjoy writing my last post. In fact, half way through I thought about scrapping it, despite it being the second of a two-part post.
Reviews are an important part of any evaluation process. Game developers depend on informed feedback and focus testing. iApps live and die by their star ratings. Films and novels thrive on the word-of-mouth hype and personal recommendations.
But right now I’m wondering if I really want to be ‘that’ person on this journey any more. Do I really want to be yet another voice sounding off with an opinionated review; yet another ‘expert’? Or would I rather be the IF equivalent of a ‘travel writer’, taking in the view, searching for that undiscovered stretch of pristine beach, or that provincial bakery that uses flour so fine that the bread squeaks when you eat it?
I suspect I already know the answer…
I enjoyed your last two posts — in fact, I’ve really enjoyed your blog as a whole and am glad you’ve returned.
Reviews of IF (or any other work, really), including negative reviews like your last two-part post, serve a few purposes. First, it gives the reader a chance to determine whether it’s worth investing their own time and energy into playing a work of IF. In the vast world of IF, with works of quite varied quality, this is important; especially to new players. Second, it gives the reader a chance to see what types of work the writer likes and dislikes, and helps the reader decide how much they trust the reviewer.
But third, and most important, players (readers?) of IF are often interested in learning how to write IF. After all, isn’t that partly why you started your own blog? To those readers, the negative reviews are at least as useful as the positive ones to help the budding author in crafting their own works.
Please, keep at it… and if I may offer my own bit of criticism, the only times I haven’t enjoyed your blog is when you write about what you should or shouldn’t write about.
You’re a good writer, a much-needed fresh voice on the subject of IF, and I’d hate to see you cease writing again.
Posted by Nathan | September 22, 2010, 1:15 amI think that it’s possible to have the best of both worlds. I wrote a whole pile of reviews for the issue of SPAG that included the Jay Is Games CGDC “escape games” games. I was really at a loss at first as to how to approach them. The submissions for that contest included the work of a lot of first-time authors who were both learning and writing games in a very short period of time. I also expect that it included the work of a lot of authors who had never really played IF before or much IF before.
In the end, I was definitely critical of some of the games, but what I also did my best to do was explain why a certain thing didn’t work for me, note clearly where I thought that was just my preference versus when I thought it was a flaw that would apply to all players, and also always try to find some things that the game did well or some audience that the game might appeal to. It’s also possible to model flaws and errors in games not as things that make a game bad, but rather things that prevent people from enjoying the good things a game has to offer, and to thus model suggestions as routes to helping players enjoy a game’s strengths. This really helps to keep you positive when writing, but my hope was that it would also serve to encourage the authors to take another stab at it, either through revising their games or through writing new games that work around the identified flaws. (That was my biggest fear, really — discouraging someone who might otherwise go on to write cool games in the future.)
Posted by Irfon-Kim Ahmad | September 22, 2010, 2:33 amA lot of it is finding your own voice, too. I like taking things apart – even very good things – and discovering why they don’t work. I like considering what parts of the game made me feel certain ways, and how those emotions fed the experience.
I think you should write about what you find compelling, and in a way you feel comfortable with. Travel writers can write about the roaches, too; it’s about perspective and spin. One of my favorite new blogs looks at older B-games, largely from the eastern bloc. They’re not as pretty or shiny or famous, but the reviewer takes joy in digging amongst the innards to find things he likes. Of course, sometimes he comes up empty, but there’s usually something in there. I think the same is true of IF, and if that interests you, go for it. If you’re honest with yourself, I think you’ll hit your stride sooner or later.
Posted by Gravel | September 22, 2010, 7:09 am@ Nathan:
Thanks for the kind words…
My post wasn’t about giving the blog away again, as much as not focusing on what’s ‘wrong’, or what I don’t enjoy. At the moment there’s a nasty situation at work where many of my colleagues are angry and upset with a manager and it’s just amazing how much all the bitching and negativity is poisoning the workplace. I don’t want to go down that road with my IF blogging. I guess the contemplation in my last post was really about whether or not I should be more proactive in seeking out the inspirational and suggesting cool ideas, rather than nit-picking. A reminder to stay on track.
Thanks for the criticism, too. I can be a little too introspective at times. My hope is to find that new direction for the blog and get on with it.
Posted by Neophyte | September 22, 2010, 9:21 pm@ Irfon-Kim:
I’m right there with you. While I fully acknowledge the importance of criticism, and especially well-written reviews, it’s the fear of getting too caught up in criticism and winding up being a source of discouragement that concerns me. But it’s also the impact it has on me, too. Focus on too many negative things and you can easily become negative yourself. I want this journey to be a positive experience; something fun and sociable and fulfilling. I want posting to be something I look forward to.
Kudos to you, by the way, for being mindful of others and the impact you have on them.
Posted by Neophyte | September 22, 2010, 9:33 pm@ Gravel:
Insightful as always, Gravel. This journey is as much about discovering my personal identity in the IF world as it is about anything else. And that includes voice, direction, perspective, frequency, spin, visual presentation, realistic resources… The lot! Part of me wishes I could jump to that point now, but I know that’s not how it works. In the meantime, I get to cringe at my mistakes and missteps.
Thanks for the encouragement!
Posted by Neophyte | September 22, 2010, 9:41 pm