tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post3509685397755527720..comments2023-05-27T11:14:02.426-04:00Comments on Some Space to Think: The Critical AudienceAnonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/14216103531396452644noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-36139845852680647142010-10-14T04:50:41.086-04:002010-10-14T04:50:41.086-04:00Hi!
Thanks for this article. Very well thought-ou...Hi!<br /><br />Thanks for this article. Very well thought-out -- and the fact that it pretty much matches my own thoughts on the subject doesn't hurt, either.<br /><br />I hail from the French-speaking part of the gaming world and there, we have another problem with criticism: it's a fairly small milieu and many people who critique also happen to be authors, hence the question of conflict of interest. <br /><br />Have you seen this kind of thing as well? Any thought on how to fix it, if at all possible?Aliashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05524695958933499524noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-51898672957709470632010-10-13T14:03:02.097-04:002010-10-13T14:03:02.097-04:00It's often quite difficult for any sort of art...It's often quite difficult for any sort of artist to step back from a project, especially an amateur project (in the sense of being done for the love of it, rather than for a professional paycheck). This means that any criticism, no matter how well intentioned or phrased, is going to be viewed as personal. It's part of human nature.<br /><br />It's only magnified in electronic communication (because of the confusing lack of signals, or the need for overly exaggerated signals). Again, it is a new media and we aren't really used to it yet.*<br /><br />[I shall ignore how the "expectation to be praised" in Western society has contributed to this problem; there is enough discussion on this in children's education and motivational texts, beyond mentioning that it is also a strong component.]<br /><br />On the other side, the critic is also personally attached to the project. They care enough about it to spend their time analysing why they liked or disliked the project. But it is important to remember that it is only their opinion.<br /><br />Criticism of criticism is useless. It contributes nothing. Responding intelligently to criticism on the other hand, and even entering a sensible dialogue with the critic, allows an exploration of possibilities. It won't change the project (which is already released and therefore can be assumed "fixed"), but it may point out how other people can see and use the project.<br /><br />And there is nothing worse than simply leaping to the defence of someone without addressing the concerns raised. It closes down any possibility of reasoned dialogue.<br /><br />To paraphrase Mike Ford, there are three distinct projects in every production, the project the artist created, the project the audience viewed, and the project that dances under the wild moonlight that is a combination of both of these other projects. Which one is the true one?<br /><br />Some people will like your work. Some people won't. But the people that tend to get slammed are the ones who really like your work, except for the little bits they might have preferred done differently. The nice bits are, with tabletop role-playing games, you <i>can</i> do it differently.Reverance Pavanehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01217657347160811310noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-89648341560622722762010-10-13T10:20:37.595-04:002010-10-13T10:20:37.595-04:00And I just posted a 1200 word essay which could ha...And I just posted a 1200 word essay which could have used an editor on what I think are the qualifying areas a reviewer should think about when reviewing. I should have read your post first this morning. <br /><br />It's on my mind so I'll likely post more and/or refine it. I'm trying to come up with review criteria that's really quite neutral and takes some of the subjectivism out of the review and comes back with "here you are in these categories." I feel it's more useful overall to show why a game fails or why it succeeds. <br /><br />One thing that always bothered me about RPG reviews are things like "I do not like X kind of game is Z is Y type of game so THE GAME IS LAME." And I don't think that's useful. What is useful is feedback on things like "I cannot read the headers through your distracting font" or "I could not follow the instructions on how to generate a character for play from the provided text because of A, B, and C." <br /><br />Yes? No?Emilyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11069100225375930667noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1678761812929125529.post-74287624898611670062010-10-13T10:12:28.881-04:002010-10-13T10:12:28.881-04:00One third possible audience is the relevant artist...One third possible audience is the relevant artistic community. I'd think this is both a less presumptuous and more productive target than the artist in most cases. <br /><br />That said, it is still a more challenging target than the audience of the work. But I know I've learned ways to improve my own craft by reading critiques of others' work.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com