Comments on: How to Make Reviews Helpful http://aiiane.net/blog/2010/02/how-to-make-reviews-helpful/ The best work gets done after 2 am Thu, 29 Apr 2010 21:28:10 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Medikage http://aiiane.net/blog/2010/02/how-to-make-reviews-helpful/comment-page-1/#comment-1568 Medikage Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:58:06 +0000 http://aiiane.net/blog/?p=198#comment-1568 One of my favorite places for reviews is http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation.  The reviewer recognizes that most reviews concentrate on the positive aspect of the game so he focuses on all the negatives.  Really helps to get that well rounded view point. Of course the one issue I have with zero punctuation is the same single flaw in the collaborative review idea.  That is a matter of timing. Going out and getting real players opinions means real players need to have played the game.  This means that you need to wait until the game has been released and people have had a chance to play it.  Further if you want in depth analysis you need to allow more time to pass to allow for truely insightful input. From a review perspective the one benefit they have is that they get to play the game pre-release enabling potential buyers of the game a non company line description of the game, before it is released.  Post release I wouldn't even bother with reviews (except for Zero Punctuation purely for the entertainment value) and instead do as you suggest, go out and ask the real players their opinions. Admittedly this is not the case for online MMO's where there is usually an extensive beta period, allowing real players to get that indepth play experience.  Although I am reminded of Warhammer Online where the beta version for some of the classes mechanics differed immensely from beta to release.   One of my favorite places for reviews is http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/zero-punctuation.  The reviewer recognizes that most reviews concentrate on the positive aspect of the game so he focuses on all the negatives.  Really helps to get that well rounded view point.

Of course the one issue I have with zero punctuation is the same single flaw in the collaborative review idea.  That is a matter of timing.

Going out and getting real players opinions means real players need to have played the game.  This means that you need to wait until the game has been released and people have had a chance to play it.  Further if you want in depth analysis you need to allow more time to pass to allow for truely insightful input.

From a review perspective the one benefit they have is that they get to play the game pre-release enabling potential buyers of the game a non company line description of the game, before it is released.  Post release I wouldn’t even bother with reviews (except for Zero Punctuation purely for the entertainment value) and instead do as you suggest, go out and ask the real players their opinions.

Admittedly this is not the case for online MMO’s where there is usually an extensive beta period, allowing real players to get that indepth play experience.  Although I am reminded of Warhammer Online where the beta version for some of the classes mechanics differed immensely from beta to release.  

]]> By: Aiiane http://aiiane.net/blog/2010/02/how-to-make-reviews-helpful/comment-page-1/#comment-1567 Aiiane Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:11:53 +0000 http://aiiane.net/blog/?p=198#comment-1567 It's not so much that I think every individual review should be able to provide a comprehensive community opinion of a game - if that were the case, there'd be no point in having multiple reviewers (and I somehow doubt that's going to happen :P). Rather, I think that reviewers taking the time to get some outside input can lead to their own viewpoints being broader, and thus being able to provide more insightful commentary on a game - thus leading to *deeper* individual explorations that can then be put together in combination with other deeper views, leading to an end experience that is deeper all around. Basically, I've been finding most recently that even taking a number of reviews in aggregate, you still seem to get fairly shallow results - nothing even close to talking with a few people who actually play the game on a regular basis and asking some questions for 5 minutes. I'd like to see at least the aggregate benefit from looking at lots of reviews get closer to what you can achieve from just talking to players. It’s not so much that I think every individual review should be able to provide a comprehensive community opinion of a game – if that were the case, there’d be no point in having multiple reviewers (and I somehow doubt that’s going to happen :P ). Rather, I think that reviewers taking the time to get some outside input can lead to their own viewpoints being broader, and thus being able to provide more insightful commentary on a game – thus leading to *deeper* individual explorations that can then be put together in combination with other deeper views, leading to an end experience that is deeper all around.

Basically, I’ve been finding most recently that even taking a number of reviews in aggregate, you still seem to get fairly shallow results – nothing even close to talking with a few people who actually play the game on a regular basis and asking some questions for 5 minutes. I’d like to see at least the aggregate benefit from looking at lots of reviews get closer to what you can achieve from just talking to players.

]]> By: Medikage http://aiiane.net/blog/2010/02/how-to-make-reviews-helpful/comment-page-1/#comment-1566 Medikage Mon, 22 Mar 2010 22:07:35 +0000 http://aiiane.net/blog/?p=198#comment-1566 It's funny how people can look at things completely differently. You see a review as being something that a lot of people should contribute to, to enable a well rounded, comprehensive and diverse review of the game. Where as I see a review as a single point of view that I take on board and combine it's comments with all the other reviews I read/see, preferring to do the collaboration myself. Both options allow for diverse opinion (a key requirement when trying to understand anything) but I just prefer to be in control of what is left on the cutting room floor. It’s funny how people can look at things completely differently.

You see a review as being something that a lot of people should contribute to, to enable a well rounded, comprehensive and diverse review of the game.

Where as I see a review as a single point of view that I take on board and combine it’s comments with all the other reviews I read/see, preferring to do the collaboration myself.

Both options allow for diverse opinion (a key requirement when trying to understand anything) but I just prefer to be in control of what is left on the cutting room floor.

]]>