Fuck it! Read The Comments!

Hey there, Gamers and Game Makers!

As games are both hugely technical and creative things, they are subject to a lot of public opinion. From is it a good game to a bad game to why it's the best game ever to why it's the worst game ever and everything in between.

Now, if you're a game dev or just a creative in general. No matter what you make, you've probably at one time or another been told "Don't read the comments". No matter what you make, once it's been posted online, people are going to say what they think about it without filter because, well, that's the internet for you.

So, I'm going to make the case for the opposite. Why you should read the comments. There is already a strong reason why you should read the comments and that's that it provides a great source of feedback. Even someone who hated your game can provide good feedback granted that they are constructive in their comment. However, that's not the reason I'm going to focus on.

Some time ago, I was scrolling through my Twitter timeline and I came across a post from a developer who I sadly can't recall who it was but, they make a point of reading the comments on their games and taking a screenshot of the positive comments people have posted about their work. They keep these comments in a folder then that they can look back on for inspiration and motivation. 

I thought this was a fantastic idea and I've been since doing the same. As creative individuals, we tend to focus on the negative comments and remember them the most when there may well be a mountain of nice positive comments to see. So, For the games I make, I do read through the comments and I take note of feedback that will improve a game but I now also take a screenshot of positive comments about my work so that I can look back on them when I need the motivation to keep going with a project. 

While diving into the sea of comments can seem somewhat daunting, I'm willing to bet that the positive things people say about your work will far outweigh the negative and seeing a folder full of nice comments is a great motivation to make something else.

Until next time!