Everyoneās got an opinion on everything, but how do you confess straight to someoneās face that you dislike something they made? It can possibly be an awkward experience, but in todayās Ask Kotaku I dive in to how I deal with those situations.
But letās go through a few other questions you guys sent me first. And donāt forget to send more for next week!
Meeting New People That Share Your Interests
Am I hopeless for improving my social interaction? I hardly meet and have time with my friends anymore since I work in a call center and because of that, my availability with my friends were compromised. They are busy with their own jobs as well which is different from the time frame of my work or they now live in far and different places. Iām not that active in social sites such as facebook or twitter, and so are theyā¦
I donāt think thereās anything else that interests me outside of gaming too. I read your suggestions before on going to events such as museum or gallery events or parties but those things doesnāt interest me at all. I canāt seem to find a way on how to meet new people that I can get along with in real life. Talking with people feels very awkward to me but I still try, problem is itās difficult to find people that shares the same interests that I do that can help start a bond or a connection. And most of the time when I try to reach out to people, it always ends up in a disappointment or that people I met were actually jerksā¦or maybe I am the jerk?
Ever since I graduated from college and became consumed by work, it feels like I never meet anyone new, at least outside of my industry. So, youāre not alone and you shouldnāt feel bad about your situation.
If galleries and museums and whatever arenāt your thing, try finding a board game group. Theyāll share your nerdy interests and a lot of them will probably be there for similar reasonsā¦.AKA to meet people they can bond with. If youāre uncertain of where to look, you can start searching online on places like Meet Up and what not.
Giraffes Versus Hamsters
Lately my daughter, Little Suzy, has been begging for me to get her a hamster. We already have a dog and I donāt think a hamster and dog will work well together. I suggested to her that we go to the zoo to get a giraffe instead. I showed her various pictures of giraffes doing fun thingsā¦
ā¦but she insists that she still wants a hamster. Should I get her a hamster or surprise her with a giraffe?
GIRAFFE. GO. LEAVE NOW. NO MORE QUESTIONS. JUST GIRAFFE.
How Kotaku Deals With Free Stuff
How does Kotaku deal with incentives? Not just free games, but maybe free merchandise, paid air travel and hotels, or even cash incentives. The gaming journalism business is terribly criticized for being biased (like any other type of journalism of course) for various reasons, but incentives are one thing that I am always wondering how it affects the writer in their reviews for a game.
We have very strict rules about this sort of thing. We accept games only when we need them for reviews, previews, impressions, video content, any kind of work-related needs. We never accept free merchandise or paid trips. I donāt think a single person in the media-covering-games industry actually accepts cash incentives these days.
We also have rules about who can review a game based on if theyāve previewed the game multiple times before. Occasionally weāll let a writer review a game if he/she has only previewed the game once or so, but we try to stay away from having them see the game multiple times before actually reviewing the final builds. I canāt speak to other outletsā methods, but I think we do a good job of maintaining our honest perspectives here.
Small Subtitles in Games
How do you feel about the laziness of most video game developers to increase the size of their subtitles or font size in general? I can hear the audio fine, but sometimes I want to read what the characters are saying. Every time I pop in a newer game, that tiny text just drives me nuts and I have to inch in closer from my comfortable position of several feet away to practically a foot just to read on screen text. Just because the graphics are in high definition doesnāt make an excuse that text is supposed to be small due to their relatively simple and small dimensions.
That is not a question I ever expected to get! You know, Iāve never thought about that. I always put the subtitles on, because I like to follow along and make sure I donāt miss any dialogue. I definitely recall subtitles being small on some games though, but while itās something I may have noticed, it was nothing that ever bothered me too much. On the other hand, I definitely remember Tomb Raider text being way too small in the menus. Any time I tried to read a journal or artifact description I had to pull up closer to my TV.
Itās a minor nuisance at worst and I think it mainly has to do with not wanting subtitles to cover up too much of the visuals or, in the case of menus, cramming in a lot of information. Thereās so much effort that goes into a game that Iām willing to sacrifice a bit of small text if it means the developers get to focus on making the art or game or story better.
Telling A Developer Their Game Sucks
How do you deal with standing right in front of the makers of the a game you think and verbalised to be crap? that has to be the definition of awkward.
Thatās a good question! I like to think of myself as being a polite person capable of not embarrassing someone in conversation. Iāll be a bit more candid in reviews and on the site, but if Iām speaking with someone in person Iād be more gentle simply because itās the nice thing to do. Iād still be honest, of course, but I might offer some praise for their game before dumping the faults on them. I tend to do the same in reviews, as well.
Though, most of the time itāll be phrased differently so that itās not quite a matter-of-fact, āthis was badā conversation but more of a, āWhy did you choose to go this route?ā āDo you think that ended up being successful?ā kind of thing. It gives them the space to reflect because, normally, people basically know when something didnāt go right. And if itās a matter of a difference of opinion, itāll simply be a friendly discussion where I support my opinion and he/she supports theirs and we both come away learning something or at least learning a new perspective. Or maybe Iām an idealist, but itās usually my intention to have that kind of a friendly, intellectual discussion.
In general, people understand that others wonāt necessarily like something theyāve made. Iām sure plenty of people donāt like some of the things I write on this site. And developers know that plenty of people wonāt like every game they make. Being polite about discussing it and focusing on really understanding another personās perspective and possibly even accepting valid criticisms is the way to deal with that situation. Be nice, be open-minded.
Top image from Shutterstock
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