>While it's good that you can recognize what you percieve as limitations in
>your own work, I wouldn't advise doing the same to another author for a
>simple reason -- the differences of opinions people have. Another author
On the contrary, I'd say this is the best reason for doing so. If a few
different reviewers give their ideas on a piece of IF, those consumers who
read the reviews are more likely to get a more complete picture of the work's
overall quality. Of course all opinions are subjective, but that doesn't mean
they aren't worth hearing. The idea of criticism of any literary form is, in
my view, a valuable one, and it's not new, even to IF, where whole web sites
are dedicated to archiving reviews.
>Everyone has differing opinions of the "ideal" game, and what a "real" I-F
>experience is like for them. Can't we just accept each quality game for
>what it is, rather than dwelling on petty issues?
It's interesting to me that you only want "quality" games to go uncriticized.
Who is the arbiter of "quality?" Personally, I'd like to see two things
happen, which I think would open up the dialogue and get rid of some of the
emotional tension which has collected around reactions to the games submitted
for the competition:
1) Reviewers should, as C.E. said, use the more positive technique of
constructive criticism instead of verbally napalming the quality of the work,
or (especially) levelling personal attacks against the ability of the author.
IF is a new field and, I think it's fair to say at this point in the evolution
of software, a struggling field. Most authors out there are probably fairly
new to the genre, and if a reviewer really wants to advance the cause of IF,
those authors should be guided in productive directions rather than shot down
because the reviewer didn't like their first works.
2) Creators of IF should be ready to see a little criticism come their way.
Rather than taking a review as a personal attack, either a) ignore it, or
b) use it to figure out ways you can improve your next game, or your next
release of the game being reviewed. Anyone in a creative field (including
writing interactive fiction) needs to steel themselves against bad reviews.
I know it's a hard case when the reviewer is part of our small community,
and you've come to feel that you know them personally, on a certain level.
However, instead of making this a reason to take their criticism totally to
heart and let it devastate you, instead use it as a reason to give that
reviewer the benefit of the doubt, and believe that the person writing the
review did it because that person wants to see your work improve, not because
he or she would like to see you disappear off the face of the earth.
Remember that, just as most IF writers are new to the field, so are most IF
reviewers. Both need time to hone their skills, and in the meantime it's a
good idea not to be too thin-skinned.
-- Paul O'Brian obrian@ucsu.colorado.edu "No one knows how I feel or what I say unless you read between my lines" -Stevie Nicks