- BioWare and Dragon Age veteran Mark Darrah thinks studios shouldn’t blindly implement fan feedback.
- According to the former Producer, players are good at identifying problems, not finding solutions.
- Hence, studios should listen to the community but proceed with caution, as fans aren’t developers.
Following EA’s takeover by Saudi Arabia, Mass Effect and Dragon Age developer BioWare has once again become the center of player attention. Reportedly, the studio could now be sold off as EA is trying to cut at least $700 million in annual spending at the request of its new owners.
While BioWare’s future is hanging in the balance, however, former studio executive and Dragon Age producer Mark Darrah is making the news for a completely different reason.
Why It Matters: Considering the current state of BioWare and how the last Dragon Age title crashed and burned, maybe the studio should pay a little attention to fan feedback.
In a new YouTube video on his channel, BioWare veteran Mark Darrah stated that studios should not implement player feedback, as gamers are just fans, not experienced developers.
Players are really, really good at identifying problems. What they’re a lot less good at is identifying solutions. They’re not developers, they’re game players.
The former studio executive began by saying that community feedback is very important and that listening to players is an essential aspect of game development, as they are better at identifying problems than some QA departments. According to Darrah, ignoring fan feedback is a complete mistake, as it’s the most insightful look at a video game.
But the BioWare veteran explained that even though players are good at recognising issues, they aren’t the best at finding solutions. For example, Mark Darrah says fans could ask the team to make enemy AI smarter if enemies are dying too fast. However, the real problem is the balancing or a mistake in pathfinding, showcasing how the community isn’t good at diagnosing the issue.
Hence, instead of blindly implementing fan feedback, studios need to understand the problem the community is bringing up and proceed carefully, as players aren’t experienced developers and most of the time they don’t even know what they want.
Do you think the BioWare veteran is right about putting less emphasis on fan feedback? Should studios proceed with more caution when it comes to player reviews? Tell us in the comments below or head to the Tech4Gamers forum for discussion.
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Shameer Sarfaraz has previously worked for eXputer as a Senior News Writer for several years. Now with Tech4Gamers, he loves to devoutly keep up with the latest gaming and entertainment industries. He has a Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science and years of experience reporting on games. Besides his passion for breaking news stories, Shahmeer loves spending his leisure time farming away in Stardew Valley. VGC, IGN, GameSpot, Game Rant, TheGamer, GamingBolt, The Verge, NME, Metro, Dot Esports, GameByte, Kotaku Australia, PC Gamer, and more have cited his articles.
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