feedback
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App's clever feedback system helps happy users tweet, while angry customers can only email
Ember, an app from Realmac Software built to help designers and artists compile, collect and otherwise make sense of their ideas and influences, employs an extremely clever in-app feedback feature that we wouldn't mind seeing become a new norm. Rather than a simple, static feedback page with an email address or perhaps a phone number, the app first asks you how you feel about Ember, be it happy, confused or unhappy. Happy users are encouraged to write a review, share their feelings on Twitter and Facebook and contact the Ember team directly. Meanwhile, confused users are directed to a help guide with the additional option of contacting Ember via email, and the unhappy souls are given just the option of emailing the team. This system clearly benefits Ember by increasing the likelihood that happy folks will leave positive reviews or social mentions, but it also directs the confused and unhappy users to the areas that will do them the most good. After all, telling an angry customer to tweet about it doesn't benefit the developers or the user, but having a frustrated user send their concerns directly to the people who can fix it certainly can. [via @marcedwards]
Feedback and what it does and doesn't do
For as long as I've been playing World of Warcraft (which is as long as it's been around) one thing I've seen over and over again is the constant debate between players about the forums and what they're for. Blizzard has stated repeatedly that they listen to player concerns and take feedback very seriously, but they've also stated that they don't design by committee. Still, we've seen design choices made with the player base and its reactions in place - Mists of Pandaria had a far more engaging and active endgame than did Cataclysm, and it evolved over the course of the expansion in response to player reaction. Similarly, many credit (or blame) the steep increase in difficulty in heroic dungeons between the end of Wrath of the Lich King and the neginning of Cataclysm on fanbase complaints. One question that seems to get asked a lot is does anyone at Blizzard care about the forums, which to my mind is a strange question to ask given the evidence I just cited. Clearly, player feedback (and not just from the forums, either) is something that Blizzard pays a lot of attention to. CM Takralus gave a brief on what, exactly, the CM's do with player feedback on the forums and how it is brought to the devs' attention. Let's talk a bit about feedback. When is it useful and when isn't it useful?
Here's what high-end smartphone speakers could sound like in 2014 (ears-on)
Not all smartphone speakers are created equal. Last year, we were blown away by a prototype NXP audio chip that boosted volume (but not distortion) through the use of feedback circuitry. The chip monitored a speaker's behavior in real-time so that it could be pushed to the limit without creating crummy sound or being physically torn apart. Others were impressed too: Motorola has since used the nine-volt TFA9890 in the Moto X and the Droid Ultra. These phones have single speakers, but are almost able to match the volume and sound quality of a good stereo system, such as HTC's BoomSound audio in the One family of smartphones (which rely on two five-volt NXP-controlled speakers). So, what comes next? That'd be the second-gen TFA9895, which makes some gentle but noticeable improvements, and which should start arriving in high-end smartphones by the time we get to Mobile World Congress next year. Fortunately, we don't have to wait that long to hear it, because NXP just invited us to an exclusive ears-on.
ArenaNet takes its first step toward Guild Wars 2 collaborative development with a call for topics
Last week, Guild Wars 2 studio design director Chris Whiteside announced a new community initiative designed to better filter and address player feedback regarding the future and current state of the game. Today, Whiteside followed up by posting the first set of instructions for participating in the process ArenaNet is referring to as "collaborative development." The Guild Wars 2 team is asking players to begin by choosing three priorities from each area of gameplay and listing them in a response to the initial post. For example, a player's PvE priorities might be ascended items, world events, and roleplaying. ArenaNet will then take the top item in each section and start a separate thread in which players and the team will share opinions, brainstorm, and converse. Our own Anatoli Ingram tackled the initial announcement in this week's Flameseeker Chronicles. As for this first round of feedback, players have "a couple" of days to add their thoughts before ArenaNet compiles the list. [Thanks to Mikey Moo for the tip!]
ARAIG gaming feeback suit hits Kickstarter in search of good funding vibrations
In spite of the company's claims that feedback has always been localized on gaming controllers, this certainly isn't the first time we've seen the phenomenon incorporated into a wearable. That said, the ARAIG (that's As Real As It Gets, for the record) does wrap a lot of features into a nice looking package -- well, about as nice as one can expect from a vibrating shirt that you wear while gaming. The ARAIG (sounds a bit like "ear ache") features 16 points of feedback on the front, 16 on the back and eight on each side, a number of which are located in areas so as to offer the most muscle stimulation as they respond to what's happening in the game. You'll also find a six speakers around the collar, offering a sort of surround sound to the wearer, as well as an admittedly somewhat clunky subwoofer on the back. Of course, ARAIG is still in its early stages, a few days into its Kickstarter campaign, so there may well be some changes to the suit in the months to come. In the meantime, the company's hoping for a lofty $900,000 in crowdfunding. You can check out a video plea below or click the source link to contribute.
Blizzard soliciting more pet battle feedback
Last week, Blizzard was looking for feedback about possible changes to elemental and mechanical pets. This week, they have some proposed passive effect changes for patch 5.4 about which they'd like player responses. Crithto Thank you to everyone who has shared their feedback with us so far, we appreciate it. Based on some of the comments we've received, here is an updated list of potential changes we're hoping to include in Patch 5.4: The Magic passive now caps damage taken at 35% of maximum health, buffed from 40%. The Dragonkin passive effect now activates when the enemy is taken below 50% health, up from 25%. The Aquatic passive now reduces DOT damage by 50%, up from 25%. The Elemental passive effect now only affect negative, direct effects of weather (e.g. the accuracy reduction of Sandstorm won't be applied, but the damage reduction will). The Critter passive now makes critters completely immune to roots, stuns, and sleeps. Keep that feedback rollin' in! source Most of these look like pretty big buffs, but do battle pets need to be tweaked anymore? If you have an opinion, head over to the official forums and let Blizzard know what you think.
The Daily Grind: Will you defend a game no matter what?
There are people out there who are going to hate your game of choice; It's just the nature of the beast. No matter what the next World of Warcraft expansion actually contains, some people will consider it the most vile aberration of gaming on the face of the planet. Most of us, fans of the game or not, just shrug and move on. But not everyone. There are fans who see an insult as a call to defend the game, whether the game in question is Mortal Online or Star Wars: The Old Republic. Some people feel that the best thing to do is to stand up and shout the game's praises. At the best of times, this can dispel incorrect notions or outdated views and convince impartial onlookers that perhaps the game in question deserves a better reputation. At the worst of times, it comes off as a fan perilously incapable of seeing his or her favorite game receive any criticism whatsoever. So what about you? Will you defend a certain game no matter what? Every morning, the Massively bloggers probe the minds of their readers with deep, thought-provoking questions about that most serious of topics: massively online gaming. We crave your opinions, so grab your caffeinated beverage of choice and chime in on today's Daily Grind!
TestFlight reaches Android in beta, gives app developers a safety net
You may not know about TestFlight if you're used to running apps rather than building them, but odds are that you know its effects when over 300,000 iOS apps have reached testers that hopefully caught bugs in advance. That makes the launch of a private Android beta something of an event, as it gives developers the same simple feedback and provisioning for pre-release apps. Coders who split their time between both Android and iOS also get a truly cross-platform management console as part of the expansion. There's no set date for when the beta expires, but TestFlight eventually plans to offer its utility directly through the Google Play Store -- and might just keep the Android app train rolling smoothly.
Star Wars: The Old Republic's Jeff Hickman encourages player feedback on F2P changes
Star Wars: The Old Republic's community has had plenty to say about the game's recent addition of its free-to-play option, and BioWare wants players to keep the opinions coming. In a new post on the official site, the game's executive producer Jeff Hickman speaks on the importance of player feedback of the new F2P model and announces a few upcoming changes based on said feedback. For starters, the ridiculous practice of requiring players to purchase additional hotbars seems to be on its way out. "Starting today," Hickman writes, "Preferred Status Players will see an increase to their default quickbars from two (2) to four (4)" while any players who have already shelled out for additional bars will have their Cartel Coins refunded. On top of that, an upcoming patch (exact date to-be-determined) will increase the number of character slots available to preferred players from two to six. In that same patch, BioWare will be substantially increasing the global 50-character limit for subscribers, in case anyone really wants an army of their own. In closing, Hickman reminds players that "even if [the developers] can't respond to every post, know that [they're] listening and looking to enhance The Old Republic gameplay based on player feedback." For the full details, click on over to the SWTOR official site.
How feedback works and why it matters
Lately I've seen some forum posts that confuse me. Perhaps it's because these posts themselves seem confused. Posts like this one, where Librily the worgen mage accuses Blizzard and World of Warcraft's development team of soliciting feedback that they don't actually look at. I find this especially odd on a forum where community managers regularly engage with posters, and I wanted to address what feedback is, how it works, and why it matters now and going forward. Frankly, it is impossible to look at the design of Mists of Pandaria and not see how much player feedback has influenced the design of the expansion. The 85 to 90 game is everything Cataclysm was not -- it all takes place in a seamless new land, it removed flying in order to provide player immersion, it works the Horde/Alliance conflict into the storyline. It is in every way the result of player feedback being constructively weighted and utilized responsibly. By that, I mean that the game's developers clearly looked at what players were saying they liked and disliked and worked to find ways to address player concerns. What they didn't do -- what they have never done and cannot ever do -- is simply go to the forums, see who yelled loudest, and give them everything they wanted. That would be absurd design by mob, it would produce an unplayable game full of broken classes and most importantly of all, it would not be fun to play. Games require a ton of work to produce, especially a game like World of Warcraft, and the amount of effort behind the scenes to bring what we get to see and experience does not allow for that kind of design even if it were desirable, which it is not. Game design is not about giving the players everything they say they want, nor is it about doing everything they say as soon as they say it. Let's talk about how good feedback works, the difference between opinion and fact, and why taking the time to make a well constructed argument is worthwhile even if you don't see any signs of it changing anything.
Nokia patents haptic system to simulate linear motion, assist with navigational route guidance
The crew in Espoo have just added a new patent to the arsenal that promises to add a refined level of haptic feedback to the user experience. Fundamental to Nokia's plan is a matrix of independent haptic devices that remain stationary, but combine to simulate the sensation of linear and circular movement. Not only could the enhanced feedback bring a new level of interaction to the software interface, but Nokia also hypothesizes that the system will be useful for providing navigational route guidance -- say, without the need for visual or auditory feedback. Given the company's other research in the field of haptic systems, it seems Nokia's future may be full of good vibrations, indeed.
The Guild Counsel: Should MMO studios hold guild summits?
We're in the thick of game convention season, and with that come the usual panels and discussions aimed at the general playerbase. But in some games, there are organized "guild summits" that pull in handpicked guilds for some amplified feedback and lobbying power over future game design. But how much sway should guilds have with game studios? On one hand, they can be helpful lobbying groups for game changes that the bulk of the playerbase wants and would appreciate. On the other hand, not all guilds are the same, and what one guild might want to see in game could be vastly different from the ideas of another guild. Should guilds have special summits with studios? Let's take a look at this topic in this week's Guild Counsel.
Perkins Smart Brailler helps the blind learn to type, closes the digital divide
Most digital Braille devices are built on the assumption that the legally blind already know how to write in the format -- if they don't, they're often forced back to the analog world to learn. PDT and Perkins hope to address that longstanding technology gap with the Perkins Smart Brailler. Going digital lets Perkins build in lessons for newcomers as well as provide immediate audio feedback (visual for writers with borderline vision) and text-to-speech conversion to give even an old hand a boost. Logically, the leap into the modern world also allows transferring documents over USB along with traditional Braille printouts. Smart Braillers will cost a weighty $1,995 each when they first ship in September, but it's hard to put a price tag on mastering communication and fully joining the digital generation.
No-brainer talent and cookie-cutter builds
I was reading the forums the way I do recently, when I came across this thread. In it, the original poster Strawberry asked for examples of talents in the new talent system that players would always take. In the current talent system, as an example, no fury warrior would avoid Flurry. You'd be an idiot to do so. Ghostcrawler chimed in, indicating that he wanted to increase people's awareness of the thread and get them participating, because the thread was useful. The reason it is useful is because no-brainer talents are something Blizzard's trying to do away with in the new talent scheme, and the only way to really know what talents are must haves is to have people tell them. The entire purpose of the new talent system is to promote choice and do away with the cookie-cutter builds of the previous and current talent paradigm. Cataclysm actually ended up with a lot more choice than previous iterations -- you usually have a few talent points left over when you're done getting the basics down -- but Mists of Pandaria is poised to remove the concept of going elsewhere for a spec or copying someone else's build entirely. This got me wondering. Assuming the thread does its job and helps identify talents that are too good to pass up right now and make adjustments to bring them in line, will that make the game harder or easier for new and inexperienced players?
Google Play lets top devs reply to user reviews, smack down trolls
Are you an Android developer with an app in Google Play? Do you have a Top Developer badge? Well rejoice, because starting right now Google will let select developers reply to user reviews right from the safety, warmth and comfort of the Android Developer Console -- perfect for when you need to put the smackdown on those undeserving trolls give feedback to your beloved customers or share information about a new feature. Users are then notified by email about replies to a review and have the option to contact the developer directly. "Google continues to make investments in Google Play and we are excited to engage with our users through this new feature" said Autumn Brown, Android Account Director at EA. Google plans to extend the functionality to additional developers in the future. Isn't dialogue wonderful? Screenshot and PR after the break.
'Free form' lens over mobile display could improve audio and haptics, says Motorola patent filing
It's hard to tell exactly what Motorola is thinking of here, but it probably isn't a billowing sheet of fabric stretched loosely over the face of a smartphone -- even if that's what it looks like. Instead, this appears to be a patent application for a "free floating display lens" that helps the panel of a mobile device to be used as a Beo-style acoustic speaker. The idea is that you can get louder and less resonant sound without having to dedicate more precious real estate to a larger traditional speaker unit. The application also talks about generating haptic feedback on the lens, using the same underlying piezoelectric structures that would power the audio. Creating vibrations this way could require "eight times" less voltage than current methods while also delivering a higher-amplitude sensation. Merge that with KDDI's weird vibrational speaker technology and the results could be deafening.
NEC's tactile touchscreen nudges at the future (video)
A touchscreen's fatal flaw is its lack of feedback: imagine the satisfaction if you could feel those Angry Birds as they flew across the screen. NEC and the Tokyo Institute of Technology wanted a simpler solution to tactile displays than Senseg's electrostatic-field based tech. Instead, this device uses a wire (yup) anchored on each corner of the display -- when force is shown on screen, it jerks the screen in the corresponding direction. You can see it in action after the break, accompanied by the restful tones of Diginfo's narrator. If there's a better way to start a week, we don't wanna know about it.
AT&T Labs, Carnegie Mellon research haptic-feedback steering wheel for turn-by-turn directions
A force-feedback steering wheel. It's quite literally the stuff of racing games, and AT&T labs, along with Carnegie Mellon, is researching the possibly of throwing similar tech into your real-world whip. MIT's Technology Review recently highlighted the project, which uses 20 vibrating actuators shoved inside of a steering wheel to create a variety of patterns -- a counter-clockwise sequence could indicate a left turn, for example. As you might have guessed, one of the goals is to keep drivers less distracted by the likes of visual turn-by-turn GPS navigators and more focused on the road. While it's currently being tested with driving simulators, the results are positive so far, if a bit modest. When supplemented with typical audio / visual navigation, folks near the age of 25 kept their eyes planted on the asphalt for 3.1 percent more time than without it. Notably, the improvement wasn't found with those over 65 in the aforementioned instance, however, supplemented with just the audio, the vibrating wheel had them focusing on the road by an increase of four percent.According to Technology Review, this isn't the first time haptic feedback has been tested as a driving aid, although past tests have, notably, resulted in "fewer turn errors" by those behind the wheel. Best of all, the tech is capable of sending more than just navigation cues -- it could certainly be useful in a Telsa. So when can you expect to find a force-feedback steering wheel in your ride? Technology Review cites Kevin Li, an AT&T Labs researcher on the project, who says the main hurdle is making something that people will just "get," and that it's still "years" away from becoming a possibility. While there's no photos of the setup just yet, a full report on the research will get released in June. Hey, there's always Forza and Gran Turismo, at least for now -- right?
Hudson: 'Your feedback has always mattered' in Mass Effect 3, even now
Franchise director Casey Hudson has previously spoken out in brief defense of the Mass Effect 3 endings, but now he's made it official in a written message that explains BioWare's dedication, passion and reverence for the series and the feedback it receives from fans -- all of it. Yes, even the popular "you deserve to be skinned alive, made into jerky and eaten by rabid goats" (paraphrased) feedback.Hudson avoids spoilers, but suggests finishing the game for yourself and forming your own conclusions before reading his missive: "For us and for you, Mass Effect 3 had to live up to a lot of expectations, not only for a great gaming experience, but for a resolution to the countless storylines and decisions you've made as a player since the journey began in 2007," Hudson writes. "So we designed Mass Effect 3 to be a series of endings to key plots and storylines, each culminating in scenes that show you the consequences of your actions. You then carry the knowledge of these consequences with you as you complete the final moments of your journey. "We always intended that the scale of the conflict and the underlying theme of sacrifice would lead to a bittersweet ending -- to do otherwise would betray the agonizing decisions Shepard had to make along the way. Still, we wanted to give players the chance to experience an inspiring and uplifting ending; in a story where you face a hopeless struggle for basic survival, we see the final moments and imagery as offering victory and hope in the context of sacrifice and reflection." Hudson stresses that the Mass Effect team takes fan feedback seriously and often incorporates it into the games directly, and says it is still listening to that response now. "Throughout the next year, we will support Mass Effect 3 by working on new content. And we'll keep listening, because your insights and constructive feedback will help determine what that content should be. This is not the last you'll hear of Commander Shepard."
Controller prototype stretches thumbs for extra feedback
Video game feedback systems haven't changed dramatically since the implementation of "rumble" over a decade ago. Engineers at the University of Utah hope to change that with a new kind of controller. The prototype controller provides haptic feedback via small pads that sit under the player's thumbs. These pads can move in any direction, stretching the skin of the thumb, offering directional cues or simulating in-game events.The pads can mimic the usual game fare -- explosions and the like -- but they can also simulate more tactile sensations, like the "feeling" of crawling on the ground while prone in a shooter. Another example shows the pads indicating the direction that enemy fire is coming from, or simulating impact against a surface.It's a bit hard to grasp from the description alone, so we suggest you check out the video above for a peek at our possible future. Associate professor of mechanical engineering, William Provancher, hopes to see the controller in production in time for the next generation of game consoles.
