[MUD-Dev2] The Great Mud Survey

[John Buehler]

Johnicholas Hines writes:

> Matt Chatterly wrote:
> >A while ago, as part of another thread, I nattered on for a bit about the
> > idea of attempting to conduct some research into what players like and
> > dislike about Muds (in specific, and in general) - that seems a bit
> > wishy-washy now that I repeat it back, so I'll try to nail it down a
> > little more.
>
> It is clear that surveys are not without problems.
> However, it is possible one could glean useful information by
> correctly phrasing the question and correctly interpreting the
> results. I hesitate to provide an example because I might, in
> fact, be incorrect in phrasing the question and/or interpreting
> the results.  Still, examples are good.
>
> Imagine 10 people first playing a game and then answering two
> questions "what part did you like best?" and "what part did you
> like least?".  If the designers thought they had put in 10 parts,
> but parts 6 and 9 never get mentioned as either particularly
> likeable or particularly odious, maybe they need to be reworked.
>
> Can the bright people on this list suggest better survey questions and
> interpretations?

Three questions that attempt ti discover player expectations and how they
were met:

"What activities were you looking forward to doing?"

"Which were you able to do?"

"Of those that you could not do, what prevented you from doing them?"

Three questions that attempt to discover what players found to be
obstructions in the game experience; stuff that "got in the way":

"Did you end up doing anything that you hadn't originally planned?"

"Which of those things did you enjoy?"

"Of those that you did not enjoy, what was unenjoyable about them?"

A series of questions asking whether players spent any time with unique game
features:

"Did you notice that you could do X?"

"Did you spend any time doing X?"

"Did you enjoy doing X?"

Notice that these questions tend to be either yes/no or essay answer.  I
find that most surveys drive respondents into certain response groups, which
is counterproductive to the purpose of a survey.  It may be time-consuming
to read through the replies, but it is time well-spent.  The interpretation
of the responses is an art form as complex as the act of creating the game.

I might include examples in the survey, to prime the pumps of respondents'
imaginations.  For example, activities that people were looking forward to
doing would include things that are both definitely a part of the game and
definitely not a part of the game.  In World of Warcraft, including playing
a vampire or a mech warrior might be in the list of example activities.

Those are questions to address initial impressions of a game.  For feedback
about longer-term experiences, I'd compose other questions.  But I'd also
include the above set in an incremental fashion.  That is, if the
experiences of the game are staged, then I'd be interested in knowing what
expectations a player has after they have played the first stage or two.  In
stage three or four, did they expect something different than they
encountered?  Pre-game expectations are set by marketing and other sources.
In-game expectations are set by prior play experiences.

JB