I would try to produce a quick prototype of the gameplay for each of them, and then work more on the one that is the most fun.  It's hard to judge a one-sentence description of an idea.

I feel it unfair to just downvote and not to give a reason.

I believe that a developer should listen to the players but shouldn't depend on players to make the game. It isn't even like I wasn't willing to give you idea a chance but when I went to the voting site I saw 3 options, none of them that interest me.

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rather than just throwing out my random ideas and believing it is what everyone else wants

The thing is you are just now throwing 3 random ideas. It doesn't fix your problem and in some ways only makes it worse.

It feels to much like when a artist can't decide on keeping the line drawing or keeping the color drawing. The same way I think you had a few ideas, but couldn't decide on what to make.

I still like your game idea, it is unique enough that it will stand out among other voxel games.

17 hours ago, Scouting Ninja said:

I feel it unfair to just downvote and not to give a reason.

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I greatly appreciate your response! Anonymous down votes don't give me any actionable feedback for improvement, so I appreciate you taking the time to write out that feedback.
 

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I believe that a developer should listen to the players but shouldn't depend on players to make the game. It isn't even like I wasn't willing to give you idea a chance but when I went to the voting site I saw 3 options, none of them that interest me.

1

Currently I feel any chance of success is completely at the mercy of the online community in general. I know exactly what I want to do, and yet I have seen amazing and talented developers get scathing reviews due to Reddit trolls or toxic elements of the online community.  I can't help but feel some of that malice really hurts those developers. I am trying to find a way to avoid it myself.   

Any suggestions?

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The thing is you are just now throwing 3 random ideas. It doesn't fix your problem and in some ways only makes it worse.

It feels to much like when a artist can't decide on keeping the line drawing or keeping the color drawing. The same way I think you had a few ideas, but couldn't decide on what to make.

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I also would have liked to provided more context to this entry, however seeing attitudes like TL;DR I thought it best just to ask the question and respect peoples time.

How can I handle this better next time Scouting Ninja?

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I still like your game idea, it is unique enough that it will stand out among other voxel games.

Are you talking about the entire idea for the complete game series, or one of the mini games specifically?

Thank you so much again for the feedback! I look forward to seeing your reply to my questions.

Respectfully,

Cody

11 hours ago, Cody.Rauh said:

Any suggestions?

I think of games like pizzas. There are 4 main category of mechanics: Cheesy mechanics, Topping mechanics, Sauce mechanics and Base mechanics.

The problem with asking players what they want is the same as asking a person what pizza they want. They will tell you a topping and just assume you will adjust the cheese and other components in correlation.

Flying a Drone. - A topping mechanic. It goes above what you have and rounds the flavour.

16Bit Canvas to share images with friends. - That is one cheesy mechanic. People like it but it is too much flavour to constantly enjoy.

Swimming in a maze and collecting. - Sauce mechanic. Not much on it's own but the code often expands the game possibilities, enhancing other flavours.

You plan to use all 3 and your game as a base. Yet if you do this now, chances are people will think of you as just another developer: presenting them with a dialogue choice that has the same result no matter what they choose.

So if you want the players to feel that there choice matters. Discard the two other ideas after the poll, make their choices matter.

Now that you are thinking of the possibility of losing two designs. That one you don't want to lose, that one is the one I would have suggested; it's the one made for your game.

I would never have suggested playing with the players even before the game is ready. Yet you have engaged them, now you need to entertain them even before the game starts. What you do from here will impact your game greatly.

12 hours ago, Cody.Rauh said:

Are you talking about the entire idea for the complete game series, or one of the mini games specifically?

Your entire idea is good, it feels well designed. Every little bit you have shown looks like it was well designed; so either you have thought this out or you have talent for design.

5 hours ago, Scouting Ninja said:

You plan to use all 3 and your game as a base. Yet if you do this now, chances are people will think of you as just another developer: presenting them with a dialogue choice that has the same result no matter what they choose.

So if you want the players to feel that there choice matters. Discard the two other ideas after the poll, make their choices matter.

 

I think this is one of those things that was a miscommunication due to lack of context on my part. My apologies for the lack of clarity, the purpose was never to eliminate any of the mini games. It was to prioritize the one that people wanted most, first.

Ideally after the winner is developed, then it is replaced with a new option, and then players would get to once again vote one which one they see developed, until all the mini games are developed.

It isn't about elimination as much as timeline and priority.

What is so important is that each mini-game while acting as a stand alone introduces a new fragment of the overall universe concept. This is also done in a fashion to allow me to develop and build my skill level as a C# dev to ensure when finish completing the mini-games I will be prepared to take on the development of a larger more encompassing game.
 

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I would never have suggested playing with the players even before the game is ready. Yet you have engaged them, now you need to entertain them even before the game starts. What you do from here will impact your game greatly.

If I understand you correctly, when you say "playing with the players" do you feel the poll manipulates the voter/player? 

For me the goal is to do something suitable to my skill level, at the moment and grow the game as I grow.

I believe many people start at... lets make a HUGE OPEN WORLD SANDBOX RPG... I am like, lets make a tiny little single level project. I would much prefer 12oz of strawberry lemonade, opposed to 50 gallons of salty sea water for the purpose of drinking.

 

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Your entire idea is good, it feels well designed. Every little bit you have shown looks like it was well designed; so either you have thought this out or you have talent for design.

Thank you, I greatly appreciate it! I believe it is a mix of both, and my heart is in it, even after 13 years of work, I believe that rare quality will be a major component for improving the chance of success in today's age of impulse.

Better to fail 1000 times and finally succeed, then try once and fail and give up. 

52 minutes ago, Cody.Rauh said:

I think this is one of those things that was a miscommunication due to lack of context on my part.

You did mention it at the top. My apologies, I thought I explained clearly. I am very bad with words. 

Let me try this: I don't think you can or should even try, to give players the game they want; your game design is good.

1 hour ago, Cody.Rauh said:

If I understand you correctly, when you say "playing with the players" do you feel the poll manipulates the voter/player? 

Yes, but you seem to have taken it from the wrong place. As a developer we always play with the players, to keep them entertained.

What I meant with "playing with the players" is that you now started a voting minigame with them. This is just more work for you because this will impact what they think of you and your game.

1 hour ago, Cody.Rauh said:

Better to fail 1000 times and finally succeed, then try once and fail and give up. 

Good solid words. I wish more developers was this willing to keep trying

I am interested in your game, even if not for the reason I originally thought. I wish you luck.

3 minutes ago, Scouting Ninja said:

Let me try this: I don't think you can or should even try, to give players the game they want; your game design is good.

 

I really appreciate that, more than you. That feedback probably made my whole day actually, lol.

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What I meant with "playing with the players" is that you now started a voting minigame with them. This is just more work for you because this will impact what they think of you and your game.

I never thought it would be perceived that way, so once again I greatly appreciate the advice. 

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I am interested in your game, even if not for the reason I originally thought. I wish you luck.

Please feel free to keep checking in on the blog or if you like lurk in the discord server: https://discord.gg/vqHCW8U would be great having you around for your insights!