I have found a word describing Aquaria's ending

[Alec]

The idea that one side of the brain is thinking in the past and planning for the future, while the other is just living in the moment is interesting.

Be warned that in reality, the brain is a whole lot more complicated. She simplified allot, oversimplified even.

I'm actually not terribly concerned about the reality of it. It sounded generally cool and accurate. And I think its an interesting theme to explore, two different motivations within one being.

[Alec]

Anyways, to respond to the other people above:

Ultimately the idea of independent game development is that you're doing something that means something to yourself. (at the very least, hopefully other people like it as well)

Its hard to get to a point where you're happy with what you've done. (at least for me) Then after that point, you have to release the game, and have everyone else tear it apart.

I think this doesn't bother a lot of people, because, as they would they call it, they have "thick skin". I'm not like that, I generally value other people's opinions on par with my own (which in many cases, proves to be a mistake... as there are many differing opinions) - this makes it difficult to actually like something I'm working on, because somebody else doesn't like it. It becomes something I start to think about how to improve, while staying true to the original idea. Often it ends up being impossible, and this can be quite frustrating.

So yeah, I guess other people would say that I need "thicker skin". But I'm not personally sure if that would be better.

[Ian]

I'm going to take the advice here and ignore complaints that I don't agree with. Then maybe I can actually finish it.

That's pretty much how it's gotta go hehe. Thing is... odds are most people have SOMETHING they don't like about any particular thing. Just because they don't like a certain thing or suggest it should be changed doesn't mean that you should. It sounds like the OP is trying to describe the ending like a quick patch up for an out of control plot line (a la prison break)... but I really disagree with that. If you look back at the story, it makes sense. Even if you weren't given specific clues, you can look back at the fact that you start out looking just to wander around then you KILL A TON OF GODS. You can also look at Naija's internal darkness, such as when she swears revenge on whoever took Li. The fact is that Mia created the darkness within her, and all it took was some leading to build up her destructive potential.

Some criticism is valid, some is wrong, but... neither one means you have to listen to it =P

[Zixinus]

Most game developers don't communicate with their fanbase much. Mostly because they have other stuff to do. I often think however, that its rather due to the fact that they don't experience the fandom first-hand. I presume Alec and Derek doesn't want to see Naija nude or/and doin' it with [unspecified for the sake of sanity].

Personally, its rather interesting to see how people talk and discuss about a piece of art they like.

For example: http://www.stardestroyer.net/Empire/

Stardestroyer.net is the result of the top of ST and SW fandom and about speculation about a hypothetical war between Star Trek universe and Star Wars universe. The guy who made the site is a university-graduated engineer that basis his arguments with the knowledge and academic standard that he learned.

Now, stop there and read that aloud again and think for a second.

A guy is using his university-earned engineering degree to analyse a hypothetical battle between the Federation and the Empire. 

The site also contains essays about science and science fiction in general of course, which can be interesting reading.

We did beta and play testing for the PC version, and we're doing it again for the Mac version.

From what I gather, don't just beta-test. Playtest. Ask the testers questions like "what are you impressions of this level?", "do you find this boss difficult?", "what is the first reaction when you first see a new monster?", "do you find this section tiring or unnecessary or overly silent?" and so on.

By studying the reactions of the playtesters you can gain a much bigger control over the player and/or improve the experience.

I'm actually not terribly concerned about the reality of it. It sounded generally cool and accurate. Smiley And I think its an interesting theme to explore, two different motivations within one being.

If this is an recurring theme for you, then maybe you should look into it a bit. I find that researching and looking deeper into your lines of thought may give more inspiration and ideas then merely letting it grow on its own while making rather interesting conclusions and discoveries about yourself.

Its hard to get to a point where you're happy with what you've done. (at least for me) Then after that point, you have to release the game, and have everyone else tear it apart.

Art is allot like this: at a distance you see intracity, however when you look at it more closely then you see small things and flaws. People will notice them. It speaks of them how they react.

There is a strange love/hate duality sometimes when certain people look at various forms of art. The more moderate Star Trek fans that usually hold an engineering degree often groan when another technobabble plot device is used but still love the series and characters.

They also say that you aren't a fan until you don't try to vaguely justify the errors of flaws of the art you are a fan of (Godo shot first and stuff like that). 

[Alec]

From what I gather, don't just beta-test. Playtest. Ask the testers questions like "what are you impressions of this level?", "do you find this boss difficult?", "what is the first reaction when you first see a new monster?", "do you find this section tiring or unnecessary or overly silent?" and so on.

By studying the reactions of the playtesters you can gain a much bigger control over the player and/or improve the experience.

Yep, we did that. Although I wouldn't ask questions entirely like that, because the last one you have constructed seems to tie into something you hate about the game. But we asked for detailed in-depth feedback, and we got it, including a lot of personal thoughts and reflections on things.

We also thought a lot about how people would react to things in the game, and how the whole game world, story, music, art and sound fit together.

It wasn't like we randomly slapped things together like you assume we did.

[Alec]

We also spent a number of months (3 or more? don't remember exactly) doing this and making changes to the game.

I've talked about this a lot before, but we got feedback and suggestions, some of which didn't make sense, and turned as many as we could into things that would make the game better, in our opinion. We fixed a lot of things that our testers complained about.

So to imply that we didn't do any kind of play testing kind of offends me, tbh.

[Zixinus]

Actually I assumed that you playtested between yourselves.

[Alec]

Actually I assumed that you playtested between yourselves.

We had a google doc set up where we had a few of our developers friends, as well as our non-developer friends picking the game apart. Most notable was Guert, who played the full game through numerous times and wrote detailed logs on his experiences in each section. Steve Swink and Graham Goring also made really important contributions in terms of the design and flow of the game. It took a long time and it was a difficult process, but it made the game better, and we did it in a way that felt like it fit with what we wanted. (i.e. we didn't just implement people's suggestions, we thought about it and discussed over and over until we had a solution that felt right)

Most game developers don't communicate with their fanbase much. Mostly because they have other stuff to do. I often think however, that its rather due to the fact that they don't experience the fandom first-hand. I presume Alec and Derek doesn't want to see Naija nude or/and doin' it with [unspecified for the sake of sanity].

I think in retrospect, yeah, it seems like a mistake to engage too much with it. I think I've probably put way too much value on what other people think and not enough on what I've actually been working on.

[Zixinus]

I've talked about this a lot before, but we got feedback and suggestions, some of which didn't make sense, and turned as many as we could into things that would make the game better, in our opinion. We fixed a lot of things that our testers complained about.

So to imply that we didn't do any kind of play testing kind of offends me, tbh.

To go more on that: I didn't think you didn't do any testing whatsoever. The game does feel polished and I do somehow sense transitions and remaps here and there. I also saw the pictures how Aquaria developed artistically.

I simply didn't read those posts of yours regarding playtesting experience. I don't pay too much attention to this forum. I was simply not aware you went into that level of detail regarding playtesting.

So, yeah, I've found a way to kick myself in to mouth. The fact that my brain feels fizzly doesn't help, I can't quite get a thought straight (in one moment I'm thinking of the social systems of possible neural-interfeces and cyberspace it creates in the other I'm seeing Buck Rogers shitting his pants as he sees the IR burn of a massive alien shit, then back to how would a solar-system wide economy would look like, so yeah).

 Commencing dislodging...

[Gotcha!]

I think in retrospect, yeah, it seems like a mistake to engage too much with it. I think I've probably put way too much value on what other people think and not enough on what I've actually been working on.

I wish more people would listen to their fans and I think you and Derek are awesome for communicating with your fans/customers. So many companies choose not to and they appear harsh and careless to me.
But you do put too much value on what others say in my opinion. Just keep in mind that you can't please everyone and that lots of people talk complete nonsense anyway.
Also keep in mind that satisfied customers are usually the silent ones.
You did an incredible job. End of story.

[inkblob]

So a list of complaints and things to change, if anyone's curious. I'm probably forgetting a lot of things, but here's what's on the top of my head:

1. "I hate Li"

2. "Menu screens suck"

3. "I hate dragging things"

4. "Map System sucks"

5. "The story is too obvious!"

6. "The story is too vague!"

7. "Mia plotline is stupid"

8. "I'm lost, I don't know where to go"

9. "I'm not going to buy the game unless it has widescreen support"

10. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for the Mac"

11. "I'm not going to buy this game unless its for Linux"

12. "Food Sort"

13. "This game is teh gay" - GameTrailers.com

14. "Music is generic / throwaway / by the book" - IGN

it's a funny balance between making a product that suits your vision and satisfies customers, I don't envy you Alec and think you are doing a great job trying to take into account criticisms and your own goals. my first impressions about the complaint list:

1. it's more interesting than anything that Li is not liked so much. for myself it was an initial thing but then I got used to him to the extent that when he was taken away I was miffed enough to go with Naija along for the retribution ride. I think that players feel an affinity and connection towards Naija and that Li is horning in on the action. either way I don't think this is anything necessarily wrong with the game, it's an inherent quality inside that you've reflected back on the player which is close to one of the elusive universal truths.

2. the menu screens are great, only problem I can see is there isn't more of them.

3.  there is some dragging fatigue but, and this is sort of an important in game play issue. if you find yourself doing a lot of fishing and cooking, you probably need a break from the combat or need to stock up for something big that's going to whallop you.  there are lots of nice areas of respite ( some you have to clean out a bit first ) where you can calmly collect your ingredients and nerves. I personally feel this balances the game out just great, sort of how young wolf cubs do a lot of play fighting before tackling the real prey, you do a lot of play fishing before attacking a real kelp forest seahorse. plus if you are not being alert when you cook you might botch up the recipie and make another loaf, which is again just part of it.

4. the new map features you've mentioned sound brilliant!

5. I read a fair whack of scifi/fantasy and see my share of movies. this game had a few things that I completly didn't see coming.  one of my favourite gee whiz, goose bump moments was when Naija first broke through the Veil. that was a perfect instance of game play, momemtum, story, everything.

6. I didn't find it too vague. there were a few things that I was hoping for that didn't happen, like Naija learning how to walk or fly, or more interaction with the older species but the game delivered in a dozen other areas that were unexpected. vagueness was not a problem but could see if someone didn't like having no memory and zero instructions that being daunting? that just means the essential game premise is not for them.

7. I liked the whole Mia storyline and was left curious about her and what her powers could possibly be. lots of good questions raised by the answers given which is great for sequels *kaf*hint*kaf*

8. I hate this already and will never play anything you make again. or will probably think it's just peachy

9. people only buy games unless it has widescreen support?

10.  macs can play games?

11. you can sell software for linux?

12. I've gone on somewhere else on the forum about the way food sorts itself. more frequently used items and recipies tend to percolate to later pages, it has a nice organic method to it.

13. gamespot is the only mainstream site that matters

14. see #13

looking forward to the patch and will happily play through the game again when it's out!

[Glamador]

I put some store by IGN.  I like that they give you the option to look at user reviews and a column of other site's reviews.  Plus I don't like Gamespot's reviewers, accurate as they may be.

[Zixinus]

Most game reviewers forget that they aren't just supposed to give an opinion of a game but some analysis. They are just supposed to tell "the gameplay sucks/rocks/rocks socks" but to tell how and why.

[Jaqvaar]

Sorry, but I'm with Zixinus on this one guys.
I also found certain aspects of the game frustrating. And I also hated Li. And I could probably add to Alec's list of "things to do to keep everybody happy". But I think you guys missed the point.

It would take at least 100 of the world's top computer programmers to create a game that would make me happy, and even then I'd probably find flaws. Similarly, they'd have to repeat the process for each of the thousands of fans worldwide. There are people who love the very aspects I hate. There are people who find the game too hard, and others who find it too easy. I'm sure there's even some who might even like Li! And there are even some who don't like Aquaria at all.

So what can you do? The simple answer is: nothing. Alec, my friend, you have made a wonderful game. You know that, and so do those that have bought it. You did your best. And all of us here liked most of what you did, otherwise we wouldn't even bother registering for this forum. Zixinus is one such person. There's nothing you can or should do about this. When someone gives this game 9/10, stop worrying about what you could do to make it 10/10. Instead, be proud of your job at getting the 9.

I am a creator myself, and have overcome the urge to please them all. (I am a songwriter, even though I have also been involved in making board and video games too). When people don't like my songs, I don't change them. I write what I write. What I feel and what I think. And if I think it's good enough, I sing it. And some people will like it, and others will not. It's all subjective. It's as simple as that. And there's people who don't even like that style of music (just like there's people who like racing games, strategy, or beat-em-ups). And some who like my music, but not particular songs.

There's no way to please them all. So do your best and give it to the world. And your best has certainly been amazing

[RobertWalker]

Probably the hardest thing for someone who creates things that others consume--books, music, software--is the fact that when it goes out there, people have problems with it, and even if you agree with them it's not always feasible to "fix" it. This is especially true with software. People think that because it's software that it's fluid, that it can change easily at any time. In reality it's more like concrete: it's pretty fluid when you first write it, but with time it becomes more and more difficult to change. It's never at a point where it's impossible to change, but when you have to take a jackhammer to the code (and rip apart everything that depends on what you're changing), you have to begin weighing the benefits versus the effort. Sometimes it's just not worth it.

Fortunately, you can take what you've learned and apply it to the next piece of software you write. So every successive project (hopefully) gets better than the last. So Alec and Derek, if you really wanna assuage any bad feelings you might have about how certain things went in Aquaria, I'd say the best way to do it is to get cracking on Aquaria 2!