Getting feedback from players

My group has a routine we do after every session and before we get XP called "Good, Bad, and Ugly". It's what it sounds like, basically... you have to come up with at least one thing about the session that was Good, at least one thing that was Bad, and at least one thing that was Ugly.

Sometimes we play around with the Bad/Ugly parts a little if the session went smoothly (Bad: the cooking of that Inn we are at, Ugly: The Orc's face after we got done mashing it into the ground), but the feedback is generally really helpful. The comments let us know what bits of the session the players found the most fun, and which we thought kinda sucked.

Peace & Luv, Liz

On occasion, I've given my players 10-20 part questionnaires to fill out; the last one being at the end of a 100 session campaign. Many questions can be answered with a brief yes or no answer, though most people jot down a sentence or two while one ex-player once typed out 14 pages worth of answers. I've even passed the questionnaire off to players who left my game in hopes of understanding what made them quit.

I don't want or expect praise in the responses. Praise is nice and all, but it alone doesn't really help me improve. Most players seem okay with the idea and aren't afraid of hurting my feelings, though I wouldn't recommend subjecting players to this process too often; most are happy to be able to just show up and play without an additional hassle.

Jeysie said:

My group has a routine we do after every session and before we get XP called "Good, Bad, and Ugly". It's what it sounds like, basically... you have to come up with at least one thing about the session that was Good, at least one thing that was Bad, and at least one thing that was Ugly.

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I always thought that a simple, two- or three-question questionnaire that they either fill out after the session or send you via email would be best. Stick to very simple questions like:

* What was your favorite moment in the game?
* What was your least favorite moment?
* Is there anything you wish I have done differently?

You can tell a lot about the players just from their favorite and least favorite parts.

An important thing is to make sure that players have a way to give you feedback in a way that's private from the other players. Some people are afraid to give criticism in front of others, because they'll feel awkward and like the bad guy if no one else agrees with their gripes.

Asking for feedback from the group as one entity will probably get you a lot of simple answers that may not necessarily represent the feelings of the individuals. You'll probably get a lot of "me too" responses.

Agreed with the individual questioning. It can be handy to get feedback as a group so you can watch their interactions for signs of trouble in the group (players who won't talk, or only one does, or any bullying) - but for the feedback you're trying to get on yourself - go one on one.

I sometimes play "what did you learn?" Answers like, " well, I learned that half-fiend, troll barbarians suck!", tells me one thing if they didn't die whomping on it. Answers about learning the tricky rules on jumping with a pinned NPC probably means it wasn't the most scintillating time but creativity was in use. "Nothing." means I wasn't engaging enough.

I also give them homework. Things like, make up a character sheet that shows you 12 levels higher. Another one would be, where would this version of you live... draw a map. Design the perfect feat. How did your character come to learn his/her weapon of choice? Write up a scene that showcases your character's perfect skill synergy. The responses tell me they are into their character and gives me a direction for their future. It helps me come up with story ideas that engage their interests.

It becomes easy to tailor events to excite the players.

About 5 years in to my Riveria campaign (meaning, about 2 years after it really got going) I sent out a long survey by e-mail to each player, covering things like pace of play, adventure types, treasure amounts, rules that needed de-bugging, etc.

Not all the responses were positive - I'd have been worried if they were - but what was odd was that a surprising number of the responses tended to cancel out...where someone would say there were too many of adventure type x, someone else would say there weren't enough of the same type, for example.

Guess something was going right, though, as the campaign went another 6+ years after that.

Lanefan

Sorry this took so long to dig up! This evaluation always helped me improve our games (so much so that I still keep some of the evalations that were done years ago). Obviously, change questions as you see fit.




Fathead's Campaign Evaluation

What this is about:

When I create adventures, I try to abide by several rules for constructing compelling stories that will provide a good interactive and dynamic experience. The purpose of this evaluation is to get ideas on what elements in the game you have enjoyed (so that those role-playing experiences can be repeated), what elements you have disliked (so that I can avoid those), and what improvements could be made to increase your involvement and enjoyment of the game.

I take time in constructing what I consider to be an engaging adventure. I ask that you give the same consideration and effort in your answers.

On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being too little, 3 being just right, and 5 being too much), rate the following and provide a brief explanation of what you like or dislike about the campaign (and descriptions of what you’d like to see would be helpful):

1. The amount of verbal descriptions of places, monsters, etc.



2. The amount of combat



3. Thinking, problem solving



4. Number of role playing opportunities



5. Number of life and death situations



6. Use of miniatures



7. Mood, setting



8. Treasure and magic items




QUESTIONS (Please answer these as fully as possible and include examples of likes and dislikes):

1. Do you feel that you are adventuring in a living and dynamic world?



2. Do you feel challenged as an advanced player or do you feel that things are too easy?



3. Do you feel that one character is favored too much?



4. What player do you think plays the best as far as role-playing and overall playing?



5. Which aspect of game play do you enjoy the most?



6. Do you feel that I use any game rules that are useless, not needed, or should not be played with?



7. Am I too lenient in dealing with character screwups?



8. Do I cause the game to move too slowly?



9. Do you feel that your character has the opportunity to be played to his fullest potential?

Doug McCrae said:

I want to become a better GM. Responding to feedback seems like the best way of achieving this. But how to get it? Asking how the game's going or how it could be improved won't work, I think. If my players are anything like me when I'm a player then they'll just BS me to avoid hurting my feelings.

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Good point. If the players don't like what you've done, then they'll either lie to you, or even worse, they'll tell you the truth.

Either way, it's a no-win. I'd say just DM the way you want to, and ask players for suggestions for things they'd like to see (rather than asking them about what you've done).

Shortman McLeod said:

Good point. If the players don't like what you've done, then they'll either lie to you, or even worse, they'll tell you the truth.

Either way, it's a no-win. I'd say just DM the way you want to, and ask players for suggestions for things they'd like to see (rather than asking them about what you've done).

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I disagree with your first sentence (although I like the idea of asking them what they want to see more of - that's a cool way of doing it.)

Why is being told the truth a bad thing? We game to have fun, and if something I'm doing as a DM is making the game less fun than it could be, I want to know about it.