Fallout lead Tim Cain wonders if "gamers know what they like" and reckons feedback is much better when it's specific and focuses on what you want

gamesradar.com:

Cannonballing into a deep developer discussion, original Fallout mastermind Tim Cain asks if "gamers know what they like" in a new video exploring player feedback and preferences. One conclusion he draws is that, no matter what you look for in games, "it would be far better if you said exactly what it is you want instead of just saying what it is you don't want."

Riffing on similar remarks from Game of Thrones author George R.R. Martin, Cain agrees that "people love to talk about what they hate" – a type of feedback that has become more prominent over the years, in his view. "I totally understand that rage bait gets more clicks," he says, but this "doesn't really explain forums or comment sections where the people who are leaving the comments have no stake in how many people read their comment. But still you find that complaints about features are on the rise, and constructive feedback saying 'I wish they had done this instead' or 'I like this in my games' is on decline."

Cain goes on to say "I see people complaining about features they can absolutely, 100% ignore." He singles out "100% cosmetic-only microtransactions" and the pushback they may get even though they don't affect gameplay (though, I think he misses some counterarguments regarding pricing, free player expression, intrusive promotions, or RNG).

Fast travel comes up as another example of contradictory player behavior, and Dragon's Dogma 2 comes to mind here with its stance on "boring" games. Cain reckons some people can't help but fast travel in certain games even if it worsens their experience. "They would do it even when non-fast travel rewards them by giving them fun encounters or new location discovery," he says, and might argue that "it's the designer's fault" and the feature shouldn't be there at all. I'm also reminded of the classic locomotion problem where players will spam dodge to move around if it's faster than just running, even if it feels dumb. It's me, I'm players.

"If you just say you