In the “Olden Dayes of Yore,” gaming was pretty predictable. You’d head over to your buddy’s house where they’d set up a card table in the basement. The cheese puffs were flying, the caffeinated beverages were plentiful and cold, and you hammered out 6 or more hours of games with your buddies of dubious quality at best. We all deemed this was good because it was all there was out there for gaming experiences and, let’s face it, we were all young and didn’t know better.
How times have changed. Now, roleplaying games such as Dungeons & Dragons have gone mainstream. It has also been accepted as a craft if not an art form in many circles, with YouTube channels and books dedicated to improving the game you run for your friends. Plus, it has become easier than ever for people to find games (and leave yours), and even to see how expert streaming dungeon masters create vivid and memorable experiences. Matt Mercer effect, anybody? (No slam intended on Matt. I’ve met him, and he is honestly a great guy.)
The problem with these self-improvement strategies is that, while valid, they aren’t tailored to you and how you can grow in your own style and art. Like impressionist paintings, advice for one artist doesn’t transfer easily to another.
This is where individualized feedback becomes central to building your expertise. A savvy game master learns effective ways to solicit the opinions of their players. Once honest feedback is gained, your best game masters figure out how to utilize it to make their own games better. This article is tailored toward that game master that wants to take their games to the next level, with the willingness to put in a little effort for an awful lot of reward.
How to Solicit Feedback
The first step in improving your game mastering with feedback is getting feedback. It isn’t always easy to get quality feedback for several reasons, so knowing ways to maximize the chances of actionable opinions matters.
How do you know when feedback is quality? Good opinions from your players will have the following things baked in.
- Honest. Good feedback needs to be honest. Honesty is a tough quality to get from people for so many reasons too. Some people falsely equate harshness with honesty (as a therapist, I can tell you if you feel this way, it is a HUGE no-no in your relationships, so STOP IT). Some people find it hard to be honest for fear of hurting your feelings too, and feedback like this can be just as useless to a game master looking to improve.
- Specific. Good feedback needs to point to exact things that were great or need improvement. What was done needs to be described clearly, and what is desired should be as well.
- Constructive. Good feedback needs to be useful in building new skills and mastery, giving ideas of where to improve and perhaps ideas on how.
- Timely. Good feedback should be given as close to the defined event as possible. If you deliver it too late, its efficacy dwindles.
- Positive AND Negative. Many people think that feedback must point out what was wrong, but it is usually more important to point out what was right. If somebody eliminates all the good things about their storytelling to attempt a fix for one shortfall, the art and individuality of the game master is lost.
Once you have identified what goes into good feedback, it’s time to ask for feedback. For many people, this can be the hardest step to take. It can feel uncomfortable to ask for the honest opinions of others, especially following a session where you aren’t as confident how well you did. However, to get the best feedback, you MUST ask. I make it a point in my campaigns to remind players they can leave honest feedback on games I run, and I give multiple ways for players to leave feedback however they find most comfortable. This includes:
- Face to face, after session. This can happen immediately after session, or they can request a one-on-one meeting on a later date to chat.
- Email and direct message. I share my socials and contacts with my players, so they can send me a note with their ideas and thoughts any time.
- Feedback Forms. I run predominantly on Start Playing Games, as well as at some conventions and trade shows as a guest of honor. Start Playing Games provides a standardized way for BOTH kinds of players to say publicly what they thought about my game. This might seem intimidating at first, but honestly, it holds me accountable to my craft and to the gamers I might meet. Plus, most gamers aren’t jerks who will rating-bomb you just because they can.
When asking for feedback, it helps to say what you are looking for. I ask for specific, actionable things the players notice. I also say it’s often more important to point out what you like than what you don’t like, because the former is what really takes the game up a notch. I tell players I read and reflect on all feedback (and I keep myself honest and do that), so it isn’t a waste of their time to share it. Lastly, I remind players that it helps other players find me and my games if they take a few moments to say what they liked and what they would like more of. This helps me get feedback I can actually use to become a better game master.
How to Use Feedback
Once you receive feedback, you need to know how to best use it. This requires some quiet, free time and a willingness to set aside your ego.
First, you need to engage with the feedback using an open mind. It is very easy to become defensive if you receive any sort of critique especially, so it becomes important to let down your guard during this exercise. It isn’t a slam on you or your art if anybody finds something they don’t like, any more than it devalues you for a player to most appreciate a quality in your art you’ve hardly considered. The goal is improvement in this process, not ego.
Second, you need to make an effort to understand the feedback. Many times, the feedback is specific and clear enough that you can easily do this. When the feedback isn’t, it can help to reach out to your player and ask what they meant by their feedback. If you do so, you need to communicate openly and not defensively, thanking the person for taking the time to say what they think. Otherwise, you could lose the truth in the message.
Third, you need to reflect on the validity of the feedback. All feedback (even the really mean stuff) has a kernel of truth in there. You need to find that kernel and truly consider it if you are going to improve. I keep a list of these kernels by my workspace to reflect upon during breaks or during session planning. Things that emerge more than once gain more weight in my consideration.
Finally, you need to set goals based on the feedback. In many workplaces, you hear people talk about SMART goals. If you aren’t aware, a good goal should have the following characteristics.
- S is for specific. Your goal should state very clearly what you are looking to improve.
- M is for measurable. What way will you measure your success, so you can track progress?
- A is for achievable. Don’t set goals that are too difficult at this time in your development. Alternatively, don’t set goals with too little strive. Pick that happy medium.
- R is for relevant. Ensure your goal links back to what you are wanting to improve.
- T is for time. Set a date where you wish to evaluate your success (or progress toward the goal if the goal isn’t met).
Utilizing good feedback in this way will help you make maximum gains with the thoughtful opinions of your players.
How Start Playing Games Incorporates Feedback
As a platform, Start Playing Games offers their game masters a number of excellent tools they can use to improve their games. If you are already a game master on the platform, you should familiarize yourself with them (as I have). If you are considering coming to the platform, knowing about this helpful feedback should help you make up your mind.
Most obviously, players can leave feedback on your games. All feedback has two sides. Players leave public comments which any other players can read about you. Good feedback sells your games to other players, and I always give shoutouts in my campaigns when players take the time to leave it. Players also leave private comments at the same time which I really appreciate because this is often where the heartfelt messages come to me.
Start Playing Games also provides you other feedback, including conversion statistics (how many players come back game after game to play with you), as well as the timeliness of responses in chat to help you know how attentive you are to your players.
Worthy Mention - Growing Your DM Style through Creating Feedback
While this isn’t traditional feedback, it deserves mention. If you want to learn how to run your games better, play with a tenured game master. Leave feedback for them about what you liked, which in turn will give you ideas of how to add things you like to your own game mastering!
Jonathan Connor Self-Gonzalez (he/him) is “The Healer DM,” a therapist, gaming personality, and experienced TTRPG creative with over 30 years telling tales in the hobby. You can learn more about Connor on his webpage or you can also play with Connor as your gamemaster.
