In Weeks 3 and 4, you learned about both giving and receiving feedback. If you missed either of those assignments or if you’d like a quick refresher, take a few minutes now to read (or re-read) those pages.
For this week, I’d like to zoom in on a specific strategy (or set of strategies) that you might find useful: WWW: Wow – Wonder – What if…? Having a mnemonic like WWW can be a good way to help you focus when writing feedback. Next week I’ll present another useful strategy (TAG: Tell, Ask, Give). Then, in Week 7, you’ll start giving feedback on actual projects.
So, this week’s assignment has two parts: first, you will review the components of WWW, and then you will practice by leaving detailed comments on some stories. These feedback comments need to be longer and more detailed than the blog comments you’ve been leaving previously, and if you use the WWW strategy, you will not have any trouble writing those longer comments.
WWW 1: Wow!
Wow! Let the author know if/when they achieved any “wow” moment(s) when you were totally engaged with their ideas. The “wow” factor is about being really connected with the game in some way; that might be suspense or curiosity or satisfaction or humour or fear, etc. — it depends on the game. Any strong connection is a good connection. And remember, this is not about generic praise; instead, you are sharing your own experience as a reader of the game idea, zooming in on specific details:
- The part about the dream made me very curious about what would happen. I knew the dream was some kind of omen, and it was cool to see how the plot ended up echoing the dream’s symbols. especially the part about the fire.
- I thought it was hilarious when your lady “Odysseus” met the male “sirens” in Rocky Point. That was a totally laugh out loud moment! I never thought about male “sirens” before, and you really made me laugh with that.
- I was so sad when the queen died! You made me really care about her like a real person, and I was caught by surprise when the king betrayed her like that. That is the part of the story I will remember most.
WWW 2: I Wonder…
I wonder… Another great feedback strategy is to ask questions. Maybe there is something you did not understand about the game; just ask! You can also ask questions that go beyond the game, based on anything you felt curious about while you were reading/viewing. Here are some examples of specific questions that could be helpful to the creator:
- I understood why the hero had to fill the coffin with gold coins, but I couldn’t figure out how he could actually manage to carry something that heavy. Can you find a way to explain how he was able to do that?
- The character of the aunt was intense! Was there something in her past that made her so desperate to get revenge in such a bloodthirsty way? Did her brother even suspect that she would be such a vengeful person?
- Was there a reason why the two brothers both decided to go to the same place to seek their fortunes? That was something I could not figure out from the story, but it seemed like there must have been some kind of reason for that.
WWW 3: What if…?
What if…? Asking “what if?” is a way you can make suggestions to the creator, including suggestions for revisions or changes to the game that you think might make it stronger. Explaining your ideas with “if” or “what if” or “if you want” can be a good way to share your ideas while still respecting the creator’s own choices. Here are some examples:
- What if you left out the part where the boyfriend checked all the windows one by one…? You could maybe leave that out if you want to tighten up the story and make it more focused and intense.
- You didn’t say anything about what he heard while he was out there in the graveyard, so I was thinking what if there were sounds like the wind blowing or branches creaking or something like that.
- You might see what happens if you use a bigger font or if you separated the story into some paragraphs. That could make the story easier to read on the screen.
Now… practice!
To practice your commenting skills, you will find TWO game ideas in people’s blogs (two different people, one each) and leave specific, detailed comments on them. Unlike the usual blog comments which are meant to be more fun and social (like a conversation you might have in class), these comments are different: you are providing actual writing feedback that should help the writer to improve their writing.
Comment length. Each story comment should be 150 words minimum. And don’t worry: if you are focusing on specific details and using the WWW strategies, you will have plenty to say! That’s why it is good to have a strategy like WWW to rely on; it can help you in providing different kinds of feedback.
How to choose the stories: For this assignment, you will be choosing the games you want to comment on, so take some time to find games you really enjoyed and want to comment on. Use the Class Directory for the class you are in, and click on the name to access the blogs and see the game ideas or view the RSS feed of appropriate post for your peers.
When you are done providing feedback on 2 game idea blogs, you are ready to complete the Gradebook.
DECLARATION:
| PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: I have read the information about WWW feedback strategies. I have chosen TWO games and left a detailed comment (150 words min.) on each one. |
