Balancing Player Input and Developer Vision?

Chris_Jefferson writes "I work on a simple iPhone puzzle game called Combination. Probably the most frequent request I get from users is for an in-game hint system, to help them out on the harder problems. However, when I tried beta testing such a system, almost every user would just hammer the hint button as soon as they got stuck for longer than 30 seconds, spoiling (I believe) their enjoyment of the game. Should games programmers decide they know what's best for users, and not give them features they are crying out for? Has anyone ever seen a good middle-ground, where users are helped, but can't just skip their way through the entire game?" This question can be generalized for just about any game that's being continually developed — where should the game's designer draw the line between responding to feedback and maintaining what they feel is is the greater source of entertainment?

Comments

What is your goal?

[drinkypoo]

If your goal is to make the most fun game for you, then do whatever you want. If your goal is to make money, put in the features that will sell the game. Why are you even asking this question? Do we really have to ask slashdot for common sense now? I thought it was for questions that smart people can't answer for themselves with two seconds of thought?