preliminary analysis

A key topic in my interviews was mediation between design, development and use of the video game. That is: how design decisions are negotiated in relation to end-users' needs or, put it differently: how gaming practices and design/development decisions influence each other. Since I conducted most of the interviewees with contributing users, the answers reflect their point of view, rather than non-contributing users' one.

The departing point was this FAQ, which I noticed some weeks ago:

Why doesn't Wesnoth have my favourite feature?

Because we are building this game for ourselves, to suit our own preferences. We're not building the game for you, in large part because this is our hobby, not our job; whether you like it or not is immaterial to us. You may wonder, then, what the point is of soliciting ideas, as we do on the forum. We, the developers, have certainly come up with many good ideas on our own, but our players often do as well, and generally ones we don't think of ourselves. If a player comes up with an idea we like, we might implement it. Not because they asked for it, but because of its own merits as an addition to our game. [...]