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"Maximizing your audience" != "strengthening your game"

Audience maximization is almost literally regression towards the mean to maximize profit. It implies cutting corners ; but some of these corners are actually making your game stronger, they're giving it its personality.

Think of "Dwarf Fortress", "brogue", or even "Minecraft". What kind of feedback do you expect to get from most players? Better graphics? Real-time play? Would it make the game stronger?

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Minecraft was basically driven by user feedback from the very start, when it was originally released it was a tech demo.

For Dwarf Fortress, I believe most players would want a more understandable user interface and a tutorial, and I honestly believe that would make it a better game.

One general result from designing games is that players tend to be good at knowing what needs improving, but very bad at knowing how to improve it, so it's a good idea to see where they get stuck or frustrated, but then ignore their advice on how to fix it.

Are you sure that pressuring the designer/dev to build what players ask for but not what inspires him will make a better game? Just because players want it doesn't mean the dev can deliver it. Let modders make the skins and tutorials.

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