General suggestions

Hi,

Here are a few general suggestions, about things that bother me :

- First thing I thought upon entering the website, is that the MG_top_name.gif file has a too low compression ratio ^^. When I see that kind of things on websites, I think "unprofessional"... which makes me leave, usually. Moreover the whole upper part seems "stacked".. Actually this also applies to many parts of the website :) I like when there's space between elements.

- I think there are a few alignment problems, independant of the browser used (I usually use firefox 1.5, so I checked with IE6). The "advanced search" gray/blue part on the left is something like 600-700 pixels high (right here, when composing a message), with only the search field on it, while I can see much more on other pages (main page). On the arcadia pages, it's 50-60 pixels high, but I think that one is normal... though I don't quite like the fact that it hides the Arcadia top image. Actually, the gray-left-part seems to be superposed on everything, I really don't like that ^^. Maybe it's not what was intended, if so I can take a screenshot and send it to you, just ask.

- About my registration, I'd have liked a page telling me "Ok, we received your form and are sending you an email right now with your account details". Sometimes you can have internet connection problems, so without this little feedback you wonder whether it worked or not.

- My first impression about the general feel of the front page, is that it lacks pictures. I mean, there's obviously one image for each "new game", but what I want are SCREENSHOTS. Art pieces like the one for "Cosmic Encounter Online" or "Aveyond", are useless to me, a gamer who want an instant idea of what kind of game I'm being presented, WITHOUT needing to read the paragraph associated. The picture should be able to attract my eye, and make me read the additional information if I'm interested; then I click. A mudman spitting water is fun to see, but gives no information. This looks like a webzine frontpage, not a commercial one. // If they are screenshots, bigger pictures would be appreciated ^^ Or alternatively, you could put 2 pics per game : one piece or art/title, and one screenshot.

- Otherwise, the game listing page seems really great to me; I like the little explanation given on mouseover for terms I don't understand, like "Shmup" :); The individual game pages are fine; I had no problem to download a demo, which I'm gonna try right now :)

That's all :)
Amras.

Hey Amras,

Can you elaborate "too low compression"? Do you mean too high compression, in that it's too pixellated?

The "advanced search" bit looks just like I would expect it to, so I'd love to get a screenshot of that. Please email me at marcin@damodred.net. I hear ya about the grey bar ;) We're working on it.

There is a brief confirmation note at the top of the screen after you register. It should be more in-your-face though, I agree there.

Thanks!

Marcin

"My first impression about the general feel of the front page, is that it lacks pictures. I mean, there's obviously one image for each "new game", but what I want are SCREENSHOTS. Art pieces like the one for "Cosmic Encounter Online" or "Aveyond", are useless to me, a gamer who want an instant idea of what kind of game I'm being presented, WITHOUT needing to read the paragraph associated."

I agree. Cute pictures are mostly a waste of space while screenshots are useful for people who like to scan pages looking for particular things, like RPGs or strategy games in my case.

Otherwise I'm digging it so far.

Can you elaborate "too low compression"? Do you mean too high compression, in that it's too pixellated?

Ow sorry, I meant too high of course :) It's pixelated for the "Manifesto Games" text, and not neat/clean enough around the black horizontal lines.. Additionaly, the red color used doesn't match with the one in the "home | my blog | my codes | etc..." bar. I'm actually refering to the whole top bar, not just "mg_top_name.gif", as I just realised that the background and name are two different parts.

I'm sending you a screenshot as soon as I take it and signal the parts that bother me on it :)

As a counter-viewpoint I would argue that it's the mindset that screenshots are everything that is what led us down the path to where the mainstream game industry is today. Where a game had to look as visually stunning as possible, and you don't find out the gameplay is blah until you've shelled out $50 and the hype machine has moved onto the next sucker.

One nice thing about the 80's is that the box covers and illustrations gave you the idea of the game, the atmosphere, the excitement, and worked on your imagination. Then when you got the game itself, since the in-game graphics weren't amazing, the game had to succeed or fail on the merits of the gameplay, it's functionality, and how it stimulated and held your imagination.

I think having both are good. But to use some examples: Doom 3 looked stunning, but the gameplay got real old and lame fast. A classic like Empire used illustrative art on the box cover and to "sell" you on the game, which were not screenshots. When you played it, the in-game screens were rather blocky and low-fidelity. But wow, the gameplay. That, and many other games of the era, succeed on the gameplay. It would suck to turn away people who get turned off by a glance at a screenshot.

I see what you're saying about getting a quick feel for the genre or mechanics of game. A screenshot can often give you that. However, they do have screenshots up currently, for almost every game that I can see. So I'm not sure why you were concerned about not getting to quickly see a screenshot: they're right there on the game's main page. A thumbnail, then in one click you can see it full-size. There is also a notion of minimizing information overload and bandwidth when someone is just taking a shallow, initial browse through the site.

Mike Kramlich
Groglogic -- check out Shattered Stars and conquer the galaxy today
ps. and yes, my screenshots probably suck, and I'm darn proud of it ;)

I think I found a bug in the site. I posted my previous post above as a reply to a comment about wanting screenshots to be more emphasized. After I submitted it, it showed up in a thread about pixelation. Bizarre.

Mike Kramlich
Groglogic -- check out Shattered Stars and conquer the galaxy today

I think it's the same thread, only different messages :)

I pointed out the lack of screenshots on the -front- page of the website, not the entire website. While there are indeed screenshots on the game page, how do you think I'm gonna reach the page of a game I know nothing about yet ? Well, 9.5 times out of 10, either from the front page, or from the page where games are listed.

On both pages, you have a lot of games listed. I need to be attracted by something to click on a specific game rather than another. I know that illustrative art tells me nothing about gameplay, while screenshots can give me a glimpse of the gameplay. Why I'd prefer screenshots is then obvious :)

I understand why you're worried that the evil screenshots may lure us to rely exclusively on cute visuals to chose a game. But that, I think, is a matter of what kind of player I am, and what kind of games I am looking for. It's up to Me.

Regards,
Michael