Want to help with the new AG site?

Would this include the Quest Database?

Even if it doesn't, I would love to see an update to the main site.

can we have the old forum theme? so far all of the ones available suck, no offense intended tho... id use the Nintendo one but (refer to edit) just ain't user friendly... and the other themes are just freaky.

edit: i don't like white surrounding the gray middle... it just hurts my eyes... maybe make it a gray or something?

I'm interested in helping out with whatever. *sends PM*

franpa wrote:can we have the old forum theme? so far all of the ones available suck, no offense intended tho... id use the Nintendo one but (refer to edit) just ain't user friendly... and the other themes are just freaky.

edit: i don't like white surrounding the gray middle... it just hurts my eyes... maybe make it a gray or something?

It still baffles me the claims of a lighter theme hurting eyes, however I already stated in another thread that I will be offering a darker version of the nintendo theme soon.

having brightness surround darkness puts focus on the darkness more and causes my eyes to strain... if a darker theme is coming then thats all good.

The gray of the old one was actually really good. It reduces eye strain without going to the whole "dark spectrum"

oooo... it looks like you darkened the white slightly... much better now 😊 (unless my eyes are deceiving me)

How much/often do you want a review writer to write about. Do you want reviews of classic games strictly, remakes of classic games, or what? I'm interested, but I'd like to know more. I've been thinking about writing reviews of classic games lately, but I need to know the level of involvement I'll have to put forth, seeing as I'm on the edge of two major field problems and a deployment where I won't have much along the lines of internet access or time until after I get to Iraq. I really would like to contribute...seeing as I haven't had much hand in anything around here since I joined.

I'm going to focus on the Nintendo systems only for now.
Mainly the older stuff.
NES, SNES, and 64.
Although wii and cube are there.

I may go SNES and NES initially just to keep it simple., until we amass a good amount of content for them.

Is there a formal application process for this, or do people basically just say "I'm in!" and we hope for the best?

I was all for the AGN news team idea a few months back, but of course nobody was interested in actually taking charge or heaven forbid, letting someone who actually wanted to take charge, take charge. But since you're backing it publicly, I'm willing to throw my name into the hat.

Do you have any suggestions as to what sort of columns you'd like to see? After all, simply letting us loose on the entire body of the NES and SNES library is dangerously vague. Such a lack of direction is a sure alibi for apathy and procrastination.

Not only that, but isn't it difficult to review games for old systems without the use and endorsement of roms? It doesn't bother me personally, but it's always seemed to me that AGN has had something of an anti-rom policy. If you're okay with it, and the only uncrossable line is actually linking to files, disregard this paragraph.

I have some doubts, I'll admit, though they're mostly based on the failed attempts of the past. As I said before, if you're backing it this time, I'm willing to put a little faith into the project. Count me in.

{DSG}DarkRaven wrote: Not only that, but isn't it difficult to review games for old systems without the use and endorsement of roms? It doesn't bother me personally, but it's always seemed to me that AGN has had something of an anti-rom policy. If you're okay with it, and the only uncrossable line is actually linking to files, disregard this paragraph.

or something like that...

why would AGN have to endorse the use of ROMs?

franpa wrote:why would AGN have to endorse the use of ROMs?

How else would we go about reviewing anything but the most popular NES games, which are most likely the ones (if any) that people will still have on hand? Reviewing games requires playing them. Playing them requires owning them or having access to the rom.

For instance, I could review Crystalis, a curious action RPG for the NES, but unless I scour e-bay at the right time and pay a ridiculous price, I'm stuck playing the rom. And pretty much nobody is going to pay $50+ for some old NES cart that may or may not be good in order to review it for AGN.

It was just a minor concern, anyway.

{DSG}DarkRaven wrote:How else would we go about reviewing anything but the most popular NES games, which are most likely the ones (if any) that people will still have on hand? Reviewing games requires playing them. Playing them requires owning them or having access to the rom.

For instance, I could review Crystalis, a curious action RPG for the NES, but unless I scour e-bay at the right time and pay a ridiculous price, I'm stuck playing the rom. And pretty much nobody is going to pay $50+ for some old NES cart that may or may not be good in order to review it for AGN.

It was just a minor concern, anyway.

I own Crystalis. Got it back when it was brand new for NES.

I always understood that linking and asking for ROMs was the only thing against the rules. It seems like playing games on emulators has always been talked about, maybe not endorsed but, not against the rules. I may be wrong but, I don't see anything wrong with doing reviews using ROMs, even if we don't endorse them. Its done all the time at other websites without any legal reprocussions, even on more obscure games that aren't really available to buy.

A few questions and ideas to add to the table, if I may?

Q: How will this review process work? Will there be separate forums to post in which will be automatically transferred News-Style to the frontpage?

Q: Will it work randomly, or will there be a set series of games that need to be reviewed? I take it it's far from random, as the systems are already old as .. well, the NES eras. 😛 Because otherwise there's not much actual motivation to post a review about them unless you had just played it and were either very excited about it or very disappointed about it.

S(uggestion): In order to get more reviews, rather than assigning certain people to be on the review team, why not allow the whole forum to be able to write a review? There would certainly be more of them, due to the increased variety of people playing old games and being able to post a review. Thing is, you may want to put a "Moderators Preview" on it so you don't get any funky reviews (Or Spambots. O.o ) on it. 😛

I know by now I am gonna sound like an old broken machine for bringing this up again but nobody seems to care that the Zelda Classic questdatabase is already almost a year out of order , in that time a few real good custom quests are released and you can't even get them here on the world main ZC board , maybe thats more interesting for the people here then reviews on old Nes snes and whatever games .
First fix whats broken before you come up with all the other stuff :uhoh:

On the contrary I do care, and have a few things in the works to take care of the issue.

Appreciate the concern though.

Q: How will this review process work? Will there be separate forums to post in which will be automatically transferred News-Style to the frontpage?

Q: Will it work randomly, or will there be a set series of games that need to be reviewed? I take it it's far from random, as the systems are already old as .. well, the NES eras. 😛 Because otherwise there's not much actual motivation to post a review about them unless you had just played it and were either very excited about it or very disappointed about it.

S(uggestion): In order to get more reviews, rather than assigning certain people to be on the review team, why not allow the whole forum to be able to write a review? There would certainly be more of them, due to the increased variety of people playing old games and being able to post a review. Thing is, you may want to put a "Moderators Preview" on it so you don't get any funky reviews (Or Spambots. O.o ) on it. 😛

I like the idea of allowing anyone to submit, but make them be reviewed, and I believe that is the way I'm going to go.
Disregard sending me PMs.

Okay. Anyone can write, all submissions are reviewed. Sounds fine. I wrote up a review this morning. Who do I submit it to?

War Lord wrote:I like the idea of allowing anyone to submit, but make them be reviewed, and I believe that is the way I'm going to go.
Disregard sending me PMs.

This sounds pretty cool. If you are looking for people to review submissions I would be interested in helping out with that. I'd like to give a little back to this site somehow.

Are we restricted to game reviews? I mean, I could(and would like to) write a column/articles on other topics.

erm2003 wrote:This sounds pretty cool. If you are looking for people to review submissions I would be interested in helping out with that. I'd like to give a little back to this site somehow.

Yeah, me too. 😊 I've always got a free hour before classes to do whatever, and I usually spend it on AGN anyway.

... That is, unless you're accepting applications via PM, which can get bothersome as It may be expected.

Amaster wrote:Are we restricted to game reviews? I mean, I could(and would like to) write a column/articles on other topics.

Hoping this has not already been posted...if you guys want to review the NES games, I have a good ebay listing for you.

http://cgi.ebay.com/NES-Nintendo-EVERY-GAME-EVER-MADE-670-LOT-Licensed_W0QQitemZ110083483658QQihZ001QQcategoryZ62053QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Anybody got a quarter of a million dollars?

ctrl-alt-delete wrote:
Anybody got a quarter of a million dollars?

Me, but I'm saving up for one of those cars that turns into a speedboat. Another 50k and you nerds will never see me again!

Until I run out of gas and sink, that is.

I like the idea of writing other articles too, and it might be a good idea to either have the specific forum moderators be the proofreaders or to select specific people to moderate topics for specific forums. A General Entertainment review reviewer, for example, would proofread movie/TV reviews, etc.

The question is still on the table about where the articles will be stored and/or how they will be posted. The idea of a separate forum came to mind, but since the idea is to generate discussion (I gather), this would only serve to deaden other forums.

Specifically separating the suggested game reviews from the rest of General Gaming might be a good idea, though whether or not a subforum would serve this purpose best is not up to me. On the one hand, we have a lot of different forum groups, and suggesting more would probably deter casual forumgoers (overwhelming?). On the other hand, placing them in a subforum might be akin to burying them, and they might go completely unnoticed.

I still have that review I wrote sitting on my desktop, waiting to be posted, by the way...

I suggest other article ideas only because of two reasons, mainly being...

1.) I am a much better article writer than review writer

and the one that applies to the whole site

2.) There are a MILLION sites out there with game reviews. We need some uniuqe content.

um, what IS the main site for armageddon games? doesnt www.armageddon.net take us to the forums?

is it one of the following sites?

www.zeldaclassic.com
www.shatteredearth.com

franpa wrote:doesnt www.armageddon.net take us to the forums?

Well first it's www.armageddongames.net. 😊 Go there. Watch carefully. There is a redirect. The direct address for the forums now is www.armageddongames.net/forums. So if I had to take a guess, it will be accessed via the main site link.

ah k, so a site is being added... thus making it no longer just a forum?

We've always had a site, back in the day there was a lot of crap on it, but I think after a host switch or we got hacked or something (I can't remember) the main page was gone and never really came back.

(Sweet, Amaster, your avatar is Edanna from Myst 3. 😉)

I'm enjoying all these suggestions. What really needs done, perhaps a little later down the road, is a revamping of ZC.com. I'm not sure if this is what was meant when War Lord said "After this is complete the project sites should be receiving an overhaul as well."

It isn't more important than the revamping of the AGN site, but it truly needs to be tended to, as Rocksfan said. Put some new, fresh people in it, get it going, you know.

And also, perhaps the forum's ranking system's stars should be fixed. :shrug:

One of my major precedents that I am aiming for as a staff member is getting everyone involved. Every single person has something that they are good at...something they can bring to the table...something that can help improve AGN. There are only so many staff members, and I personally do not have time or money to submit a review on every piece of media that hits the shelf. Every single person can contribute in one way or another, and I want that to be the mindset, which is why I am implementing different ideas where everyone can be involved. With that being said...

Have you played a videogame recently that you would like to review? Whether it was Pacman on an arcade 20 years ago, or World of Warcraft on a PC today, AGN and the rest of the world would like to hear what you think! One of the significant problems with reviews today is that they are all the opinions of the same people...and they are all controlled by money. For example, an editor of a big online game company that loves war games is probably not going to give a great score to a game like Super Princess Peach, not to mention the fact that a lot of his funding comes from the game companies. Therefore, he is almost obligated to give good scores to games that he may not even like. Do you really think you will ever see an editor of Nintendo Power say that a Nintendo game was really bad?

By allowing a vast community with very different opinions to review games, this problem can be solved. So, if you would like to review a game, follow this simple template and pm me with your review. All points will be on a 1-10 scale. After the scale is brought together, I will average it out according to its level of importance, and an overall score will be given. Remember, do your best to avoid comparing it to other games, unless it is a sequel or prequel. For example, do not write that the graphics were bad in Super Mario Brothers because they did not look like Halo 2.

Plot-How was the storyline of the game? Did the setting accurately portray the game itself? Was the character development satisfactory to you? What was the level of replay value that you associate with the game? Did the opening draw you in, and the ending give you a sense of closure? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the plot?

Graphics-Did the graphic style fit with the game well? Did the images of the characters match their personalities? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the graphics?

Sound-What did you particularly enjoy about the music in the game? Did the sound effects match up with the action that created them? On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate the sound?

Once a review has been submitted, I reserve the right to edit the piece to fix any errors. The review will then become intellectual property of Armageddon Games, and will not be allowed to be used in any way without Warlord's permission. If a review has already been submitted for a game and you disagree, please submit a follow-up review and it will be posted as well. We would like to get as many opinions as possible, so that none of the reviews are partial. If I enjoy your submission, I may ask you to join a team of people to generate news and reviews permanently.

Once we get this off of the ground, we will decide where the best location of the review itself will be--either on the main site, or contained within the forums. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please pm me and I would be happy to help.

I posted that as an announcement, but never received any reviews. I think that people missed it. You can use that as a guideline if you wish, Warlord.