unforum

[miss_seph]

Continuation of "Blog Use" from Setsumei Hiru thre

[Lewis the Second]

Definitely.

Flashy sites only work if they'd be flashy in real life, remember.

[GuyP]

I did get a bit face-stabby over "The Conspiracy Of B" and it's design, but that was due to a lack of any kind of context and overall badness.

In this case though, the writing is there, it's purpose is fairly clear, so I think it holds together. Even ILB used a Blogspot template!

[Lewis the Second]

Conspiracy of B suffers - albeit very slightly - because one or two of the sites were shabby because of a lack of effort, not because of context.

Let's face it, if you were starting a blog in real life, with no professional purpose or reasoning behind it, wouldn't you be happy to stick to a default template?

[Varin]

Re: Continuation of "Blog Use" from Setsumei Hiru

[Nightmare Tony]

And there's a rub, isnt it? If your character is a poor student, it would be kind of out of wack for him to have a professional flash site with all kinds of ritzy things. By the same token, a multinational company or big organization is NOT going to use a free Geocities page....

Context.

And the same with puzzles, please.
(props to Synagoga for a game where it was making puzzles based on the player's names!

[Phaedra]

[GuyP]

Also a template snob...

But this is the rub, isn't it? Tying in with what I said in the Game Launches thread, the trailhead is all about showing that you're hardworking and taking the game seriously.

Yes, you can get away with saying that "using the template makes sense in context." But unfortunately, it's also the same template that's been used for a thousand sucky wannabe-games.

Forgivable, yes. Exciting? No. Especially for a trailhead.

(PM's should take note that other, free, pre-made templates are available that are very easy to use. Try here, or Google for 'em.)

[Ehsan]

I started that rant, and I did it for a reason so let me explain.

I have been very vocal about my opinions for the last few days, and decided to join this ARGument that has been going on for the past few weeks.

Before you contribute anything to this discussion, please think about why we are discussion it in the first place. We're all here because we love ARG's, because we want the genre to thrive and someday become mainstream. Why? Maybe because we're geeks or we have nothing better to do, doesn't matter. What matters is that any opinion, critique, or even flame should be directed towards that purpose.

If you are here because certain people have hurt your feelings in the past, because you want to argue for the sake of arguing, or because you think we're all wrong, then I'm not interested in hearing your opinion. I can't stop you from posting but I'd rather you go away because your opinions are contagious and spread to those who can't make up their own minds.


Back to our discussion:

[Nightmare Tony]

I would put Strange Dreams 1 and 2, Harbingers and Project Gateway as some superb examples of good single pming. There is an excellent single pm game going on this second on here, but it wont be divulged just yet.

some people have the multiple disciplines. Others do not. And in having a team of PMs, their skills can complement each other to help make everything click.

Storyline, characters, context. All fitting together.

I would have to disagree about all the sites in a game to be glitzy, to avoid a plain blog. Context is where one would fit in. Too much glitz hurts the eyes. Go to Disneyland, Toon Town, stay for an hour in there. you will emerge dizzy, confused and with a headache.

Why?

EVERY point of eyesight is a hot attention spot. There is literally NO cool rest spot for the eyes. So there is a fatigue that sets in.

yopu may also want to vary puzzles. instead of making all the hardest possible, throw the players a bone with something easy. Gauge the difficulty, adjust accordingly. Give the easy ones, let the players enjoy, increase difficulty for the thrill of accomplishment.

but vary it all, high and low energy. Keep it moving along like a rollercoaster. Plenty of eenergy to make the entire circuit and give your players the thrill they want and deserve.

[krystyn]

[weephun]

[miss_seph]

Total 180...

[rose]

ARGument

[Ehsan]

Re: ARGument