Forum Suggestions / Improvements / Changes

[N_E_Wunn]

Not to add a third topic to this thread, but if I were to sell a monthly membership to the site, what would users find be useful or want to see as a result of making that worthwhile? Obviously the monthly fee is to support site, as some of you have said you have no problem supporting the site, but I don't want you supporting the site for no gain on your side. I feel it is important to be a give and take.

Idea's and thoughts?

There is at least one other site that has a similar focus, my background in marketing tells me that a newcomer to an area that already does not have a huge audience has a lot to overcome. I think anything that limits participation (such as fees unless there is a huge benefit to the user) may be an impediment to growth. I know that financial support is vital, but the end user has to feel that this site is better for what they want. Why does a user want to come to this forum? What will they get...discussion? tips? clients for whatever service they offer? It is important to focus on the purpose of the site. It's nice to have "side projects" but why does a person want to come here?

There are lots of sites to discuss gaming. NeoGAF is a leader in this area. Reddit has its own boards for various gaming topics and they have sizable participation, as another example. Plenty of news and discussion there. There are plenty of sites to discuss specific games. Gimmicks to entice people to come to a site are good for generating initial interest, but how do you maintain interest and involvement? In a forum, much depends on the people and the discussion (thus, the success of Neo and Reddit). Is there really a place for this kind of board? Or are other social media venues replacing this kind of environment? I guess what I'm saying is this appears to be a somewhat saturated market with lots of established places for people to discuss what they want. What is going to make me want to spend my time here?

 

[SingSong]

I guess what I'm saying is this appears to be a somewhat saturated market with lots of established places for people to discuss what they want. What is going to make me want to spend my time here?

For the sake of this discussion, what is the reason that you joined in the first place? Did you just think "Why not?" or did this type of forum appeal to you for some reason even though there are similar options out there?

What you're saying is true though. There are many places to discuss games already, but I suppose the appealing factor for a place like this would be the community. I think in order for it to be truly successful, game owners would need to be involved in the forums, and the forum would have to be a place that aspiring creators can learn from those already in the industry. But it will be difficult to get that kind of activity in a new forum.

Honestly, the thing I'd like the see the most would be a collaborative project made by members of the forum. Places like Reddit (which usually have visitors coming and going) or bigger forums (where members go unnoticed) wouldn't be able to accomplish something like that as easily. I've always thought that there should be that kind of benefit in being involved in a game development community. What's the point of having so many talented people in the same room and everyone just doing their own thing? 1. That means the few potential game members (the non-game creators) are spread thin among all the games trying to make it. And 2. With everyone wanting to do their own projects and also having to pay for coding or art, there's a higher chance those games aren't going to make it or that it will take a long time to complete the project.

Even if there was just a small community project made, like a quick game, I would like that.

Not to add a third topic to this thread, but if I were to sell a monthly membership to the site, what would users find be useful or want to see as a result of making that worthwhile? Obviously the monthly fee is to support site, as some of you have said you have no problem supporting the site, but I don't want you supporting the site for no gain on your side. I feel it is important to be a give and take.

Idea's and thoughts?

Hard to say, because I hate memberships and subscriptions and monthly payments. I try to limit myself (and currently, I have Adobe's Cloud subscription, car insurance, a phone, and I may get Netflix, and that's about my limit). I would, however, be willing to do a one-time payment for smaller benefits.

So, let's see. What would I pay for?

Unfortunately, I think most things I'd consider paying for would require a larger membership base. But here they are:

1. An ad banner on the site.

2. A special forum section that I would be in charge of.

3. A sticky on the top of forums.

4. (If the Adoptable thing came into play) Adoptables that reflected characters on my game.

 

[N_E_Wunn]

For the sake of this discussion, what is the reason that you joined in the first place? Did you just think "Why not?" or did this type of forum appeal to you for some reason even though there are similar options out there?

@Callum invited me. Honestly, I thought I'd check out a new site since VPL was down. So yeah, it was curiosity.

I see there is more of a benefit to game creators than to game players. Ideally, you need a mix of both. I like to know what's going on development-wise as well as game play, so I fall somewhere in between.

What you're saying is true though. There are many places to discuss games already, but I suppose the appealing factor for a place like this would be the community. I think in order for it to be truly successful, game owners would need to be involved in the forums, and the forum would have to be a place that aspiring creators can learn from those already in the industry. But it will be difficult to get that kind of activity in a new forum.

That goes back to my point about how do you draw people in to a new site. I don't know that there is enormous dissatisfaction with what is out there currently. Again, I look at this from the perspective of an extensive career in marketing and an understanding of what makes people tick. Community is essential for any site like this, but how do you plan to build and promote it? What specific aspects of "community" are most important? I get the part about game creators being able to get together to share insight and resources to get the most bang for the buck, so to speak. But is that enough to help the site thrive?

As you said, you have bills to pay. So do most people. And unless you are already successful, you are very careful about where you spend your funds in a virtual environment. You want to know you are getting something worthwhile out of your experience.

How would you fill in these blanks? Thegaminglist is the (unique point of difference) for (target audience) because it provides (tangible benefit). Once you can answer these questions it is easier to focus on how to build traffic to the site.

 

[Digital]

Thegaminglist is the (unique point of difference) for (target audience) because it provides (tangible benefit).

The Gaming List focus (as I individually envision it) is unique because it brings game owners, developers, artists, and players together to improve and discuss how to build better games that are more engaging, immersive and intuitive then these groups could do individually.

The goal is that as a community we can do better things together then we could accomplish separately. This is achieved through guides by members, discussions on game development and design, art, and writing. Discussion on popular games and their mechanics.

We fit in the very melting point of game design, development, promotion, and advertisement essentially, but do it though community instead of traditional advertising and marketing methods.

I had mentioned the idea of membership as it was mentioned before. I am myself hesitant as we are young and I don't feel we have value. I feel that we need to build that value in the community first. The reason I mentioned it was to make sure it was explored and not forgotten. 

 

[Digital]

I split out the two ongoing suggestions from the forum into their own threads in the Forum Suggestions, so please continue to discuss in those:

• Game Owner's "Rewards" Functionality
  
• Forum Adoptables
  

If you have a new suggestion, feel free to create a thread in this forum. We are open to any suggestion!