New AGS Website

[Ghost]

The whole rearranging would also be a great time to remove "wrong links". My game page lists me as author for two games I did not make, but the usernames also have "ghost" in them*. I bet there are more cases.

* I don't mind though, both are cool games!

[Stupot]

I'm with Icey, 'liking' doesn't have to be a way for people to feel more popular and validated, although it's true people do treat it that way.  It's more a way of promoting what you enjoy and getting other people to see it.  Big brands pay a lot of money utilising the 'like' system. Every time someone 'likes' or share something from AGS on Facebook, it can only be good for AGS, so why not make that easier by implementing it on the site?

[Ali]

I agree with Stupot.

I'm not a huge fan of facebook, twitter et al, but I think the forums/database should make promoting games and sharing updates as easy as possible. The most prominent AGS (and ex-AGS) developers are already using social networking to their advantage.

I think the concerns of the anti-facebook folk are legitimate, but as long as the integration is unobtrusive I don't see any reason to swim against the current.

[Ghost]

I agree with Stupot.

I am absolutely neutral on the subject- I see some benefits in it though and would like to know more. Anyone savvy care to enlighten an old dog? How DOES this whole liking, twittering, socializing work? How would it be implemented here? I know I could just google it up but I like to get feedback from people who are already USING the stuff.

[Icey]

I make my games then my a download page on the AGS servers. Next I upload them to a storage server like media fire so people can download the game. People who play the game may end up liking it and post about it on a social network site(Third way of sharing). The AGS site will have the Like or share, tweet, +1 buttons so if people like the game they can share with everyone(Second way of sharing).

I could give out news updates of the game while it's under development or even after it's finished(First way of sharing)(Hence why the second way of sharing works).

The good news will spread all over the internet thus making people aware of your cool and awesome game you just made. This is a very beneficial way for an indie dev to get out there. Cause it's hard when your stuck in the shadows of the big time game dev companies. Everyone deserves a voice, you just gotta find a way to be heard. 

[Peder 🚀]

I am absolutely neutral on the subject- I see some benefits in it though and would like to know more. Anyone savvy care to enlighten an old dog? How DOES this whole liking, twittering, socializing work? How would it be implemented here? I know I could just google it up but I like to get feedback from people who are already USING the stuff.

It is simply buttons connected to the page they are on that when clicked creates a post/tweet that links to the page.
If you haven't logged in to the service the button is tied to (facebook, google+, twitter) it will first ask you to login then you can either post the default post (generated by the code depending on the content of the page) or customize it.

[Ali]

And let's imagine a non-AGSer or 'real person' has downloaded a game from the database and really enjoyed it. They're not terribly likely to copy the URL and paste it into facebook to recommend it to their friends. But if there's a button to share on twitter or like on facebook, they're that bit more likely to spread the word.

[Hudders]

Bottom line is, if you don't have a Facebook account, don't worry about it. You're not going to be automatically signed up or something. It won't affect you in the slightest.

[AGA]

Okay, so I have this enacted on my test version of the upgraded forums (which should go live fairly soon).  There are basically two buttons next to the topic title on every page, one for Twitter, one for Facebook.  When clicked, these bounce you to the relevant page, with options to share (see http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=2827 for examples).  I've also added most of the modern social media site links to people's profiles (http://custom.simplemachines.org/mods/index.php?mod=3304).  All very subtle and unobtrusive, and none of which involves the forums sharing people's data.

[TomatoesInTheHead]

Bottom line is, if you don't have a Facebook account, don't worry about it. You're not going to be automatically signed up or something. It won't affect you in the slightest.

Well, it can affect you slightly. If the Facebook like button is implemented directly, stuff from FB is loaded that can and will track any user, FB member or not, in various ways. While it's most likely not influencing anyone's life negatively if FB knows she was on the AGS forums, the best way would probably be a two-click button, where you click once to activate the FB like-button which loads FB stuff, and click again to actually like the site/game/thread/post. A German IT news site has made such a thing, don't know if it's easy to get it in the forums though.

[Peder 🚀]

Well, it can affect you slightly. If the Facebook like button is implemented directly, stuff from FB is loaded that can and will track any user, FB member or not, in various ways.

If you are going to worry about such things then you should really just consider to stop using the internet.
If you have a google account everything you do is most probably already tracked anyway and it would not surprise me if even browser companies do so too.. It seems that in this day and age everyone is tracking everything you do online... 

[Tartalo]

Okay, so I have this [facebook integration] enacted on my test version of the upgraded forums

I understood that people wanted this in the game page rather than the forum.

[Icey]

Here's a thought. Would it be possible to check boxes for which social buttons you vidible to people who come to your game download page?

[cat]

What about just making this optional in the profile "Look and Layout Preferences"? I don't want facebook buttons but I don't mind if other people have them.

[Pumaman]

These still have issues:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/1436/3
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/822/Emma_Rode
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/1417/Gear_BladeDX
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/724/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Fountain_of_Youth_DEMO
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/257/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Fountain_of_Youth_ROLLING_DEMO
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/1515/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Passage_of_Saints
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/1121/Indiana_Jones_and_the_Temple_of_Spheres

These now look ok to me, if there's anything wrong that I haven't spotted please let me know what it is.

Not sure what's going on with the credits for http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx/Detail/1303/Eternally_Us... Calin seems to be listed twice and it says he's worked on 16 games, listing each twice.

He had been entered twice, I've now corrected it.

The whole rearranging would also be a great time to remove "wrong links". My game page lists me as author for two games I did not make, but the usernames also have "ghost" in them*. I bet there are more cases.

This shouldn't happen on the new site, as it only matches based on forum names and doesn't do the substring search that the old site does.

I agree that a facebook "like" button would be good on the Games Detail pages, is it easy to add one?

I've uploaded an update of the new site; you should now see a link to edit your game when viewing a game that is yours. Can you guys test this and check that this message only appears for your own games?

[LimpingFish]

Just my two cents, but I'd rather not see Facebook and Twitter integration. I get enough of that on every other website, and it's nice that www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk is the only site that doesn't trigger a third-party script warning in NoScript.

Personally, I can't stand Facebook. The less avenues people have to get a hold of me, the better.

[Ryan Timothy B]

I don't quite understand how it affects you as a person browsing the games page? It's there for those who want to socially advertise their own games or one that they enjoy.

I don't overly like Facebook myself but I don't understand the negativity towards it being added to the games database. If it'll help attract more gamers or developers to the AGS scene, then I'm all for it.

[Icey]

I'm not a big fan of FB and personally I think twitter is retarded but if I have any chance to get my games out their and show'em off to more people through people then I would go with the whole social sharing.

Spoiler

One problem with AGS anyways is that it's...well.."out of date". What I mean is that it's lacking a lot of modern thing like for ex, the ability to post youtube videos into forums.
I've been in plenty of forums and noticed they could do but why not AGS? Most people around AGS that has been here for way long I have just don't seem to like any of the new stuff and so rather keep the page stuck the year 2000 or something not to far from that. Just give it a chance maybe it my turn out good or bad.

[close]

[kconan]

  Good thing you set spoiler text, as I want to be surprised when I watch "AGS Website: The Movie".

  I think the Facebook and other social media links are fine as long as they are (as it sounds from the explanations in this thread) strictly optional and don't result in icon clutter on the page.

[AGA]

One problem with AGS anyways is that it's...well.."out of date". What I mean is that it's lacking a lot of modern thing like for ex, the ability to post youtube videos into forums.
I've been in plenty of forums and noticed they could do but why not AGS? Most people around AGS that has been here for way long I have just don't seem to like any of the new stuff and so rather keep the page stuck the year 2000 or something not to far from that. Just give it a chance maybe it my turn out good or bad.

We don't like annoying things, that's why we don't support embedding videos.

I agree that a facebook "like" button would be good on the Games Detail pages, is it easy to add one?

Likes are a bit iffy though, since they share information with Facebook (and vice versa?) that you might not want.  Sharing probably has fewer negative connotations: it shows the Facebook world a game / post / whatever, without needing to report back to the forums just how many people also enjoy that thing.

Facebook developers site.