New AGS Website

[Pumaman]

So what's happening to the re-vamp then?

Nothing at the moment, I haven't had any inspiration yet for how to design the Games page. If anyone has any ideas, feel free to post them!

[Aljoho]

A kind of itunes cover flow for top rated games would be cool. or maybe something like the web app at the top of the The Game Institute page, rotating and showing details on top rated games.

I think this has already been suggested, and i have no idea how hard it would be to design (although looking at the elements on certain blogs, such as dualnames HHGTAGS rotating word sphere thing, i'm sure its doable)

IMO one of the worst things about to current games page is how much text there is - it looks almost like a marketing survey. The new site one you have semi designed is much less intimidating to a new casual browser (wow i sound like Nintendo !) but i think a big flashy app full of screenshots would make it much easier to get started seeing what AGS can do than only a pick of the month and award winners.

Anyway i'm all talk and no action, because my web design skills are pretty mediocre by these standards, but i thought I'd throw some suggestions out there. Whaddya think?

[Sean]

Hey Guys,

Not sure if you're still looking for feedback on this. Have only just stumbled across it!

I have a couple questions, and comments to throw into the mix.

Why is the site being updated? (Looking for a larger audience? Updating code? etc)

Has the 'style' been locked down?

The new design by itself looks great, it's a really nice and clean design. A little bright, perhaps.

Is it really AGS though?

[/b]

As other people have mentioned the current layout runs the risk of looking a little too 'modern'. The appeal of AGS for many people, ties back to classic 'retro gaming'. I don't think 'legacy gaming' is sold that well in the new layout.

It's almost as if the new site is trying to re-invent AGS itself, is that the intention?

A design that I think gets the mix between 'retro' and 'modern classic' spot on is www.reloaded.org

For me, AGS games are about the quality of the finished product as well as the accessibility of the editor.  The new layout seems to sell AGS as more as a 'make your dream game, ITS EASY PEASY' kind of thing. Again, that's just how it comes across to me.

At the moment, I think the old layout is actually the better of the two.

Now, I'm a little tired so I'll wrap this up here, sorry if I'm just recycling concerns you've already considered. I wish you the best of luck with the latest design and look forward to seeing the finished product.

- Sean

[bicilotti]

Err... did someone stole the idea? 

http://www.gameweaver.com/

[Ghost]

Err... did someone stole the idea?  

Nah, that's a rather old design... And to be fair, as soon as you have any sort of game engine, you end up with Download, Create, Upload, Become A Rich Celebrity! sections.

AGS is just taking it to extremes by skipping the Become A Rich Celebrity part.

[Brad Newsom]

Is it really AGS though?

Yes, it is. By adding in those sprites in a workable area, it will be AGS.

If we go too nostalgic, it destroys the goal of the site, which is to demonstrate and sell the software. If you really want to fight over what AGS is, then why don't we just make a website that looks like it was made in the early 90's. Come on, lets be realistic, the modern look makes the website look more accessible and familiar. Without it, it becomes a fetish to those that relate to the look.

AGS is much more than an engine to create nostalgic games. Its capable of creating modern adventure games with the chance of commerciality. If there wasn't so many games produced with engine with such a diversified look, I would agree with you, but with such a catalog, I think the website would benefit with a modern look.


One thing I would like to add to the conversation. I think we should create a synergy between the website and the forums. It would make it easier for visitors/members to transverse between the forum and website pages.

[IndieBoy]

Is this thread about the Ultimate AGS website or the a New AGS website? I mean it has been months, and we are nearly there. The longer we put it off the more chance we will be repelling a great new crowd of potential AGS users.

[Dualnames]

Some people think playing Super Mario will bring the glory of childhood back..

[TerranRich]

Love the font. Love the layout. Love the inclusion of sprites.

Too modern? Never. Even in its Web-2.0-ish design, it's still sweet. Just because we praise old games doesn't mean the site itself needs to look just as dated.

Excellent work!

[RickJ]

I found this little tid bit about getting apache web server to publish CHM files.  I know that we already have an online version of the manual but it is not nearly as easy to find things as in the chm version.  I was wondering if it's possible/practical for the current or future AGS website to directly publish chm files and if so would the usage be similar to chm or insome way better than the current online manual?

The reason I ask is that if it were easier to search for things in the online manual then it would be easier to help folks in the beginner's forum.

http://www.cyberciti.biz/tips/decompile-chm-file-to-view-as-html.html

Force apache to publish chm files

You can force Apache to publish chm file contents if there is trailing slash in request to that file. First make sure you have working mod_python. Now open httpd.conf /apache2.conf file:
# vi httpd.conf

Add following lines to your httpd.conf:
AddHandler python-program .chm
PythonHandler archmod.mod_chm

Save and close the file. Restart apache.
# /etc/init.d/httpd restart

Now upload file.chm to document root of your Apache webserver. Now view file by typing URL: http://you.com/file.chm/

Note: trailing slash at the end of URL.

[Brad Newsom]

How's this going? I'd love to see this put to testing real soon. Its just such a awesome web layout.

[Stupot]

Here's an idea.

How about a 'Recrut a Team' button somewhere in the main site... even if it just links to the Forum Thread of the same name.  It might encourage new users to ask for help rather than thinking hey have to tackle such a project on their own.  And also it would cut down on people posting all over gen-gen and other boards asking for help because they havent seen the 'RaT' thread.

[Pumaman]

Right, I thought it was time to try and inject some energy back into this.

So, I've been doing some work behind the scenes implementing the back-end code for the main Games page here:
http://www.adventuregamestudio.co.uk/Newsite/Games.aspx
so it's now all running with real data instead of being a mock-up.

What do people think about having that layout as the Games page? It definitely needs some tidying up so if anyone has any ideas on how to make it look better, or has any alternative layouts, your feedback is welcome.

[Snarky]

Well, this layout differs significantly from the ones in the designs (particularly in the use of graphics), in ways that I would consider... umm, "not better".

Could you maybe explain what you're trying to do with this new variation, or what you didn't like about the previous layouts?

[Pumaman]

I'm not really sure what you mean, I don't think there have been any designs for the Games page.

This is the page that you get when you click "Games", this is not the main page (you can see that here).

If anyone wants to contribute a design for this Games page, you're more than welcome.

[Snarky]

Uh, yeah. Sorry, I got confused between this and the front page. Now it makes a lot more sense.

[Peder 🚀]

I don't think ive seen ALL the pages this "done" and I gotta say I am liking it all .
About the games page, so far I think it looks ok. Not saying it can't be done better etc though .
I am sure some of the other web designers here on the forum will soonish come with their input .

[bicilotti]

Clean and crisp, looks good!

[cosmicr]

the screenshots are WAY too small.

Some of the text doesnt line up properly, and the general layout feels sloppy.

here's what it looks like on my screen: http://easycaptures.com/fs/uploaded/321/4526722594.png

some suggestions:
1. reduce the size of help and support - consider making it across the page at the bottom
2. there's too many different fonts going on. I count 4 different styles. Try to stick to just one font.
3. The font sizes are all over the place too. Under 'pick of the month' for example, the title is smaller than the content text!
4. if increasing the size of the thumbnails isnt an option, consider showing only a portion of a screenshot inside the same size thumb.
eg:
(original 320x200 scaled to 120x75) becomes
(a 120x75 portion of the original image) or even
(a 300x180 portion scaled to 120x75)

overall, its looking good, but just lacks that polish to make the grade.

[Mazoliin]

One thing that stands out to me is that there isn't any white boxes around the text as in the other pages, but if they're just not implemented yet, ignore this post.