Reviews on the site

[Sinistral]

Ok.

We are seeing very poor numbers of reviews being submitted lately, quite often we have to delete them as they are of very poor quality, or the author wants to re-do the entire reviews system.

I've spoke to a couple of people about why they feel this is and an answer I'm getting from them is that they feel the way we format reviews on the website is limiting their creativity.

My question is simple. Does the way we post reviews need to be altered? Is it better to have a more strict review format like we have now or should we relax this and just give people a "clean slate" in which to write?

My main worry about the empty page is that reviews would be overly short, miss out key points of discussion that should be in any review and generally be a lot of nonsense that’s vaguely relevant to the game. (See modern games magazines for example)

On the other hand, if we give people more freedom they can emphasise the points they feel are most important when reviewing the game.

All this in mind is with a view to increasing the amount of reviews being submitted on the site, so if you have never posted a review on sega8bit.com, what would make you want to do so?

Similarly, if you have already submitted reviews in the past, did you find it limiting? Would you do more given more creative freedom?

[Roth]

Personally, I love the format. I like it this way because you know that everything has to be touched on. If someone wants to emphasize points more strongly than others, then they can do so in the section that is designated for it. As for creativity, some people aren't that creative when it comes to writing (me included). I'm not sure how this format would hinder creativity, but it really shouldn't, given you have a knack for writing in the first place. I could be wrong though. It'll be interesting to see other members' thoughts on this.

I've thought about adopting this kind of format if ever I was to have a site I did reviews on, I feel like it's pretty much a perfect layout.

[krooper13]

The format is good + if you changed it what would you do with the existing ones? One change I would surgest is allowing an overal score for the game, even if it's an 90s style %.

[playgeneration]

I think having a more open layout would be far better - just like print magazines do. The Controls and replayability sections make so many of the reviews read the same. Unless the controls are fundamentally broken, or interesting - like operation wolf using the gun and pad at the same time, theres very little to write. Loads of the reviews basically say along the lines of "The controls work well, button 1 is jump, button 2 is attack, and they both work as they should" - its just filler.

The reviews look pretty dull too, especially long reviews which just end up being a mass of text. While it is possible to use html to put in images, the restricted format doesn't make that obvious. Having images that relate to what you are talking about, inbetween the text would be a great mprovement. Having the fixed width of the site changed to accomodate this would be helpful too.


I suggest doing reviews as print magazines do, having short and long reviews. If someone wants to write a short review they could use the exsisting layout. But if someone wants to write an indepth review, perhaps with lots if images, maybe videos, or music samples etc, then a open layout without all the catergories splitting up the text would be more suitable - making a long review nicer to read.

[Kiff]

To be honest the layout of the review section is the main reason I have never written a review on this site. As said above, sections like controls are pointless - the pad has 2 buttons!

You need to give more freedom the the writer, space to include screenshots, box art etc... the layout at present is very restrictive.

I think it would be best to give the reviewer a blank canvas BUT (For the less creative minds) have a set of guide lines and helpful tips laid out so that people don't forget to hit upon critical subjects. There is nothing worse than reading a review that misses out important information but second to that is reading a review that is scripted and gives you a sense of deja vu.

[eday2010]

It can also be a lot of work to write a good review for a game (whether the game is good or bad). And unless you have a real stiffy for a game, or you utterly hate a game's stinking guts, most people won't be passionate enough to set aside the time to write a well written, long review. They may only want to devote a paragraph or less to a review since that is all they need to point out the good parts and the bad parts.

Don't forget: this is a fan site, not a print publication. The site doesn't need in depth extensive reviews like you find in some magazines. It needs reviews from real people who play these games. They may only want to write short bits, or a paragraph. I don't think a site review needs to touch on every aspect of a game; it just needs to point out the important things: how the game plays, the visuals, the audio, and what the game is or is not fun. Most people here are not journalists, and writing long pieces is more tedious for them than enjoyable. You'll get the odd user like Stan who writes a lot because he likes to hear himself talk , but other than that most people might not have 6 parapgraphs worth of stuff to say about Penguin Land or Streets of Rage.

Maybe stealing an idea from Electronic Gaming Monthly might work. 4 sections: The Good, The Bad, The Ugly, and Overall Impression. Things can be listed in point form if the user chooses, everything can be touched on without needing to write 3 sentences about it just to fill space, and you can still have the rankings out of 10 that currently exist.

[Kiff]

I totally understand that some people don't have time to write a review, I find it hard to get time to take a p*ss most days but when I do have the time I like to do things right (Right meaning the way I like to do it).

Why not keep the existing layout and offer an alternative rather than ditching the existing one for a new one? This way people can choose there own style and choose which best fits the time they have available.

[Sinistral]

OK

So what I'm thinking is we keep both formats.

When you click review, it will give you the option of "preset layout" or "advanced"

Clicking preset layout allows people to write in the already existing format, advanced gives you a blank canvas. We can put some html tips on the side to allow people to format.

Sound OK?

[grolt]

That sounds like the best of both worlds. I had no idea the review submission system was so accessible that way - I'll definitely do my part and contribute here in the next week or so.

[TWRMotorSport]

yea both'd be good

[kungfukid]

How on earth did I manage to miss this entire thread?!? I must have been really busy with work for a couple of days or something because I never saw it before today. I like the existing/old system, I've found it easy to work with, but it would be good for times when somebody really wants to add their own slant or do something in depth, that there could be a more flexible option.

I'll do some more reviews myself at some point soon, work permitting, I'm just always conscious of flooding the system with stuff by me - I remember at one point on the main site, four out of the five reviews shown were by me. I'd rather more people were adding their own style rather than just reading mine. so I hope another option might lead to a few more submissions.