Andytizer 269 Share Posted March 24, 2013 Hi guys, I have soft-launched a new blog for PCGamingWiki called The Port Report, which is now linked on the sidebar of the Forum, and I'll be placing a link on the Wiki when it's time to 'launch' for real. The basic concept of the site is to post news about PC game fixes. The idea is directly inspired and is designed to carry on the ideas of the Port Authority feature on the now defunct GameSpy. Examples: FarCry 3, Prototype 2, Aliens: Colonial Marines. You can see the large parallels between the Port Authority (analysis of PC game settings) and PCGamingWiki's goal. Why do this? -By producing regular 'news', the pcgamingwiki.com domain will get PageRanked higher on Google for all of its content, including Wiki pages. -It gives an opportunity to upload personal research somewhere, so that it can be referenced on the Wiki pages. -The content is more casual and personal to the particular author, with much more scope for opinions and impressions, which is useful in comparison to the 'clinical' feel of Wiki content. - Blog content has more scope for casual engagement with the ability to comment on articles and engage/agree/disagree with an author. Ideas for content - Report - Full 'impressions' of a new PC game's settings within 48hrs of a game's release (preferably within 24hrs) - heavily based on the Port Authority style. Main difference from a Wiki article will be 1) personal opinion, 2) focus on performance impressions, 3) graphics settings comparison (e.g. FOV 75 vs 90, no AA vs x16 AA, etc.) - Mini report - If there isn't enough time, we can push out shorter articles based on specific settings - e.g. specific FOV settings of Resident Evil 6. - Interviews - I would love to begin interviewing the 'unsung heroes' of PC gaming - fix makers, utility creators, mod makers (DSfix, SS2Tool, etc), community moderators, etc. there are interesting stories to tell, and no one else is telling them. - Features - How does GOG make their games work on modern OS's, what's their relationship with modders? Why do developers encrypt configuration files? Where are all the touchscreen Windows 8 games? Plenty of ideas, would love to hear more from you guys. What's next? I'm planning to 'launch' the site on Tuesday/Wednesday with a full report on BioShock Infinite. By then I hope to have the blog's styling completed and have everything ready to go. The next stage is all about community contributions. I've already begun to receive ideas and even a full article without even asking. I'd love to see more - if people would like to volunteer to receive free game code, I'll prioritise and supply it to those who would like to do both Blog and Wiki article writing. I think the beauty of the Blog in this early stage, is that reports are always useful no matter how short they are, and how much time an author has to write it. Therefore, a Report speed and release will be prioritized over how comprehensive it is (as this can be covered later in more detail in a Wiki article). Of course, for major releases like BioShock Infinite, I would like code to be given to those who have the time and commitment to submit a full comprehensive report within the 48hr timeframe. I'm also interested if anyone would like to help out with the Wordpress administration side. At the moment I'm planning to release articles for every major release, but I can see in the future that this could become a daily posting kind of site. If anyone is interesting in helping on this end please let me know. Interested in helping out? Read up on the Assignments forum. Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicereddy 109 Share Posted March 24, 2013 I'd love to contribute as an editor. Personally I don't feel my writing is good enough for me to contribute, but I'd gladly edit articles for grammar, spelling, etc. Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andytizer 269 Author Share Posted March 25, 2013 Have been working on some additional content for the blog- results are up there at the moment: http://blog.pcgamingwiki.com/ I'd love to contribute as an editor. Personally I don't feel my writing is good enough for me to contribute, but I'd gladly edit articles for grammar, spelling, etc. If you are interested in contributing, I am very happy to proofread and copyedit any submissions. Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeth Calark 12 Share Posted March 25, 2013 I am likewise interested in doing contributions. When I finish with the page for LEGO Island, I would love to make a blog post about all the challenges of getting even a kid's game from 1997 that was built for Windows 95 to run on modern hardware using Windows 7. It would be an interesting look at how hardware, software, and graphics API's and technology can change and present new difficulties at getting old games to run. Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andytizer 269 Author Share Posted March 26, 2013 I am likewise interested in doing contributions. When I finish with the page for LEGO Island, I would love to make a blog post about all the challenges of getting even a kid's game from 1997 that was built for Windows 95 to run on modern hardware using Windows 7. It would be an interesting look at how hardware, software, and graphics API's and technology can change and present new difficulties at getting old games to run. Yes this sounds really interesting- can you show me a quick mockup of the structure that you'd use, and maybe an introduction/first section. I'd like to make sure it's on the right track before you write it (I don't want to disappoint contributors by rejecting articles once they've spent lots of time writing it!). Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EdenCrow 0 Share Posted March 26, 2013 I really like the idea of the blog and have my first article uploaded, with a second in the works. In regards to a full report I think it could be best to go for the kind of length that Dillonator did with his article on Resident Evil 6 and harness the way that it mirrors the same style as the Port Authority series. Not only does it achieve a length that gives more detail, but it also lets contributors have a template to base their reports on which should result in quicker turn-arounds. However, I personally don't like the idea of using a score as I find they often feel thrown in, don't really represent the article very well and introduce the idea of comparing games based on just their score as opposed to their actual features. Other content such as interviews and features could be especially interesting to read and write too. I look forward to the full launch! Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nicereddy 109 Share Posted March 26, 2013 Two suggestions (writing this from a tablet, sorry for any awkward fformatting or spelling): Get rid of numbers inn the reviews. I realize numbers are helpful, but we should do something like what WSGF does, but for each section, if at all (I hate numbered/lettered reviews and it seems to be a growing opinion) Second, can we get a sub forums specifically for the blog? Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pendragon 6 Share Posted March 27, 2013 I'd be willing to write some things, but I don't have anything to write about at the moment. I would be willing to help with articles if anyone wants some proofreading, as well. Reply (Quote) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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