Something Rola said that struck me: Please also contribute interface/unique in-game features to games. Just scrolled through screenshots in Skyrim. No alchemy shots, no blacksmithing shots, no mining shots, one lockpicking shot (didn't know we had this group Yay!), no cooking, no looting. Blimey.

Our limit of 40 pics per platform means they had better be diverse. Approvers are like not-so-strict parents, they'll accept screenshots of little value, because "it's better to have some than none". The problem is that popular games (read: potential for more than 40 screen submissions) should be reviewed for poor screenshots when close to 40 limit, in order to make room for better ones.

Also: please provide at least one screenshot from cinematics (but not too many), just to show their visual style and techniques used (3D CGI? 2D animation? live-action?). I often get that nasty feeling that some contributors only played ripped versions of games, without movies \;-]

Here's an example of a diverse selection of screenshots. Also notice the effort in making the screenshot captions.

More importantly, notice that they were contributed by me. Bwahahahahahaha!

Our screenshot limits were never hard limits. If there is a good reason for it, we can always have more.

Games like Skyrim need more than 40 screenshots.

Approved to go beyond 40

...you mean Skyrim only? Or is the limit lifted everywhere?

I'm asking because I haven't deleted my surplus Anvil of Dawn screenshots yet...

It's ok to add more than 40 if the game require it. As long as they are not all too similar it's no problem.

I've submitted screens to a game showing none, yet their numbers didn't start at 1 - I take somebody's screens are already waiting to be approved, right?

If there are several platforms for that game, it is counting the screenshots available for the other platforms.

So what program do I need to use to screenshot Skyrim again? Print screen + paint doesn't seem to work. Yeah, I'm that technologically deficient.

FRAPS

Speaking of screenshots, I recently got a capture setup and am planning on taking some PS1 and PS2 snaps. I've done a few recordings and this is what I'm getting right now:



(a few more samples here)

These are straight snapshots from the recordings at the source resolution (as far as I can tell, anyway -- the software doesn't have a ton of options), with some deinterlacing applied where appropriate. Would these be acceptable as-is? Do I need to crop them? Fiddle with the settings? I don't want to stretch the signal to get rid of the black bars...

Not a word...?

Well, it does represent the games more than a 'hd' or antialiased emulated screenshot.

Exactly. Thing is, I know a lot of people here are purists on screenshots, particularly in regards to aspect ratio and borders and such. I'm not sure if these are up to snuff, though I personally think they look okay. I was hoping to get some feedback, good or bad, though I might do better to start a separate thread...

Looks good and "representative" to me, but I'm not a purist.

Until something better comes along, why not? It may not come at all.

Those look good to me :) I'd leave them as is, doesn't appear anything further is needed.

...and speaking of screenshots.

In a perfect world, perhaps one day MG will categorize screenshots into different sections:

• Gameplay shots - Available slots: 40 - 50
  The most common type of screenshot: screenshot of the player doing something insignificant followed by an even more insignificant one word caption.
  
  Target audience: General gamers.
  
  
• Interface shots - Available slots: 10 - 20
  Screenshots that describe features the game has, which is usually identified by interface menus, character sheets, or whatever stuff pops up when you press 'escape'.
  
  Target audience: Hardcore gamers.
  
  
• Technical shots - Available shots: 5 - 10
  Non-game related shots. Ranging from company logos, loading screens, 'about' section, simplified credits, etc.
  
  Target audience: Game researchers. Technically us in MG.
  
  
• Resolution shots - Available shots: 10 - 20
  Different resolutions and graphical quality screenshot comparisons.
  
  Target audience: Tech nerds and people who have a really lousy PC vs. people who have a NASA budgeted PC.

I wonder, is there a recommended size for PC/Windows screenshots?

In windows I can set a very large resolution, but the screenshots takes a lot of space, and they get downsized here anyway. And then there is often intro FMV at a fixed size.

Should I go with FMV sized screenshots, say 1024x768 even if I can play at higher resolutions?

They get downsized? As in, there's a max size even for the full shots, when you click on them? Quite sure I saw full HD on here before...

Hmm...maybe they are full size after all, I might have made a wrong assumption. Ok...bluewhale-sized jumbojets in 1:1 scale here they come :-)

edit: nah, the bluewhale sized images took too much diskspace.

The original full resolution shots are maintained; when you first click on a large screenshot to view it a smaller version is shown, but clicking again you can view the original full resolution.