Forums > MobyGames > New design is totally review-unfriendly.
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/13/2013 11:47 AM · Permalink · Report
New reviews (any reviews in fact) are now exiled from the main page, so if anyone wishes to see them, they need to scroll way down and press the inconspicuous "reviews" tab. Judging from the main page, the site now appears to be a dry catalogue site.
This will result in a heavy decrease in new game reviews -- which, like it or not, were one of the main highlights of Mobygames. (Those are what attracted me here 12 years ago.)
You need to unf*ck that, folks.
Patrick Bregger (303228) on 9/13/2013 11:51 AM · Permalink · Report
What we really need is a complete rollback.
Giu's Brain (503) on 9/13/2013 12:47 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Patrick Bregger wrote--]What we really need is a complete unf*ck. [/Q --end Patrick Bregger wrote--]
Corrected for clarity.
Indra was here (20752) on 9/13/2013 12:45 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start AndrĂ¡s Gregorik wrote--]You need to unf*ck that, folks. [/Q --end AndrĂ¡s Gregorik wrote--]Where's that like button when you need it?
+1 internet win
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/13/2013 1:24 PM · Permalink · Report
In fact, I could care less about censoring myself, since one of my favorite sites is suddenly screwed up. Moby looks and feels like Gamefaqs or Gamerankings now, just another random gaming site. Whoever redesigned it clearly doesn't give a fuck about this site's atmosphere and community.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 9/13/2013 4:56 PM · Permalink · Report
Amen.
And featured articles are gone.Did you like Rabbi Guru's Western RPG article? I know I did. It's gone now.
Giu's Brain (503) on 9/13/2013 5:04 PM · Permalink · Report
At least they'll live forever in the Internet archives, if that's any small comfort.
The Fabulous King (1332) on 9/13/2013 5:40 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Giu's Brain wrote--]At least they'll live forever in the Internet archives, if that's any small comfort. [/Q --end Giu's Brain wrote--]
Now that's Mobygames - no flying avatars, no mixing up report buttons with reply, everything is accesible, reviews are in the middle of game's rap sheet (easily noticeable), the front page has everything new brought out, colorful and welcoming design... that's the site I would like to browse.
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/13/2013 6:59 PM · Permalink · Report
I liked all the featured articles, Oleg. The writing on Moby was top-notch, due in no small part to you and Rabbi.
Original co-creator Trixter has publicly endorsed the redesign earlier today. I don't think there's any way back after this point. That's like Steven Spielberg endorsing a botched, talentless recut of Raiders by Universal Studio suits.
Trixter (8954) on 9/24/2013 3:57 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start AndrĂ¡s Gregorik wrote-- Original co-creator Trixter has publicly endorsed the redesign earlier today. [/Q --end AndrĂ¡s Gregorik wrote--]
I have never officially (or unofficially) endorsed the redesign. I made a statement that I understood why it was redesigned, and in that same statement I said I wish the layout wasn't fixed-width.
Trixter (8954) on 9/24/2013 3:57 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Rola wrote--]Also where are those "words of wisdom" by Jim Leonard et al.? [/Q --end Rola wrote--]
I have no words of wisdom for the redesign. I had nothing to do with it and I have no capability to affect it other than inform people what is happening, which I already have.
The Fabulous King (1332) on 9/13/2013 5:23 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Yeah. Just hit me too. Everything I loved about Moby.... reviews, articles, featured games.... the opinion side of user-produced content has been put out of sight. I guess I was just too dumbfounded to notice it before. It slowly gets to you, doesn't it. The whatthefuckery of all of this.
Patrick Bregger (303228) on 9/13/2013 5:28 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
If it is any consolidation, I don't think they are not displayed out of spite. Only because the web designer was too stupid/lazy/whatever to actually include the sections in the new design.
The Fabulous King (1332) on 9/13/2013 5:54 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I wonder if the design was done by the same indian company who did the expansion pack to Gothic 3. It certainly feels like a project by a remotely involved uninterested 3rd party.
"AH, MobyGrames? Yes, this is Honest Khan's Used Cars, Plumbing and Web Design company. Sure, we're multifunctional, we'll do it."
Edit: It was Greg. I know it now. It was Greg.
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/15/2013 6:58 AM · Permalink · Report
To augment the thoughts above, there's zero initiative now to write further reviews on this mess, since these reviews would be inevitably buried under layers, and never displayed on the main page. The notification system that displays new reviews is killed off. This makes the redesign not only unfriendly, but expressly anti-review in character. MrFlibble wrote something on the redesign thread that applies to this more specific thread too. I quote:
"Now I fancy there's no point in complaining that game browser no longer works without JavaScript. What is really user-unfriendly is the thing that lots of people above have already pointed out: to access some of the features, you need to scroll, scroll, and scroll down the endless list, needlessly bloated by bad design choices of font size and space between lines. I've only accessed the platform selection list. Previously, all platforms fit into the page without any need for scrolling whatsoever. Now I have to scroll for several seconds just to get to the Windows platform - which is probably one of the most commonly selected choices! Seriously, the guys who designed this - what were you thinking? You may not decide to switch back to the old design, but in my opinion, the MG community has the right to demand that the obvious design flaws be fixed ASAP."
Based on all the discussion on other threads, I think direct action is needed now, but a simple petition would fall on deaf ears. GameFly "content and alliances" executive Jung Suh needs to be called directly on phone, confronted in a firm but polite manner. Suh is the one ultimately responsible for this redesign, it's not Greg Mueller and not Corn Popper.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 9/15/2013 9:34 AM · Permalink · Report
Yes, but it's Corn Popper & Co. who sold this site and are paid to prevent such disasters from happening. They are the supposed link, representatives of this site, but in reality they don't link anywhere and they don't represent shit.
If we directly confront Suh he will laugh at us, and he will be right. It's his site now, he paid money for it, and he can turn it into an underage alien animal porn site if he so wishes. There is nothing we can do about it unless such action would constitute a breach of the contract he signed with Corn Popper & Co.
But here is the thing: we don't know what is in the contract. Corn Popper & Co. never told us, no matter how many times we expressed our concern. There may be a clause there that would prevent Suh from launching shitty redesigns or converting the site into a hate forum or other such calamities. We do not know. And that is entirely Corn Popper's fault.
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/15/2013 8:27 PM · Permalink · Report
I think it's worth a shot as desperate measures. It cannot be any worse for the site. Jung Suh may be a great guy who just needs to take a look at these threads -- so that his conscience would override his previous actions.
Anyway, I've written an entry on the Wikipedia MG page about this shitstorm. Currently, it looks like this:
"In September 2013, several key contributors had left MobyGames as a protest against a radical unilateral site overhaul by GameFly.[6] The community reported missing content, unappealing design and impaired functionality in the wake of the overhaul.[7]"
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 9/16/2013 1:51 AM · Permalink · Report
Good work!
Okay, I'm all for contacting Suh. You are right - since talking to a robot called Corn Popper is completely useless, why don't we desperately assume that the head of GameFly has a soul.
So, how do we contact him? And what do we say? Don't ask me, I'm no diplomat, I'm hot-headed and I say what I think. Not sure whether this is what we need now.
Where is Sciere?.. Maybe he could word a petition for us and we would all sign it. If not, just post your proposals here. I'm too furious to think of anything but swear words.
Daniel Saner (3503) on 9/16/2013 3:30 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Just out of curiosity, are you sure Jung Suh is the man to get in touch with? Out of all the founders and bosses listed on the Wikipedia page, he's the only one no longer listed on the GameFly team page. He has started his own development studio, Red Rocket Games, and I have found no info about him still being involved with GameFly.
Edit: his LinkedIn profile states "Red Rocket Games" and "Yodo1" as current, and "GameFly" as a former position.
Unicorn Lynx (181769) on 9/16/2013 5:42 AM · Permalink · Report
Yeah, looks like David Hodess is the big boss. We should consider talking to him directly.
Patrick Bregger (303228) on 9/16/2013 7:54 AM · Permalink · Report
I am sure he will be very impressed with a petition of 30 signatures.
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/16/2013 10:15 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
It was previously decided that a petition's not enough anyway: a phone call would do the trick. So Jung Suh is out of GameFly, we need to call either CEO Hodess or, preferably, the new content executive, whoever that is.
MG: "Hello Mr. XYZ, I am ZXY, calling you on behalf of the Mobygames community."
CEO: "Moby what?"
MG: "Mobygames, one of your acquisitions. You purchased it in 2010 from the owners."
CEO: "Uh huh."
MG: "I would like to discuss the recent redesign and rehaul of that site -- which actually resulted in a mass exodus of the best contributors..."
CEO: "Uh huh. Go on, but I'm kinda busy..."
MG: "I won't keep you up for long, Mr. XYZ. The thing is, if the management would actually reroll all the rehaul, these 20-odd key contributors would return to the site and proceed to generate further content for you for free..."
CEO: "Further content? For free? Hmm..."
MG: "Yes, we're talking a mass of angry game geeks who're dying to return to the original site, just take a look at all the forum threads, please."
CEO: "Yeah, gimme a link there."
Yada yada yada.... Someone has to give it a shot now.
Cavalary (11447) on 9/16/2013 11:33 AM · Permalink · Report
Doubt you'd even REACH a boss of a big corporation with a phone call. Remember that the gaming press tried to get comments from them when word got out of the sale and they got no reply. You just leave a message with the secretary and they get back to you if they care to.
As for Sciere, he posted on Fb that he logged out and can't log back in, not sure if that was fixed since.
Katakis | ă‚«ă‚¿ă‚ă‚¹ (43087) on 9/24/2013 1:55 AM · Permalink · Report
Who is Greg Mueller? According to Wikipedia, he is a German/Canadian who participated in poker tournaments.
Æ‘reddÆ´ (5833) on 9/24/2013 12:56 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Katakis is watching it burn wrote--]Who is Greg Mueller? [/Q --end Katakis is watching it burn wrote--] Product Manager at GameFly
Greg Mueller's Summary
Experienced product manager and designer of mobile web, iOS, and Android applications. Expert knowledge of e-commerce analytics and optimization, social media marketing, SEO, UI design, copy writing, new user acquisition, and subscription business models. More than 8 years of experience and knowledge of video games and the video game industry, including mobile games, freemium economies, and mobile application publishing.
Indra was here (20752) on 9/24/2013 2:01 PM · Permalink · Report
Education: Edward R. Murrow School of Communication. If that isn't irony, I don't know what is.
Cavalary (11447) on 9/24/2013 3:20 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start abandoned moby b4 it was cool wrote--] Experienced product manager and designer of mobile web, iOS, and Android applications. Expert knowledge of e-commerce analytics and optimization, social media marketing, SEO, UI design, copy writing, new user acquisition, and subscription business models. More than 8 years of experience and knowledge of video games and the video game industry, including mobile games, freemium economies, and mobile application publishing. [/Q --end abandoned moby b4 it was cool wrote--]
There, all the explanation you need about the dreadful concept of the redesign. None about the equally (or worse) execution though.
(Meep, accidentally used forum tags instead of HTML... What this does to me...)
Parf (7871) on 9/24/2013 9:41 PM · Permalink · Report
Funny, nowhere in his work experience list do I see "drove 100% of the user base away from mobygames.com in less than two weeks."
Patrick Bregger (303228) on 9/24/2013 10:06 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
According to the skills he showed in this redesign, I imagine this photograph comes close.
Rola (8482) on 9/25/2013 1:15 AM · Permalink · Report
Why not thank him? Inbox doesn't work but she may get email notifications?
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/17/2013 2:11 PM · Permalink · Report
There seems to be a new wave of enthusiastic and unwitting contributors who are working together with the admins to report bugs in the redesign.
The admins seem to be sacrificing the established contributors for these new ones.
That means it's probably over. We need to migrate our reviews, vacating this place. I've put the entry of this rehaul debacle into the lead of the WP MG article -- at least it reaches more folks that way.
The Fabulous King (1332) on 9/17/2013 3:55 PM · Permalink · Report
I guess there are a lot of people who contribute, but never visit the forums. So they probably have no idea. They might just hope that this time their contribution won't be rejected by that crazy indonesian lawyer.
AndrĂ¡s Gregorik (59) on 9/19/2013 7:18 PM · Permalink · Report
Something is obviously fishy here:
if the management obfuscates all community content,
and if the management fails to listen to the community's outcries,
then the management wants to get rid of the community,
which means that they plan to render the site into a deadpan catalogue database.
Oleg's departure was quite symbolic in fact: with him, the soul of this site pretty much departed.