Forums > MobyGames > MG site design
SharkD (425) on 9/29/2010 6:04 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
I've been playing around with some of the open source web site templates found at oswd.org, and managed to come up with this:
http://i421.photobucket.com/albums/pp292/SharkD2161/Miscellaneous/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_a.png
The logo was created at logosnap.com and would need to be purchased for around $20.
SharkD (425) on 9/29/2010 6:19 AM · Permalink · Report
OK, here's a larger screen capture:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_b.png
I hope the link works.
SharkD (425) on 9/29/2010 6:52 AM · Permalink · Report
Here's an alternate version with the columns reversed.
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_c.png
I like this one better.
SharkD (425) on 9/29/2010 12:12 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Here are two alternate versions with a bit more decoration:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_d.png
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_e.png
GAMEBOY COLOR! (1990) on 9/29/2010 2:23 PM · Permalink · Report
Too much light blue. It makes it look too generic. Perhaps some darker colors and more green would balance it out. Could use some better graphics too. I like the graphics at the end of the game browser. That could have some potential.
beetle120 (2415) on 9/29/2010 11:29 PM · Permalink · Report
Not bad at all, but I don't like the gradient; the poll should be moved from the left panel, too little space there so it seems squished; the blue on blue and white on light gray has too little contrast, especially with the really dark links used; and I don't like the logo much, it seems too.. um.. punchy for this site.
Rola (8483) on 9/30/2010 12:01 PM · Permalink · Report
I really dislike the logo. "History of computer gaming" doesn't come up when you see it. Also the mockup A has to go, other may be of use, with some touches here and there. Overall: bland; too much of a copy of current trends in webdesign (which are big shiny buttons for computer-illiterate and little functionality). Are you making another online banking site or social network? C'mon, subject such as old games is so rich in unique characteristics that a layout devoted to this theme should scream "hey, it's a website about gaming!"
But why putting so much effort in a mere repainting, when we need to prop-up few cracked walls of our mobyhouse?
SharkD (425) on 9/30/2010 6:24 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Another version, with an attempt at a different logo:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_f.png
[edit] Here's a version in gray:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_g.png
Lain Crowley (6629) on 9/30/2010 6:51 PM · Permalink · Report
The logo is still terrible, but atleast it no longer makes moby look like a wikia site.
Before making another mockup compare what you're making to what the site already has. If your version has less information (which it does. A lot less information) then trash it and start over. The best way to do this would be to look at the current design, make up a list of everything you can think of that, currently, should be fixed to make it better, and then work at implementing all those individual changes.
Lain Crowley (6629) on 9/30/2010 7:06 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
In 1200x1000 resolution the current mobygames frontpage has the newest reviews, screenshots, updates, mobyranks, featured game, complete sidebar, two search bars and the browse function, and even a bit of the tip of the day all at the top of the page. A single page down brings up the current news entry, this day in gaming, poll, and the featured article. Your design needs four page downs to get all that. That is a monumental loss of information.
Another note: the search bar, which will be on every single Moby page and is probably the most important page element on the site, is stuffed into the corner to blend into the background with your design. In the current design the search bar has its own uniquely colored background.
Lain Crowley (6629) on 10/1/2010 7:03 PM · Permalink · Report
Then what resolution are your designs intended to be viewed in? Neither are fullscreen widescreen, nor are they variable width. Your current designs are functionally identical to Moby's current design, and your previous designs would require even more scrolling at lower resolutions.
Foxhack (32100) on 10/2/2010 1:04 AM · Permalink · Report
You mentioned the impact of scrolling.
I mentioned that if a site isn't coded to fit automatically in a user's window, instead requiring a larger screen than I have available... I don't visit the site.
I wasn't criticizing your design, I mentioned that because I felt it was relevant. :P
Игги Друге (46653) on 10/7/2010 12:33 PM · Permalink · Report
You ask for attention, you get what you deserve.
Lain Crowley (6629) on 10/1/2010 8:03 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start SharkD wrote--]Lack of legibility is a much bigger problem. [/Q --end SharkD wrote--] How do your designs fix/improve this?
Also I'm not exaggerating in the slightest. You know the old adage about how foot traffic for businesses decrease by 5% for every step a person has to walk up/down in order to enter a business? Same deal.
Игги Друге (46653) on 10/6/2010 9:53 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start SharkD wrote--]For instance, on my monitor I have to move my eyes right to left a full 9 inches to read the site news. While this aspect ratio is great for watching movies, it's not so great for text. [/Q --end SharkD wrote--] Then resize the window, that's what we have window-based graphical operating systems for!
And guess why we have big monitors with high resolutions?
So that you can have one window with reference information next to the Moby window where you input information!
Игги Друге (46653) on 10/6/2010 10:11 AM · Permalink · Report
A website should fit in the windows of the user. If the user wants to read text with 30 cm long rows, that should be her decision.
vedder (70767) on 10/6/2010 10:43 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
I disagree, I always maximize all my windows, because I don't like my screen to be cluttered or distracting. That doesn't mean I want to read 40 cm long sentences.
Design choices should always facilitate human habits, not enforce them.
Indra was here (20756) on 10/6/2010 2:01 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start vedder wrote--]Design choices should always facilitate human habits, not enforce them. [/Q --end vedder wrote--] Fully understanding this sentence is much harder than 20 years of meine education. Well that and the mystery to why no one hasn't created a brothel management game yet. :p
My brain hurts.
Patrick Bregger (300054) on 10/6/2010 2:50 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Indra was here (20756) on 10/6/2010 2:54 PM · Permalink · Report
I stand corrected. Downloading...
Indra was here (20756) on 10/6/2010 3:10 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Heh. Just noticed the game rankings for this game:
The Press Says:
Game Captain - 34 out of 100
GameStar (Germany) - 9 out of 100
Overkill :p
Pseudo_Intellectual (66360) on 10/6/2010 3:47 PM · Permalink · Report
Indra was here (20756) on 10/6/2010 5:04 PM · Permalink · Report
Heh. Sometimes I feel that not being the only pervert in the world makes me feel less unique.
Not quite sure if that's a bad thing. :p
Игги Друге (46653) on 10/6/2010 3:01 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start vedder wrote--]I disagree, I always maximize all my windows, because I don't like my screen to be cluttered or distracting. That doesn't mean I want to read 40 cm long sentences.[/Q --end vedder wrote--]
The default behaviour of HTML is to fill the window. You adjust the size of the page by adjusting the window.
[Q --start vedder wrote--]Design choices should always facilitate human habits, not enforce them. [/Q --end vedder wrote--]
Exactly. But not your habits.
Zerobrain (3052) on 10/6/2010 10:57 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start Игги Друге wrote--]A website should fit in the windows of the user. If the user wants to read text with 30 cm long rows, that should be her decision. [/Q --end Игги Друге wrote--] [Q2 --start vedder wrote--]A website shouldn't force users to resize their windows. Text should never set to spread across the screen infinitely as is currently the case right here at the forums. It makes for very uncomfortable reading. [/Q2 --end vedder wrote--] Actually you both are right. Though fitting a website to a user window doesn't necessarily require spreading text areas to the max. There exist other layout tricks that still conform to legibility.
Игги Друге (46653) on 10/6/2010 9:43 AM · Permalink · Report
Good input.
SharkD (425) on 10/1/2010 6:47 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Here's a completely different design:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_h.png
Lain Crowley (6629) on 10/1/2010 4:00 PM · Permalink · Report
That seems more like a reskin of the current site than a brand new version. Adding a few selectable themes from the preferences menu might be neat, but would mostly be cosmetic. A few things to note:
That logo font is still terrible. It's more readable now because of the background, but it's still the kind of font that people use as a joke, like Papyrus. Also I don't think anyone is interested in rebranding all the scans on Moby, so the logo is probably never going to change.
You're also still cramming the search bar into a corner. Look at where other sites that feature a lot of searching (google, gamefaqs, wikipedia, wikia) put their search bars, and what they surround it with.
SharkD (425) on 10/1/2010 6:22 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
I've done more work on the last version:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_i.png
I also created a small gallery so you can see them side by side:
Игги Друге (46653) on 10/6/2010 10:06 AM · Permalink · Report
Looks like a skin for the current design, spiced up with some ill-though-out and extremely uncreative graphics.
SharkD (425) on 10/4/2010 4:12 PM · edited · Permalink · Report
Latest:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_j.png
[edit]
And another that I like better:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_k.png
[edit]
And a new design based on a different template:
http://isometricland.com/images/mobygames_sitedesign_mockup_l.png
Zerobrain (3052) on 10/6/2010 11:34 AM · Permalink · Report
IMHO your efforts should try to maintain the current looks while enhancing legibility. Your examples up to date seem to reinvent more than just layout issues, alienating the website.
Don't get me wrong. I acclaim your efforts to enhance the MG Design but I believe it will be in vain if you don't change your approach.
Before continuously slapping out cookie-cutter mockups you should maybe invest more time in some issues:
- opinion of the community (it's actually a user driven site)
- analysis of the dos and don'ts of the current design
- corporate requirements of the MG owners?
SharkD (425) on 10/8/2010 12:34 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
Another option would be to purchase a design. A lot of them are under $30, which (I'm guessing) is about the same as a month's worth of bandwidth. You wouldn't have to worry about the design being open source.
oswd.org has a "premium" section where you can purchase designs and (presumably) own the rights to it:
http://www.oswd.org/designs/premium/
These two look a lot like IGN or some other professional gaming site and have a three column layout like MG's.
beetle120 (2415) on 10/7/2010 6:43 AM · Permalink · Report
Since SharkD was creating designs I thought I might give it a crack since I had free time at work.
Screen found Here (photobucket for some reason made the picture smaller, I'll fix it when I have time)
Created in Fireworks. I know it has a lot of issues like a lot of the text been squished into those little boxes and it is not that user friendly. The idea is to make the website more clean like the Wikipedia or Apple homepages (my inspiration) but also make it not like an abandoned website with all the updates clearly visible. You can suggest changes but I can't say if I am going to make any more changes to to design, it all depends of the difficulty of the change and the free time I have to make it.
Disclaimer: This was done for fun only and I am not saying in any way it should be used for the MobyGames website. I don't have the skills yet to make it into HTML page for starters.
MZ per X (3017) on 10/7/2010 8:51 AM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start beetle120 wrote--]...since I had free time at work.[/Q --end beetle120 wrote--]
jumps out of a nearby window
Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhh... splash
But your design, I like. It has this kind of freshness that is needed, at least for the homepage.
beetle120 (2415) on 10/8/2010 12:51 AM · Permalink · Report
Thanks for the feedback everyone. The work at my work seems to come and go without warning, it's not busy at the moment and we are allowed to do any personal project with our free time, I love it here. Doing projects like this design is encouraged as it is improving my design work that is part of my job.
Indra was here (20756) on 10/11/2010 5:51 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
[Q --start beetle120 wrote--] ...we are allowed to do any personal project with our free time, I love it here. Doing projects like this design is encouraged as it is improving my design work that is part of my job. [/Q --end beetle120 wrote--] I didn't know humane working environments still existed like all those other ISO companies.
SharkD (425) on 10/9/2010 3:27 AM · edited · Permalink · Report
The design is kind of weird, IMO. It is a lot like Google, in that it is centered horizontally (and vertically to some degree), but tries to cram in a lot more stuff.
I'm not sure it would work at 1024x768 (which is kind of the minimum these days that developers should target toward).
beetle120 (2415) on 10/10/2010 11:33 PM · Permalink · Report
[Q --start SharkD wrote--]The design is kind of weird, IMO. It is a lot like Google, in that it is centered horizontally (and vertically to some degree), but tries to cram in a lot more stuff.
I'm not sure it would work at 1024x768 (which is kind of the minimum these days that developers should target toward). [/Q --end SharkD wrote--]
The Google look was something I was aiming for as most people are familiar and so easy to understand and use for the average internet user. I probably crammed in to much stuff but different people use this site for different reasons and I tried to provide the information to everyone, what ever they where after.
The 1280x720 resolution that it is currently at seems so small on my screen but I'll see if I can fit it in 1024x768. I think that I will have to take one of the columns out.