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AoC Website and Forums
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This is my first post. I was going to start chiming in when more information was available but I believe a lot of my questions of the games intent and how it will come about has been streamlined via Dev Q & A's. I decided to take the plunge and dropped a grand on the game (two 500$ pledges for me and the wife and a 150$ one for my son). I've mostly youtubed my information for the game and decided today to go to the AoC website to check out the forums.
With that said...I really dislike the layout. I am not sure if this has been discussed anywhere but I feel like the website was created by someone who is very talented but made the website and forum layout as if it was for someone who was 70+ years old and needed everything HUGE. Web browsers have built in features to make text large and it should be used for those who need characters bigger to read. It is not how a professional company should base their layout. There is a reason that people don't send letterhead documents to each other in font size 30. It's a waste of space and massive eye strain. Combine the large style of the website and the scroll locked background photo and it starts to make you get a headache overtime (at least it does for me). The forum headings should all fit on one screen or at the MAXIMUM one scroll down of the mouse. People have been using forums for decades now and don't need detail explanations in the heading box explaining "General Discussion". There is also like two or three spaces below and above the title heading of wasted space followed by another 3 spaces of dead space until the next subject box. Don't get me wrong the overall Design is not bad at all but the SIZE is just very taxing to endure. You want a place where people want to follow and stay engaged, not dread coming to look at information.
The website is the same way. 1/3 of your front page is your header and Kickerstarter banner. Followed by HALF of a graphic portal. You have to scroll down to actually see the bottom 3rd of the portal. I have no idea if its on the ground, hovering over water, floating, being surrounded by people, spawning monsters, ect. Everything is just to big. Get things on one page together so that it makes sense the first time someone goes to your website. I play on a 42 inch 1080p monitor and it's to large for me by a mile. Most people play at around 720p level and I can't imagine what it looks like to them. The content and artwork looks amazing. Don't do it an injustice by having a website that is in 140% zoom mode.
Not going to insult the developers intelligence because you guys have a huge history and experience behind you. Your game development experience can pimp slap me in the face. But I also want to stress that our (wife and I) opinions come with many years of hard experience of trial and error. I was one of the project team managers for the USMC website and the project lead for the USMC tactical website. One of my main jobs to catch the attention of the 16-21 year old at first glance and draw them in. On the tactical side I had to show the entire overview of the battlespace so that the leadership could make quick and sound tactical decisions off the information that was provided. My wife has worked for Marvel, Darkhorse, Image, and many other major comic book companies as an illustrator and colorist. The front page of a comic book is meant draw you in and give you the very broad stroke hint of what the issue is going to be about. Each page after is artistic dance between the publishers design to not only highlight the artist skill but also fit as much crap onto a page so that the issue can be 23 pages vice 25 pages to save money and draw out the storyline. If you make the pictures to small then people think the artist skill is crap, if you make them to big you barely get anywhere in storyline because not enough dialogue is being discussed from the pages. This makes artist, publishers, and fans unhappy! Large companies have mastered these techniques now so it's not an issue but when they first started they made a ton of mistakes!
When you are fully established like (insert the big dog MMO name here) and everyone knows who you are (movies, previous games ect) then your front page can consist of news, updates, ect without having to explain what the game is about because the masses don't need to know the different between factions because they know it. But AoC needs to capture the hearts and minds of everyone who clicks on their website at this early stage of their development and I really feel that the front homepage just has me all types of confused upon first image. That portal looks amazing graphically (when you can see the entire thing) but what does that have to do with the core of AoC intent? The game is suppose to be about community, building, interacting with each other, large scale raids, pvp, land conflicts, navel conflicts, ect. Bringing back the first M in MMO and bucking the tread of copy and paste MMO's. But the front page is a portal? That would make sense if this was dimensions online or shards online but I don't really feel like it fits AoC.
Anyhow, just my opinion. I have no hidden agenda. I am a detective now and avoid website creation like the plaque and my wife's retired. I just really want this game to not just succeed at early funding, I want it to last a long time because I am tired of all the MMO's that have come out over the last 10 years. Some have promised things that have kept us entertained for maybe 6 months with hopes that what was promised would be achieved but we have been let down many times. You guys are making some very welcome statements of the vision of this game and it has inspired me to believe in you! I just want the website and forums to help in that continued inspiration over the development and hopefully successful and long lifespan of this game:) Looking forward to a world where my family can play together and get lost in.
*Character name to be determined*
With that said...I really dislike the layout. I am not sure if this has been discussed anywhere but I feel like the website was created by someone who is very talented but made the website and forum layout as if it was for someone who was 70+ years old and needed everything HUGE. Web browsers have built in features to make text large and it should be used for those who need characters bigger to read. It is not how a professional company should base their layout. There is a reason that people don't send letterhead documents to each other in font size 30. It's a waste of space and massive eye strain. Combine the large style of the website and the scroll locked background photo and it starts to make you get a headache overtime (at least it does for me). The forum headings should all fit on one screen or at the MAXIMUM one scroll down of the mouse. People have been using forums for decades now and don't need detail explanations in the heading box explaining "General Discussion". There is also like two or three spaces below and above the title heading of wasted space followed by another 3 spaces of dead space until the next subject box. Don't get me wrong the overall Design is not bad at all but the SIZE is just very taxing to endure. You want a place where people want to follow and stay engaged, not dread coming to look at information.
The website is the same way. 1/3 of your front page is your header and Kickerstarter banner. Followed by HALF of a graphic portal. You have to scroll down to actually see the bottom 3rd of the portal. I have no idea if its on the ground, hovering over water, floating, being surrounded by people, spawning monsters, ect. Everything is just to big. Get things on one page together so that it makes sense the first time someone goes to your website. I play on a 42 inch 1080p monitor and it's to large for me by a mile. Most people play at around 720p level and I can't imagine what it looks like to them. The content and artwork looks amazing. Don't do it an injustice by having a website that is in 140% zoom mode.
Not going to insult the developers intelligence because you guys have a huge history and experience behind you. Your game development experience can pimp slap me in the face. But I also want to stress that our (wife and I) opinions come with many years of hard experience of trial and error. I was one of the project team managers for the USMC website and the project lead for the USMC tactical website. One of my main jobs to catch the attention of the 16-21 year old at first glance and draw them in. On the tactical side I had to show the entire overview of the battlespace so that the leadership could make quick and sound tactical decisions off the information that was provided. My wife has worked for Marvel, Darkhorse, Image, and many other major comic book companies as an illustrator and colorist. The front page of a comic book is meant draw you in and give you the very broad stroke hint of what the issue is going to be about. Each page after is artistic dance between the publishers design to not only highlight the artist skill but also fit as much crap onto a page so that the issue can be 23 pages vice 25 pages to save money and draw out the storyline. If you make the pictures to small then people think the artist skill is crap, if you make them to big you barely get anywhere in storyline because not enough dialogue is being discussed from the pages. This makes artist, publishers, and fans unhappy! Large companies have mastered these techniques now so it's not an issue but when they first started they made a ton of mistakes!
When you are fully established like (insert the big dog MMO name here) and everyone knows who you are (movies, previous games ect) then your front page can consist of news, updates, ect without having to explain what the game is about because the masses don't need to know the different between factions because they know it. But AoC needs to capture the hearts and minds of everyone who clicks on their website at this early stage of their development and I really feel that the front homepage just has me all types of confused upon first image. That portal looks amazing graphically (when you can see the entire thing) but what does that have to do with the core of AoC intent? The game is suppose to be about community, building, interacting with each other, large scale raids, pvp, land conflicts, navel conflicts, ect. Bringing back the first M in MMO and bucking the tread of copy and paste MMO's. But the front page is a portal? That would make sense if this was dimensions online or shards online but I don't really feel like it fits AoC.
Anyhow, just my opinion. I have no hidden agenda. I am a detective now and avoid website creation like the plaque and my wife's retired. I just really want this game to not just succeed at early funding, I want it to last a long time because I am tired of all the MMO's that have come out over the last 10 years. Some have promised things that have kept us entertained for maybe 6 months with hopes that what was promised would be achieved but we have been let down many times. You guys are making some very welcome statements of the vision of this game and it has inspired me to believe in you! I just want the website and forums to help in that continued inspiration over the development and hopefully successful and long lifespan of this game:) Looking forward to a world where my family can play together and get lost in.
*Character name to be determined*
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Comments
With that said…I really dislike the layout. I am not sure if this has been discussed anywhere but I feel like the website was created by someone who is very talented but made the website and forum layout as if it was for someone who was 70+ years old and needed everything HUGE. Web browsers have built in features to make text large and it should be used for those who need characters bigger to read. It is not how a professional company should base their layout. There is a reason that people don’t send letterhead documents to each other in font size 30. It’s a waste of space and massive eye strain. Combine the large style of the website and the scroll locked background photo and it starts to make you get a headache overtime (at least it does for me). The forum headings should all fit on one screen or at the MAXIMUM one scroll down of the mouse. People have been using forums for decades now and don’t need detail explanations in the heading box explaining “General Discussion”. There is also like two or three spaces below and above the title heading of wasted space followed by another 3 spaces of dead space until the next subject box. Don’t get me wrong the overall Design is not bad at all but the SIZE is just very taxing to endure. You want a place where people want to follow and stay engaged, not dread coming to look at information.
The website is the same way. 1/3 of your front page is your header and Kickerstarter banner. Followed by HALF of a graphic portal. You have to scroll down to actually see the bottom 3rd of the portal. I have no idea if its on the ground, hovering over water, floating, being surrounded by people, spawning monsters, ect. Everything is just to big. Get things on one page together so that it makes sense the first time someone goes to your website. I play on a 42 inch 1080p monitor and it’s to large for me by a mile. Most people play at around 720p level and I can’t imagine what it looks like to them. The content and artwork looks amazing. Don’t do it an injustice by having a website that is in 140% zoom mode.
Not going to insult the developers intelligence because you guys have a huge history and experience behind you. Your game development experience can pimp slap me in the face. But I also want to stress that our (wife and I) opinions come with many years of hard experience of trial and error. I was one of the project team managers for the USMC website and the project lead for the USMC tactical website. One of my main jobs to catch the attention of the 16-21 year old at first glance and draw them in. On the tactical side I had to show the entire overview of the battlespace so that the leadership could make quick and sound tactical decisions off the information that was provided. My wife has worked for Marvel, Darkhorse, Image, and many other major comic book companies as an illustrator and colorist. The front page of a comic book is meant draw you in and give you the very broad stroke hint of what the issue is going to be about. Each page after is artistic dance between the publishers design to not only highlight the artist skill but also fit as much crap onto a page so that the issue can be 23 pages vice 25 pages to save money and draw out the storyline. If you make the pictures to small then people think the artist skill is crap, if you make them to big you barely get anywhere in storyline because not enough dialogue is being discussed from the pages. This makes artist, publishers, and fans unhappy! Large companies have mastered these techniques now so it’s not an issue but when they first started they made a ton of mistakes!
When you are fully established like (insert the big dog MMO name here) and everyone knows who you are (movies, previous games ect) then your front page can consist of news, updates, ect without having to explain what the game is about because the masses don’t need to know the different between factions because they know it. But AoC needs to capture the hearts and minds of everyone who clicks on their website at this early stage of their development and I really feel that the front homepage just has me all types of confused upon first image. That portal looks amazing graphically (when you can see the entire thing) but what does that have to do with the core of AoC intent? The game is suppose to be about community, building, interacting with each other, large scale raids, pvp, land conflicts, navel conflicts, ect. Bringing back the first M in MMO and bucking the tread of copy and paste MMO’s. But the front page is a portal? That would make sense if this was dimensions online or shards online but I don’t really feel like it fits AoC.
Anyhow, just my opinion. I have no hidden agenda. I am a detective now and avoid website creation like the plaque and my wife’s retired. I just really want this game to not just succeed at early funding, I want it to last a long time because I am tired of all the MMO’s that have come out over the last 10 years. Some have promised things that have kept us entertained for maybe 6 months with hopes that what was promised would be achieved but we have been let down many times. You guys are making some very welcome statements of the vision of this game and it has inspired me to believe in you! I just want the website and forums to help in that continued inspiration over the development and hopefully successful and long lifespan of this game:) Looking forward to a world where my family can play together and get lost in.
*Character name to be determined*
[/quote]
You're not alone. The forums are horrendous.
1st off, thanks for contributing $1000+. You are awesome!
2nd you are 100% right about the website. My little sister can design a better site!
I don't think anyone has mentioned it. I do hope this site is just temporary. If this is their final site, i would be disappointed.