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What do you want to see on a game's website?

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chriswhite
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Joined: 07/10/2011

(Prelude: Recently started a wee little game company, gonna do a KS, etc.. usual nonsense. Probably end in disaster)

Right now, I'm in the middle of putting the finishing touches on my company website. When I did the first draft of the page, I put the most potent information at the top–– title, thematic blurb (100 words), "buy" button, Game overview (~400 words) along with some images of the components, and then a box with the player/age/time information.

But when I showed it to a friend and he said that it needed more fluff–– that once I get people looking at the page, I need to hook them with theme, and that the mechanical description of the gameplay would put people off. And then I began wondering if what I'm putting on the website is what people really want to see and know. So I changed it up, but I'm still having doubts.

But here's the question–– actually, a two-part question.

A) When you are checking out a game on the company website, what do you want to know about it? What do you want to see right at the top? What would make you stay on the page and learn about it? What do you usually not see that you would like to see?

Here are some possible answers, of varying importance:
• Theme/fluff
• Mechanical walkthrough of the game
• Physical size, weight, price
• A link to download the whole rulebook
• List of components
• Comparisons to other games ("Worker-placement deckbuilding game")
• Artwork used in the game
• Pictures of the components
• Mock-up of a game in progress (so you can wrap your head around the physical experience)
• Pictures of people playing the game and having so much fun.
• History of the game's creation and development
• ... anything else?

In case you have forgotten, here are a couple links to the official sites of some games:
http://riograndegames.com/Game/278-Dominion (very sterile)
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_minisite.asp?eidm=176 (very flashy)

B) When visiting a company's website, what are you interested in knowing? What are the most important things for you? What should be on the front page? What do you wish they would stop wasting space with?

Some ideas:
• Physical location and contact information
• Company history, mission, etc. Who they are, why they do what they do.
• More detailed information about the designers and other staff, including pictures, bio, etc. (Always good to put a face to a name!)
• Ways to become more personally invested in the company, like, a playtester, or more.
• Hype about about their upcoming releases
• Available merchandise–– T-shirts, posters, etc.
• Schedule for attending conventions

What say you, o' internet?

tzircher
tzircher's picture
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Joined: 07/12/2014
To be honest, I want ALL that

To be honest, I want ALL that info. Especially if I'm going to be dropping some serious coin on the product. The 'better' question is what to display on the first page and what to leave for the viewer to discover. First impressions count. Show off the good stuff and give the viewer the option to dig for more details.

Ecarots
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Joined: 08/23/2013
a decent short video

I believe for a "serious" or "costly" board game a decentshort video that explains the game but has enough of a hook to make someone want to learn more helps.

RyanRay
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Joined: 03/27/2014
Something I'd like to see

Something I'd like to see from smaller publishers is a list of games similar to what you offer. A sort of "You May Like [game] If You Enjoy..." blurb.

You're offering a game called Super Magic Battle, the page for that game could say "If you enjoy Kemet, Mage Wars, or Magic: TCG, you might enjoy Super Magic Battle".

I know bigger publishers are resistant to post things like that if it goes outside their own brand, but in your case it might be a good idea.

chriswhite
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Joined: 07/10/2011
thanks for your replies!

Thanks for the replies so far!

I made some changes and the website is now live.

www.lost-boys-productions.com

Feel free to take a gander and offer feedback. Still tweaking things.

But answers to the original question are still very welcome!

MalthusX
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Joined: 04/29/2013
Link to Page Broken

I think your site may be down or the link is broken. I tried to take a look see, but it didn't work.

As for webpages, I usually look for manuals. I can often get a good idea of if I'd like a game from manual, and I regret the times I did not (see: My unused copy of Duel of Ages 2).

pelle
pelle's picture
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Joined: 08/11/2008
rules

To be honest most likely I just go to the game page to look for the latest version of the rulebook PDF (and it better be there and easy to find). Everything else about the game I trust bgg much more than any company-driven site anyway.

chriswhite
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Joined: 07/10/2011
RyanRay wrote:Something I'd

RyanRay wrote:
Something I'd like to see from smaller publishers is a list of games similar to what you offer. A sort of "You May Like [game] If You Enjoy..." blurb.

You're offering a game called Super Magic Battle, the page for that game could say "If you enjoy Kemet, Mage Wars, or Magic: TCG, you might enjoy Super Magic Battle".

I know bigger publishers are resistant to post things like that if it goes outside their own brand, but in your case it might be a good idea.

I had thought about doing this. However, I'm apprehensive because I am not entirely sure it's legal to have this kind of comparison on a commercial website for the product in question. (It may be, but I can see the argument that you would be–– possibly in bad faith–– benefitting by piggy-backing the success of another party's intellectual property.) Personally, I'm often wary of these kind of comparisons when I see them, especially from unknown games relating themselves to very famous games, as it can be construed as either a 'fanboy-mod' kind of behavior, or simply a disingenuous attempt to make sales.

MalthusX wrote:
I think your site may be down or the link is broken. I tried to take a look see, but it didn't work.

Yeah, I don't know why the link didn't work.
I cut the formatting, and now it seems to work.

www.lost-boys-productions.com

thanks

jejboulet
jejboulet's picture
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Joined: 01/11/2014
I just took a look at your

I just took a look at your page and wanted to comment on how it looks (not so much on what is there). It looks pretty good overall. I did think, however, that on the game page for I, Spy you could actually put the title of the game at the top instead of the company name as in all the other pages. It could be "I, Spy" with "by Lost Boys Productions" in smaller letters.

In general I found that even though I'm using a 21'' screen the information of the different pages generally start in the bottom half of the screen because the company name header is so massive. My impression is that I am less interested in scrolling down to find more information since I don't get a good idea of what I'll find on that page if I do search around.

I hope that helps a little. Good luck with your campaign!

chriswhite
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Joined: 07/10/2011
Thanks for that catch––

Thanks for that catch–– there was an error that made the header too large. Should be a bit more manageable now.

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