Adventure Gamers - Forums

Doom - 19 September 2018 08:25 PM

Adventuregamers was also a better place under Marek, but it’s still alive and kicking under Jack and the rest, still the best website dedicated to adventure games. Why should JA fade out? It was loved by many, and if someone keeps trying to resurrect the site after Rendy’s death, this probably means that people are willing to contribute to it.

I’ve been running around here since 2004. Even earlier, I believe, since AG reset everything during the latest major software change.

No digs at Marek. After all, he was the one that made this all happen. But come on! The forum has never been in better shape than it is right now.

Oscar - 19 September 2018 09:28 PM

rtrooney - 19 September 2018 09:12 PM

No digs at Marek. After all, he was the one that made this all happen. But come on! The forum has never been in better shape than it is right now.

That’s something that not everyone agrees with.

We used to have AGSOTD, multiple quizzes and playthroughs, as well as lively debates on game related topics. Not to mention a lot more activity.

Everyone has an opinion. Don’t tell me about AGSOTD. The last AGSOTD post of the current era was mine. You and I were going to split the Friday chore, but you dropped out. If you would like to resurrect it, restart the thread, and offer to take a lead role. Otherwise your your criticism falls on deaf ears.

I could care less about the quizzes. I consider it a major accomplishment if I can guess one scene correctly. If you want them more frequently than Lady K can produce them then create one yourself.

We’re currently playing the Shivers playthrough. You are not participating. So what is it exactly that you have a problem with?

Everything you say is missing from the good old days are things you no longer participate in. Sorry. I don’t get it.

As much as I hate to admit it, there’s no question forums are a dying breed. Discourse brought fresh and interesting ideas to the concept of community boards, but mostly the software dev community is taking greater advantage of it. Case in point, it’s hard to imagine a modern forum today without features like infinite scroll or reactions.

I’ve seen days here without a single new post in the Adventure section. That was unthinkable years ago, even when there was less activity in the genre as a whole. That’s not a criticism to this community, but simply that forums are going out of fashion.

My recommendation would be to start an Adventure Gamers Discord right away. As much as I love the concept of forums, Discord has blown everything out of the water. There’s simply no comparison and it has become a must for game developers. It’s hands down the place to be right now.

Of course, it has its downsides: ultimately, you don’t really own your server. If Discord decides to charge a fortune or shut it down, you lose your entire community. It’s a remote possibility, though. It may also go out of fashion eventually, but there’s simply no excuse to not be there right now.

You can see our layout and the kind of activities we’re doing at http://discord.gg/senscape

I strongly suggest AG goes this route as well. It will bring renewed life to the community for sure.

Jofog - 19 September 2018 11:45 PM

I really hate that forums are a dying breed but I do have to agree with Agustin that Discord, or something very similar, is the wave of the future. I was part of a very active adventure group play bunch at another forum and it’s moved to Discord. I haven’t quite adjusted to the idea yet although I did finally post there. It moves very quickly like a shoutbox or texting. I’ve been assured that it is the perfect format for group plays but I have yet to join one there. The rest of the group is thrilled with it and I can’t imagine that any of them would want to go back to a forum setting.

Wait, that wouldn’t happen to be Pond Friends? They’re precisely doing huge group plays in our server!

CaliMonk - 20 September 2018 09:08 AM

Been thinking of exactly this for a while now actually, I don’t particularly like Discord (Slack is something I like better, but that’s more professional setting). So we’ll probably have one at one point, it’s like having IRC channels all over again (where most of our online community started actually..).

I didn’t see the point in Slack until I began using it heavily. If I told you that Slack is a glorified IRC, it would be a disservice — there’s much more to it: mentions, bots, integrations, generally a nicer environment, etc.

It’s all the same with Discord. Turns out it’s completely wrong to compare Discord vs Slack in the same terms. Slack is a great tool for team communication. Discord is a community builder. The standout features are the role system, custom bots on a whole better dimension than Slack, and the interface leaning towards seeing who’s online and doing what. An @everyone mention with big news usually provokes a massive reaction that outshines anything we do on Facebook or Twitter (which is why I strongly recommend Discord for indie devs).

An example of customization is our Warden bot who salutes new members in bizarre ways, such as throwing around dismembered limbs. Another bot, Julia, gives away free Scratches keys based on your activity and dedication to the server. And things are going to get real fun when Lenny arrives

This aspect (rewarding members) makes Discord a terrific match for Patreon. We aren’t doing it ourselves, but I know people that used Discord to boost their Patreon income and vice versa. There’s even a specific integration. I believe it would be a great fit for AG and its dedicated community.

As for forums, I think it boils down to how the immediacy of social networks have spoiled us. Forum softwares (even Discourse) lack that addictive feel of participating in a fluid discussion. Maybe it’s the typical long form of posts (this is a huge one already), looking for the Submit button, formatting text with BBCode (for crying out loud, where’s Markdown?!), and speed. It just isn’t fast enough to browse different categories to see what’s happening in other places of the community. You may think I’m exaggerating, but consider the ability to instantly switch between channels, type some text and hit Enter to fire away.

This all adds up to a cumbersome, aged experience, and it’s a damn shame, but if there’s anything this highly unpredictable industry has taught us, is the need to adapt fast. I still like forums (which is why I am here), but users are moving on and the window of opportunity to jump on the Discord bandwagon is closing fast.

It has nothing to do with the topic, I just wanted to say it’s a privilege to receive tips from someone as Agustín Cordés.

I didn’t mean to offend anyone, after all I joined AG during the post-Marek era and I’m still happy being around. I also understand that mantaining such a complex website is hell lot of a job. I just remember the times when I discovered the internet and all those game-related sites I was browsing through anonymously (although I joined JA forums at one point, not for long). Everything was simplier, but the community felt more united, more involved, there was always something interesting going on. I also liked how JA was known as a Sierra temple, while AG was strongly pro-LucasArts, and there was this sort of rival going on between the websites and the communities It’s sad that the forums are dying.