Revamping Play Online - Want Some Opinions

[mollipen]

Seems like that particular design has the art director in mind more than the end-user.

I have Cowutopia to blame for my new line of thinking, so it's all his fault.

(Well, except I don't feel bad for people who have third-party toolbars. Those people are weirdos.)

[Nick]

And Play's readers are well-adjusted pillars of society?

Cow originally cautioned you against making the site look like a magazine scan, but aren't you doing just that? Does the author's picture need to be above the content?

[Advocate]

Again thats why I personally liked the first design, but I thought Shidoshi should take a step back and reexamine what he was saying.

[mollipen]

Cow originally cautioned you against making the site look like a magazine scan, but aren't you doing just that?

From what he posted, I read it as him telling me to make it less like a website, and take into consideration more the "fun" of our mag's layouts.

Edit: Or maybe, this entire time, I completely misread what he was saying. *laughs* For some reason, I connected the following statement with the statement about how shitty Play's current site is.

Does the author's picture need to be above the content?

Yes. One of the things I really want to push with the new site is the staff, because I think that's one of the strengths of Play, much like it was at GameFan. I want people who visit Play to think more about who is associated with what.

Anyhow, a bit different idea. I've been trying to orient the header images vertically so far, but what about instead going more horizontal?

[Advocate]

I like the new one.

[Dyne]

one problem i have with this last one is the impression of borders, but no actual borders, if that makes sense. when the background is the same color it just seems like there's a lot of wasted space on the sides. that, combined with the large ad box dead center (vertically) on the page makes me wonder again why that space isn't used. i'm speaking from a "typical" user standpoint in this case of course.

is that ad block set in stone? to go with what Nick was saying i would (ideally) move that Geek shit to the bottom. having it at the top just adds an 1/8 inch scroll to somebody running 800x600. i know you guys have to try and create revenue for the offshoot but the focus is the review in the end. then move that ad block down.

i kind of chopped your stuff up.

[Dyne]

i also got lazy but i owuld take any type out of the artwork. i'm assuming it's placeholder right now but that big red box on that nice artwork makes me a bit limp. the title would fit fine right above the article, under the artwork.

[Drewbacca]

My feedback is that it looks polished, and good. But it also looks like something I could tell you designed (very grid based, heavy on the imagery), and very, very videogame-esque. Check out www.bestwebgallery.com and take some non-videogame site inspiration to break out of the typical mold. This is the best of the best on the web, and very creative so you will probably be able to easily incorporate some of the design ideas you see in to a video game site and come out with something truly, truly unique.

I've always loved the site Ars Technica for a tech site layout. It's very commercial, but pleasant and well-made. www.arstechnica.com . They have some banner ads and shit up on their site too, which are big but not too bad.

As for an actual critique on the stuff you've posted:

- I dislike how the BG isn't lighter gray all the way down like it is on the image. You can always post the big BG image and not loop it, but the divide between light and dark gray seems weird.

- I definitely dig the red layout best. I'm not a fan off the lack of colour, though I know colour illustration will probably be normally used in your images so going too bold might be harder to pull off.

Looks good though, technically everything is nice.

I'm disliking the far left justification you've added. before it was neatly aligned with the headline in the FF7 image and now it's looming out in no-mans-land. The header definitely looks way better without the banner, though... but I imagine he's putting banners in because it's a prerequisite for the green stuff.

[mollipen]

one problem i have with this last one is the impression of borders, but no actual borders, if that makes sense. when the background is the same color it just seems like there's a lot of wasted space on the sides.

See, I actually like the designs without actual borders far better myself - I like the idea of stuff just kind of floating on the background without a "visual" border present. That said, I understand the concern, and in playing around in Photoshop one problem I'm having is that, should a header image not be available, things quickly got to all hell and look utterly barren.

that, combined with the large ad box dead center (vertically) on the page makes me wonder again why that space isn't used.

Just to be clear, that box is just to mark off where the ad column will go. Below that add will be other add stuff.

is that ad block set in stone?

I really like the look without the ad banner at the top, but I think that's a fight I'd lose. If you look at the current website, it's packed with ads - and that isn't by my choice. I'm already worried I may have to argue my case a lot due to the reduction in physical amount of ads a page is now going to be able to have, especially when one of the major points (for management) in wanting a new site is to get something that will help sell ads.

I could always toss that first banner into the upper right, but (a) that would mean cutting down the width of the play logo, which I really wanted to avoid doing, and (b) would take up the space I was hoping to reserve for a future user login box.

That ad banner, though... man, it's been one of the biggest sticking points for me in this redesign. I hate it, and wish I didn't have to have it.

[mollipen]

Check out www.bestwebgallery.com and take some non-videogame site inspiration to break out of the typical mold. This is the best of the best on the web, and very creative so you will probably be able to easily incorporate some of the design ideas you see in to a video game site and come out with something truly, truly unique.

Funny enough, I actually went through that site the other day for about an hour, visiting websites and taking screen caps of their designs for ideas. Of course, the problem now is that I've got too many different ideas which just makes things worse. *laughs*

- I dislike how the BG isn't lighter gray all the way down like it is on the image. You can always post the big BG image and not loop it, but the divide between light and dark gray seems weird.

I didn't properly explain that: I was just testing to see what I thought about the idea of background graphics done in that style. TRUST ME, the final site idea wasn't to have that switch like that - that just happened to be the height of the image I was stealing those graphics from.