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Website coming soon, need writers.

Started by Atrius, 02, April, 2010, 11:23:48 PM

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Atrius (He/Him)

You may or may not have noticed that the "Home" button on the navigation bar no longer takes you to the forum index, and there's now a separate "Forum" button.  That's because Golden Sun Hacking Community is about to undergo a big change, the addition of a website which will be seamlessly integrated with the forums able to pull data off of them, and even use the theme you have selected in your profile.  Don't worry though, the actual forums themselves will remain largely untouched.

One thing I'd also like to do as part of this is to rework the downloads section to make it more integrated with the rest of the site.  Although it's a very nice feature it doesn't seem like people are even using it at all, they're just posting their downloads as attachments to topics on the forum instead.  Although I have a rough idea of what I'd like to do, any suggestions on how to go about fixing this would be greatly appreciated.

I'm going to need a couple writers to help build the informational pages on the website about the editor, Golden Sun games, and our community.  I haven't fully decided what all will be included about the games, whether we'll just have a brief synopsis of them along with information on glitches, and some trivia that was discovered about them through hacking, or have a detailed guides of all the items, attacks, enemies, locations, e.t.c. for them.  That depends on what the writers want to do, although I'll likely automate some of the data gathering process if we choose to go that detailed.  To apply for a job as a writer send me an example of your work, preferably through personal message.  A brief summary of one of the games, characters, locations, or anything encyclopedic in nature will do.  Insightfulness, writing style (personality?), as well as spelling & grammar will all be taken into account.  I'd also like to include a detailed guide on the use of the Golden Sun TLA Editor on the website as well, though I haven't decided if I want to do that myself or pass it off to someone else yet.


EDIT: Just to clarify, HTML experience is not needed to apply.  I'll handle the layout & formatting of the pages, you'll only have to write the actual information on them.
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

Salanewt

By work, you mean something that we have written, right? I might apply for a website writing position, but I do not know how busy I will be this weekend.

As for the downloads section, why not just add a "Miscellaneous" section on the main page, and then add things like affiliates, downloads, etc.? For downloads, I would separate it into sections, like...

Downloads;
Golden Sun
-Utilities
-Hacks
Universal
-Utilities
Other
-Utilities
-Hacks

Something like this might help. Of course, I am not sure if "Other" should be included on a website solely based on Golden Sun.

Have a nice day.
Oh yeah baby, £ me harder.

Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak Adepts stronger.

Yoshi's Lighthouse is a hacking website in progress. Why not check it out if you like Yoshi or the Mario & Luigi games?

Atrius (He/Him)

I take it you didn't even realize we already have a downloads section >_<
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

Salanewt

I have known about it for a while, but you said...

QuoteOne thing I'd also like to do as part of this is to rework the downloads section to make it more integrated with the rest of the site.

In fact, the reason why I have not placed my hack in that section is because I want to develop it first.

Have a nice day.
Oh yeah baby, £ me harder.

Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak Adepts stronger.

Yoshi's Lighthouse is a hacking website in progress. Why not check it out if you like Yoshi or the Mario & Luigi games?

Zach

I look at the downloads tab once a month to see if anything changes, but it never does. Reason I haven't uploaded my hack to it is because I want to finish it before I add it to that section, HOWEVER, in my next update I shall add it to the list, just for you :D

MaxiPower


Atrius (He/Him)

I can't wait to see a sample of your work then.
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

Tetsuya the Azure Blade

I could help out aswell, seeing as the only thing I'm currently doing is playing Bioshock on my XBOX.

RTGreece21

 :!: I would also love to help... if you need more people, that is. I sent a PM to Role, applying for being a contributor for the main project. If i am accepted, then maybe I'll start with a document for the website. Just give me a few words about what you want to put on there, and I'll write something up with the proper links and information. I'm also wonder what sort of spelling the site will use. I am Canadian, so personally, I use Canadian spelling. I can do U.S. spelling too, if that is what you would rather use.  :Alex:
"Optimistic about Pessimism."
"Want to see my good side? Hah heh heh... That was a trick question. All I have are good sides."[/color]

MaxiPower

Don't tell me you's have your own way of spelling also.... cough cough, nothing like the original....

Salanewt

The Canadian English spellings are closer to the UK (like with color vs. colour), but are still different (and no method is correct over the other, though English in one country is generally preferred if it is what is usually used in that country).

Before getting too off topic though, I do have a question. Atrius? Are you going to make a list of who is helping out with the website, or is it going to be a private group (as for who is writing articles, etc.)?

Have a nice day.
Oh yeah baby, £ me harder.

Fusion is just a cheap tactic to make weak Adepts stronger.

Yoshi's Lighthouse is a hacking website in progress. Why not check it out if you like Yoshi or the Mario & Luigi games?

RTGreece21

Quote from: MaxiPower on 08, April, 2010, 10:14:31 AM
Don't tell me you's have your own way of spelling also.... cough cough, nothing like the original....
I think everyone does, just to be national jerks. :irate: Original English spelling used to be comprised of what people thought the words should be spelled like. Until a few people got tired of it and invented a dictionary, English was a flying mess. People ended up making the dictionaries for their communities and provinces, and thus English spelling ended up being different depending on where you go. :happy:

Quote from: Salanewt on 08, April, 2010, 03:03:37 PM
The Canadian English spellings are closer to the UK (like with color vs. colour), but are still different (and no method is correct over the other, though English in one country is generally preferred if it is what is usually used in that country).

Before getting too off topic though, I do have a question. Atrius? Are you going to make a list of who is helping out with the website, or is it going to be a private group (as for who is writing articles, etc.)?

Have a nice day.
I have an option that will allow me to change the spell check on OpenOffice, so I can use that to suit the needs of the website. :happy: I have noticed that the spelling seems closer for Canada and the UK, but it's pretty radically different if you look at US v.s. Canadian spellings.
"Optimistic about Pessimism."
"Want to see my good side? Hah heh heh... That was a trick question. All I have are good sides."[/color]

Pkmn-Master

How about a Golden Sun Wiki? I know there is a big one already, but... We could be a much bigger website like how SonicRetro is.

Atrius (He/Him)

The website is completely separate from the community hack project, you'll have to apply for them separately.  There will be a list on the site of people that helped create it.

As for nationality spelling to use, if the viewing statistics for the Youtube videos I've uploaded are any indication of our audience American comes in first place at 47% with Canadian following in second at only 8%

I have no intentions of doing anything as in-depth as a Wiki. I simply don't have the right resources to host it on the same server as our forums & website, and I support the existing Golden Sun wiki, I certainly don't mean to oppose them.
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

RTGreece21

Quote from: Atrius on 11, April, 2010, 05:04:58 AM
As for nationality spelling to use, if the viewing statistics for the Youtube videos I've uploaded are any indication of our audience American comes in first place at 47% with Canadian following in second at only 8%

Looks like I'll have to change my settings for that then. ^^ I love how one click of a button can change what is right and wrong in the English language. XD
"Optimistic about Pessimism."
"Want to see my good side? Hah heh heh... That was a trick question. All I have are good sides."[/color]

Rolina

Personally, I'm not a fan of a wiki...

However, a Hack Index would be a good idea.  This would be a place documenting the various hacks.  I figure there'd be a couple overall categories - Remixes and Reworks.

Remixes are basically all we've got right now - they're hacks that keep the story intact, but change things like enemy drops, or perhaps additional areas.
Reworks take the engine and basically make a new game with it.  It could be GS in nature, or it could be something totally different.

We'd also have the top rated in each category show up, but the main point is to give a summary of the hack to give people a better understanding of what to expect when they download it.

Atrius (He/Him)

For all the people that said they wanted to help, there sure is a lack of applications in my message box.
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

Rolina

My HTML is waaaay rusty, and sadly, I'm not that great at describing things too well.  Usually takes two or three tries to get the other person to realize what I'm trying to say.  Sad, really...

But I can make suggestions.  Like I said, I'm not a big fan of a Wiki.  I mean... what would we say?  No, leave the wiki to GSU's wiki.  Instead, we should have a comprehensive Hack index, which goes in depth into what you can find in each of the hacks available for download.  It could be done wiki-like, sure, but I think it's something we should have.  That way, people can make an informed decision as to what downloads they want to use and which ones they wanna pass on.

Not everyone wants a crazy hard hack, after all.  Likewise, some people may want to play a new game, rather than a remake of the old game.  That guide idea can help people figure out which ones are the right ones for them.

As for the actual website, though... I ain't gotta clue as to how it should be done.  I can help with colors and all, and maybe some suggestions as to arrange it in a more user-friendly fashion, but...

Atrius (He/Him)

The idea is to keep it as integrated with the forums as possible, so it's going to pull it's style straight from the forum's themes matching with whichever one the user has selected.

Knowledge of HTML is not needed to apply.

The Hack index would be nice if we had the time & willingness to play through each and every hack submitted.  No, it's up to the creator to properly describe, and advertise their hack in it's description when they upload it to the download system, which I eventually want to redesign to give it more of that hack index feel you want.  It does still depend a lot on the creators knowing how to advertise their submissions, but I'd like to add a review system as well so other people can help them out some if they feel the need.  It would also be nice to maybe do monthly hack awards if we ever have enough activity to justify it, and most underrated hack listings every so often for good ones that get overlooked.
[sprite=220,4,0]I'm shaking my head in general disapproval of everything[/sprite]

Rolina

Oh, that's cool.  I agree with the review system as well.  Not just a ratings system, though, but a fully fledged review system.  You cannot rate it without writing a review - this way we don't have people spamming bad or good ratings just because they can.

Also... not sure about monthly.  Quarterly sounds more reasonable, until the v1.0 comes out.  When it's out, we should be able to do a LOT more, so it'd be much easier to get these things out there.

I mean, I've got three hacks I wanna work on:  The Community Hack, my Personal Hack, and my GS:LAR project.  But until we get at least to V0.3, I really can't do much with them.