Retro game of the week?

mossy_11

I have an idea for a new feature that could help boost community involvement on the site, but I'm not sure what the best approach will be.

Basically, we/I/someone chooses an old game (or maybe pseudo-old game, like Retro Game Challenge), then publishes a brief write-up on the front page. The idea would be to get people discussing the game, perhaps in the comments or forums, or maybe even with a full-blown article.

Perhaps the discussion would be managed by milestones, so that people who are playing for the first time can avoid spoilers until they've had some time to progress. Or maybe it would just be an all out free-for-all on the game. You decide.

It could be a weekly thing, or, if that's too short a time frame, bi-weekly or monthly. People could volunteer to do the write-up for a particular game or week. It might also be a low pressure way for people to start writing articles on the site.

So, what I'd like to know is how everyone here feels about this idea. I'd like ideas and suggestions for format, content, style, games, etc. Anything that could help make this a community feature with plenty of discussion and participation.

Pixelcade

I think this is a great idea! I'd happily do a few for the Colecovision, NES, SNES or MAME when the need is there. Trying to focus on games that have multi-platform releases on older systems would peak my interest. We could compare graphics, controls, sounds all that stuff. I think that should you want to get this going try it monthly to see the response. Do your one game and also include a poll for what game will be done next or not just trying to get people involved. Perhaps put in a goal for playing the game who knows.

seanstar

I would not like this feature only because I would voluntarily write up a game... or two... or maybe just a few more... and then wake up broke, starving and in a gutter somewhere. Other than that, sounds awesome :)

mossy_11

So I'm actually going to make this happen soon...as a monthly thing.

The games I'm thinking about for the first one are Chrono Trigger, Prince of Persia (the original Jordan Mechner one), Ardy Lightfoot, and Paperboy. Any thoughts on which is the best choice?

The plan is to do a brief write-up enticing people to play and discuss the game (with some questions to get the talk started), then after a while (maybe a few weeks) put together a round-up of the community's thoughts.

I'd be calling for volunteers to take charge of future episodes, but will probably do it myself for month number 1.

DookieMan

Awesome idea. Weekly would be better, but I understand that it can be quite time consuming to find and write about retro games.

menace690

Assuming you weren't just doing RPG's, finding classic games to review once a week shouldn't be too hard. A reviewer doesn't necessarily need to finish the game either. Games like Earthworm Jim, NBA Jam, even the Mario franchise could easily be reviewed in 1-2 weeks including play and writing time.

mossy_11

I'm not completely against the idea of doing three or four games a month, but I'd really like to see this become a community feature -- something that happens even if I'm not around, and which gets more people contributing (in one way or another). I thought giving each game some more time in the spotlight would allow more people to participate, in addition to a more in-depth discussion.

I could probably manage to do this weekly if that's what people prefer, especially if I have some helpers taking the reigns every now and then.

That's why I'm asking about it here first. I need to gauge the interest and get a feel for what people want out of such a feature.

jack59splat59

I could probably help out, except I don't know a lot about retro games, but I know about a lot for how young I am, compared to people who have been gaming since things like the original Gameboy came out.

seanstar

As I said, I'm open to contributing now and again, with notice. Would each post be on a suggested genre, or title from a list, or just open review of a title we feel is underrepresented?

mossy_11

I think we'll probably leave the choice of games open. I may poll the community from time to time, but anyone volunteering to do an entry would be able to choose their game.

When I post the first one I'll include a bit at the end that asks for contributors, then I guess I'll try to come up with a roster or schedule or something for the next few games, and who will be writing the articles.

The first "Retro Game of the Week" will go up sometime in the next week. I expect it will take several entries before we really settle on a format for the articles and discussion, and a procedure for choosing games and contributors.

jack59splat59 wrote:

I could probably help out, except I don't know a lot about retro games, but I know about a lot for how young I am, compared to people who have been gaming since things like the original Gameboy came out.

I see that as a positive thing -- you can come at games (and writing about games) from a different angle to the rest of us.

jack59splat59

mossy_11 wrote:

I see that as a positive thing -- you can come at games (and writing about games) from a different angle to the rest of us.

Sounds like a good idea to me. How could I be able to help out though?

mossy_11

Simple. Contribute to discussions, suggest future games, and volunteer for the occasional write-up.

How to best do those things will be revealed very soon.

jack59splat59

Sounds good.