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[Ashley]

17 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Or we just stop feeling the need to move threads so if they started as Switch titles then they could stay as Switch titles

If we are a Nintendo forum (and we are) and a game comes to a switch console there is logic in it being in the Nintendo forum presently. 

As I said we can discuss whether the Nintendo console should be "games on Nintendo's console" or "games made by Nintendo or exclusively on Nintendo's console" but that's the logic at the moment. 

[darksnowman]

5 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Or we just stop feeling the need to move threads so if they started as Switch titles then they could stay as Switch title

Grey areas! So you're willing to click into the Nintendo board for a multiplatform game that started out as a Switch-exclusive? I thought you wanted those prised out of the filthy Nintendo section.  

[Happenstance]

2 minutes ago, Ashley said:

If we are a Nintendo forum (and we are) and a game comes to a switch console there is logic in it being in the Nintendo forum presently. 

As I said we can discuss whether the Nintendo console should be "games on Nintendo's console" or "games made by Nintendo or exclusively on Nintendo's console" but that's the logic at the moment. 

Fair enough. As I said my neither way is my actual preference so I'm happy to hear the other ideas on potential reorganisation.

[Happenstance]

3 minutes ago, darksnowman said:

Grey areas! So you're willing to click into the Nintendo board for a multiplatform game that started out as a Switch-exclusive? I thought you wanted those prised out of the filthy Nintendo section.  

Ok let's get this cleared up quickly, me saying filthy earlier was 100% just a joke based on my previous issues with it that I thought people would get but obviously not so I apologise.

As I said, my preference is to have all the game threads in the one section anyway so we all chat together, I have no desire to split us apart further. Its mostly that I just don't like discussion being moved after its started.

[drahkon]

3 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

As I said my neither way is my actual preference so I'm happy to hear the other ideas on potential reorganisation.

I'm all for an Other Ideas board.

 

[Ashley]

1 minute ago, Happenstance said:

Ok let's get this cleared up quickly, me saying filthy earlier was 100% just a joke based on my previous issues with it that I thought people would get but obviously not so I apologise.

I got that btw

1 minute ago, drahkon said:

I'm all for an Other Ideas board.

 

We'd need an ideas board first. 

[Happenstance]

Noticed by the way that the forum has been running nice and smoothly again for the last day

[Hero-of-Time]

12 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Ok let's get this cleared up quickly, me saying filthy earlier was 100% just a joke based on my previous issues with it that I thought people would get but obviously not so I apologise.

No need to apologise. It's all just bantz.

[darksnowman]

14 minutes ago, Happenstance said:

Ok let's get this cleared up quickly, me saying filthy earlier was 100% just a joke based on my previous issues with it that I thought people would get but obviously not so I apologise.

No need. I was just returning the joke. I have my own issues with Nintendo but they are separate from how I feel the forum should be organised.

[bob]

Why don't we just add tags to all the threads with "Nintendo", "PS4", "retro" etc, so people can just filter all the threads in one go and see what they want.

[Ashley]

That's a good idea. I know we don't currently use tags often (and sometimes they're joke tags) but we could make more active use out of them. 

[Happenstance]

We've said a few times that we'll use tags more when multiplatform games have gone in the Nintendo section and unfortunately it always seems to be hit and miss if they get added.

I also don't think its a great idea anyway. I think threads need more visibility, not to be filtered for less.

Edited Friday at 09:29 AM by Happenstance

[Julius]

Just want to voice that I also agree with @Jonnas's proposal of keeping multiplatform and indie games to an "Other Games" section or whatever it would be called.

I haven't been on here as long as others and do 100% agree that Nintendo should be kept separate and still be front and centre in the listed gaming sections, whether it be to acknowledge the history of N-E or the name of the place (someone had already taken PS-X-N-E I take it? ), but also just because I still think that on this forum, Nintendo games are the driving force behind most conversations which gain enough traction to keep the conversation sustained in the first place. 

General Gaming staying as it is also makes perfect sense to me. I feel like that section generally takes care of itself! 

I think a bit of the problem might be a framing thing, too, just in terms of how these sections are positioned currently – I feel like there's almost a bit of otherism (for lack of a better term) when it comes to Other Consoles because General Gaming is placed above it and, even for me, I feel like there's a bit of a subconscious split and almost "a decision to be made" about where you're posting a topic or reviving a thread, and it's almost like you're making some sort of statement (or the where and when you need to talk about these things gets a bit confusing). @Hero-of-Time is right in that for example with the Balatro thread, @drahkon was the one driving that initial conversation around the game, and the conversation around it needing to be moved to Nintendo Gaming I don't think was at all trying to poach a thread, I think it's just the lack of an agreed upon place for games like that in this overwhelmingly multiplatform era of gaming. As H-o-T suggested, I think it's really rare these days that someone only has one system, and once conversation in that thread turned from where the thread belonged to the actual game - which, let's be honest, is what we're all here to do first and foremost: talk about the damn games! - the conversation has been carried not just by drahkon when it comes to that game, and it has been nice to see a thread in Other Consoles where there's more people than just the typical few of us who spend most of our time over there. 

I think it should be more a conversation about finding the right place for a game to be discussed in a way which is going to help sustain the conversation around it on here rather than potentially splitting that conversation up by needing to force it into a certain spot, and so having it more clearly defined and not needing to feel like you're making a statement by posting in Other Consoles, when sometimes the Nintendo version of the game hasn't even been announced yet; I think back to Dragon Quest III HD-2D which we all knew in our bones was coming to Switch, but without official confirmation, we were left just waiting for the topic to be moved eventually out of Other Consoles and into Nintendo Gaming.

I also feel like indie games in particular are really underserved on the forums at times – I'm not sure every indie warrants it's own thread (because there are A LOT of indie games and I'm not sure every single one could sustain a discussion) but you end up with the conversation split between the occasional dedicated thread, the Indie Games thread in Nintendo Gaming (which is rarely used these days and because of the nature of most indies coming to PC first, might at this point be delaying potential discussion if anything), PC Gaming, PS5, the occasional post in Gaming Diary in General Gaming, etc. I think it would probably be better served by what has been proposed. 

And this is all another feather in the cap for me of why Nintendo Gaming should stay separate, by the way. These other consoles and publishers seem keen to have their games on anything and everything with a screen, meanwhile those stubborn guys over at Nintendo clearly have zero intention of going that way (and I don't blame them in the slightest, they're doing great!). 

Anyways, this is all to say that I think if Jonnas's proposal is to work at its best, the order might need to be considered to be shifted to:

• Nintendo Gaming

• "Other Games" (or whatever it would get called; what is currently Other Consoles)

• General Gaming

I love General Gaming, I just think it would be a better fit as the more miscellaneous section to be position last of the three current sections. 

1 hour ago, Happenstance said:

Or we just stop feeling the need to move threads so if they started as Switch titles then they could stay as Switch titles

Yeah, in the case of anything which starts out as Switch exclusive, it makes the most sense to me that they'd stay in the Nintendo Gaming section even if they came to other platforms. Nintendo Gaming is still the most active section of the forums. 

I think just making sure the topic is in the right place at launch is good enough, after that whatever happens, happens  the less moving around the better in my eyes. 

Otherwise, Switch 2 is going to potentially tear apart the forums as they stand with the amount of thread moving which will need to be done, as I think we're all fully expecting most third-party games released on PS4/Xbox One to come to it in the coming years. The Elden Ring thread, for instance - which is half a decade old (?!) at this point - getting dragged into Nintendo Gaming if and when a Switch 2 version is announced would just seem unnecessary to me, as would a dedicated thread for the game in Nintendo Gaming -- having the Elden Ring thread in a multiplatform section and getting bumped with Switch 2 release news and new people coming into that thread when it hypothetically releases on Switch 2 would be great. 

The only problem I have with that is thread titles getting crazy long. I like when we have the release date in the thread title (even after release I think it's just a nice reminder, especially when looking through a thread to see those initial impressions!), and in the case of Elden Ring it got DLC and so that's been added to the title too, and so idk where you'd put the hypothetical Switch 2 release date without needing to edit details out  like, maybe you could tag the release date? I know there was a release calendar we had on here before but I don't think I ever got around to figuring out how it worked. 

59 minutes ago, bob said:

Why don't we just add tags to all the threads with "Nintendo", "PS4", "retro" etc, so people can just filter all the threads in one go and see what they want.

As someone who already tries to use tags when and where I can (especially in Nintendo Gaming when we get a day and date multiplatform launch) I like the idea of them but think there are probably just too many sub-platforms (I guess I'd call it that?) games are releasing on currently to not have it get a little messy. 

PC - could mean Steam, Windows, Epic, GOG, itch.io, etc. 

Xbox - don't have all their games release on both Xbox One and Series X|S, even if they are releasing on both PS4 and PS5. 

I think it's also just then a case of making sure a new tag gets added if, say, a Switch 2 version is announced down the line -- which is then down to staff/mods or the original thread creator to edit. And I'll be honest, I feel like the main thing almost is if it's on a Nintendo console vs not -- I don't think we have enough people engaged in PC (or even Xbox) threads at this point for those to be worth tagging beyond doing our due diligence in a way? 

[Ashley]

Thanks for a long and considered reply which I will respond to fully in turn but guess a few quick points for now. 

I am sure the "other gaming" forum is positioned where it is not by some kind of othering design, just history/things moving around etc. But I see your point and perhaps it would flow better under Nintendo gaming. 

As to indie games I think people are just gun-shy about creating new threads and I've never figured out why. We've tried to be more heavy handed in the past about not relying on huge threads but people seem to naturally gravitate to having fewer threads to check. 

Related, I've considered before now if we need a pre-release and post-release thread for things because sometimes by the time the game/console is out we're dozens of pages deep. Obviously managing that both from an admin and logistic point is difficult as people end up with copies before the release date so when do you define that cut off. 

I'm happy to have flexible rules when it comes to moving threads (although obviously that makes it more complicated). If a title gets announced without consoles, or without Switch confirmed, but later gets it announced prior to launch shift it over to Nintendo. If it eventually comes to Nintendo, like the example you gave, just give it it's own thread. We could always make use of the pinned post feature to include a link to the original and that way it will show up at the top of each page. Some people may want to go and see the historic discussions, others may prefer a fresh start. And obviously it gets complicated that there are normally differences between the versions too. 

[Happenstance]

Quite like the idea of having pre-release threads separate, at least for bigger titles that might get more build up discussion. As you said when a game launches and a thread is already 10 pages in it doesn't necessarily invite the new conversation.

I also think having a new thread appear for the launch of a game can help get that excitement for it going. I used to love getting into the discussions at the launch of games.

Resetera isn't exactly a forum to emulate in many ways but I did always like how much effort they put into their game threads with the first posts having images, information and links etc.

Edited Friday at 09:52 AM by Happenstance

[Josh64]

16 hours ago, Ashley said:

 

 

*And description as I'm pretty sure the Wii U and 3DS are dead now

First of all, how dare you. 

On 7/4/2024 at 10:43 AM, darksnowman said:

Just getting in. Every time I've checked this week it's been Error 500 Connection Refused but since I saw on N-E the forum would be down I knew you were up to something. Looking good.  

Will the classic theme be making a return or have themes moved? Going to need sunglasses if not.  

This is how the entire forum becomes a General Diary thread and a Gaming Diary thread.  

Glad to be of help! I posted it when I couldn't get on the forums and remembered reading at some point about the upgrade, though that's why I didn't put many details in there as I couldn't get to the thread myself either lol. Though hopefully the vagueness made it seem more like I was intentionally building up hype as oppose to being inept at getting all the deets.

 

In regards to the forum, it looks great! Nice and fresh! And it's got the classic emoji's, yay 

 

I'd been meaning to update my profile for a while as I haven't listened to K-Pop for a good few years so having a 2010-era image of G-Dragon as my profile picture seems quite outdated, but at the same time I'm not sure people will know who I am if I change said image, given I'm not that regular on the forums  But now seems as good a time as ever to have a refresh! 

 

I must confess that outside of Nintendo gaming I was never completely sure whether to go to Other Consoles or General Gaming Discussion when it comes to certain games or topics, so I personally think merging those two would be a good idea, but definitely also think we should still have a dedicated Nintendo board. 

 

 

 

 

Edited Friday at 10:33 AM by Josh64

[Hero-of-Time]

1 hour ago, Ashley said:

Related, I've considered before now if we need a pre-release and post-release thread for things because sometimes by the time the game/console is out we're dozens of pages deep. Obviously managing that both from an admin and logistic point is difficult as people end up with copies before the release date so when do you define that cut off. 

 

1 hour ago, Happenstance said:

Quite like the idea of having pre-release threads separate, at least for bigger titles that might get more build up discussion. As you said when a game launches and a thread is already 10 pages in it doesn't necessarily invite the new conversation.

I also think having a new thread appear for the launch of a game can help get that excitement for it going. I used to love getting into the discussions at the launch of games.

This is something that we used to do years ago. We had the initial topic and then that was closed and an official topic was created for the game's launch, usually with details, reviews, trailers etc on the first post. I remember doing this for a few games. A lot of the images are now broken though.

 

 

 

[Ike]

But there isn't much activity happening after a game has released to warrant a second thread. Paper Mario thread is only 3 pages. No one has talked about Luigi's Mansion 2 HD since it came out.

[Hero-of-Time]

Just now, Ike said:

But there isn't much discussion happening after a game has released to warrant a second thread. Paper Mario thread is only 3 pages. No one has talked about Luigi's Mansion 2 HD since it came out.

Very true. I wasn't saying we should do it, only that it was something we did back in the day. I mean, just look at the activity we used to get compared to what we have now. There's a HUGE difference.

[Ashley]

I guess it could be a case by case basis and probably wouldn't apply to remakes anyway. 

[Glen-i]

3 hours ago, Julius said:

As H-o-T suggested, I think it's really rare these days that someone only has one system

Since when was I rare!?

...Oh...

[Glen-i]

3 hours ago, Julius said:

As someone who already tries to use tags when and where I can (especially in Nintendo Gaming when we get a day and date multiplatform launch) I like the idea of them but think there are probably just too many sub-platforms (I guess I'd call it that?) games are releasing on currently to not have it get a little messy. 

So I just experimented with this by tweaking the title of the Dragon Quest III HD-2D remake thread, and putting the platforms in tags.
It definitely looks nicer on this forum, but it only shows the first two tags on the board. (It shows all of them in the actual thread, mind) Which is fine in theory, as Switch and PS5 are defo the biggest platforms in our community.

But take Ys X? @Hero-of-Time inputted the tags in the order "Switch", "PS4", "PS5". Not trying to rag on the order, it's perfectly sound, but it does feel a bit weird that PS4 gets priority over the currentPlayStation.

I will, however rag on him using the tags, but still putting the platforms in the thread title. Redundancy of Redundant Department, much?

Edited Friday at 01:19 PM by Glen-i

[Hero-of-Time]

4 comes before 5.

[Glen-i]

Just now, Hero-of-Time said:

4 comes before 5.

Don't you bring maths into this!

[Hero-of-Time]

Hang on, I don't ever recall using the tags, which is why I put the consoles in the title.