Post by: WindyMan on November 16, 2006, 10:21:03 AM
During the past five years, Planet GameCube grew into the largest independent Nintendo news and information website on the Internet. However, everyone knew that we couldn't be PGC forever. The Wii launch was the perfect opportunity for us to change our name to reflect Nintendo's new philosophy. It took months of tremendous effort for us to undergo this change. As the big day approached, we let the new name of the site slip to those that tuned in to Radio Free Nintendo eariler this week. However, the site's new look was still a secret to the public. Now is the time to lift the curtain on the biggest change in our site's seven-year history.
Ladies and gentlemen, I am pleased to present to you Nintendo World Report.
Our new name is a better reflection of who we are and what we do. We pride ourselves on reporting on Nintendo in a professional manner with a worldwide staff. The "World" moniker is a natural sucessor to the "Planet" flag we have flown since 1999, and not being tied down to a specific platform like we were with PGC means we don't need to worry about changing our name again for a very long time. A new name brings a new url - http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/ - so don't forget to update your bookmarks and tell all your mates about our new nameplate!
Likely, however, the new name wasn't the first thing that caught your eye. As you can clearly see, NWR brings with it a new super-clean Wii white look that is much easier on the eyes than our previous purple and black GameCube-inspired facade. It was a part of our overall effort to make site navigation easier for everyone (ourselves included). For example, the new front page design still has our traditional single-column headline display, but we've augmented it with a dual-column summary of older headlines below it. The idea of more content in less space also applies to our overhauled game profile and article pages, making it much, much easier to rapidly view screenshots and browse writeups pertaining to a particular game.
In addition to the name and design change, you may have also noticed a small shakeup on the staff roster. We announced it at the beginning of the month, but it deserves a repeating for those who haven't been to the site for a while. Jonathan Metts, site Director during the Planet GameCube era, has relinquished that title and taken on the less intensive role (or so he thinks) of Reviews Editor. It required two people to fill the shoes that he stepped out of: Evan Burchfield is our new PR Coordinator, and I, Steven Rodriguez, have been appointed the new Director of Nintendo World Report. More staff changes will be coming in the months ahead.
Another important change to Nintendo World Report is actually an addition, and a long-overdue one; our editorial policy is now available for the public to view. We do things a little differently here at NWR, and now that everyone can see why it is we do things in the way that we do, we know people will better appreciate our philosophy. Please take the time to read it!
Of course, a redesign of this magnitude can't be completed without thanking the people who brought it all together. First up, thanks to Ryan Jones for designing the new site. We all were giddy when we first saw the new look, and what you see before you today isn't that much different than the initial mockups. (We're glad he nailed it the first time!) Second, props go out to Brendan Gallagher, who did some CSS coding gruntwork during the building of the site and, earlier this year, recoded most of Planet GameCube's CSS to make the site load faster and to make it easier for us to work on the new design. Last, but definitely not least, Michael Cole gets the biggest thanks of them all for spearheading the redesign project, which was months in the making. If not for his efforts, you wouldn't be seeing the new site at all! So again, thanks to them, and everyone else who helped pull this thing together.
Finally, we want to thank you, our readers. It goes without saying that we wouldn't be able to do this without all of your support. The changes to the site were all done with you guys in mind, so we hope they are to your liking. We have ideas kicking around behind the scenes that may eventually become new site features of Nintendo World Report, but those are going to have to wait until after the Wii's first months are behind us. We're going to be too busy writing about all the new Wii (and DS) games that are coming out!
On behalf of the entire Nintendo World Report staff, I hope that you enjoy the new site and check back to it often for the best Nintendo coverage on the Internet.
Post by: archioverload on November 16, 2006, 10:28:00 AM
And, holy crap, nice redesign!!!
Post by: vudu on November 16, 2006, 10:30:20 AM
Plus at least I had something useful to contribute.
Post by: Guitar Smasher on November 16, 2006, 10:36:45 AM
Post by: Nick DiMola on November 16, 2006, 10:37:22 AM
Post by: TheYoungerPlumber on November 16, 2006, 10:40:05 AM
Post by: BigJim on November 16, 2006, 10:42:45 AM
The Flash over the images at the top is cool.
Can you give the left side navigation a differentiating shade of silver or something? I have ads blocked in Firefox, so maybe it just looks especially bare and white to me... Maybe ease up on the wordiness too?
Post by: Shift Key on November 16, 2006, 10:45:50 AM
The forum links will not work in their current form. The main page links work fine. I guess this was working fine on the old PGC website and just needs a couple of lines of code added when articles are ported across to Talkback threads.
Post by: WindyMan on November 16, 2006, 10:50:37 AM
Everything is fine on the main site, which is the most important.
Post by: Kairon on November 16, 2006, 11:04:44 AM
[kneejerk reaction]
The idea of white is supposed to make things look clean and contemporary, but instead you guys clutter everything up excessively with text and ads, killing the effect and turning a post-modern sensibility into a lazy-esque white background for big groups of text?
Now it...just looks like a cheap blog?
[/kneejerk reaction]
/cries
I feel so weird and disappointed and confused!
~Carmine M. Red
Kairon@aol.com
Post by: Pale on November 16, 2006, 11:06:32 AM
Post by: BigJim on November 16, 2006, 11:14:23 AM
Post by: Ian Sane on November 16, 2006, 11:17:21 AM
The site design however looks like a squater site. You know like if you accidentally type "com" instead of "net" into an address and some ad site is there instead. I initially thought that maybe I had mistyped the URL.
Post by: Rhoq on November 16, 2006, 11:33:12 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
The site design however looks like a squater site. You know like if you accidentally type "com" instead of "net" into an address and some ad site is there instead. I initially thought that maybe I had mistyped the URL.
NWR's color scheme is very "clean" looking and matches the Wii perfectly. However, I do have to agree with Ian. Had I not heard the new name yesterday, I would have assumed that I hit a bogus url just because of the way the new front page is designed.
Post by: BigJim on November 16, 2006, 11:33:26 AM
Post by: AnyoneEB on November 16, 2006, 11:36:21 AM
Why are the three key news items images at the top now flash? I admit that I usually just use the main news listing anyway, but it's still annoying that those are not links.
Post by: Shift Key on November 16, 2006, 11:42:06 AM
Quote
Originally posted by: BigJim
Should we make the "t" in "report" silent just for fun?
Crazy Canadians
Post by: Entroper on November 16, 2006, 11:55:57 AM
I think a TREMENDOUS improvement would be the addition of some faint borders to separate sections of the page. Right now it's just some white-background stuff floating in a sea of white, and some lines would really help direct the readers' eyes.
Post by: Nick DiMola on November 16, 2006, 11:57:32 AM
Post by: Sir_Stabbalot on November 16, 2006, 11:59:29 AM
Post by: JonLeung on November 16, 2006, 12:06:47 PM
QuoteNo, YOU'RE NOT. I beat you over here. There wasn't even a topic of this change at the time yet...
Originally posted by: vudu
No you're not. I beat you over here.
Plus at least I had something useful to contribute.
EDIT: Edited for spelling because I'm not an illiterate 3-year-old.
Post by: Svevan on November 16, 2006, 12:52:29 PM
Also, please be considerate of the massive amount of work our unpaid designers and tech guys have done.
Post by: Ages on November 16, 2006, 12:55:25 PM
Post by: UltimatePartyBear on November 16, 2006, 01:16:08 PM
Post by: Rize on November 16, 2006, 01:16:33 PM
And Svevan, don't underestimate the importance of look and feel. That could easily make the difference between a person bookmarking the site or forgetting about it.
Post by: Blue Plant on November 16, 2006, 01:28:27 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Entroper
I think a TREMENDOUS improvement would be the addition of some faint borders to separate sections of the page. Right now it's just some white-background stuff floating in a sea of white, and some lines would really help direct the readers' eyes.
Seconded. The articles really do need some kind of separation away from the sidebars.
Great work though, guys. Looks very clean.
Post by: Athrun Zala on November 16, 2006, 01:32:44 PM
I was reading Kohler's blog, clicked on the RFN link and thought I got into some random blog, so clicked on my PGC bookmark and was shocked..... I had completely forgot about the redesign! oO
so, ahem, agree with most, too much white, and a little separation between sections would be greatly appreciated ^^
no hurries though
in any case, I'm pretty surprised that Pro was SO CLOSE on guessing the name (he did guess the Nintendo World part
)
Post by: t slog on November 16, 2006, 01:33:18 PM
Post by: MorningStar on November 16, 2006, 01:46:58 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Ian Sane
The site design however looks like a squater site. You know like if you accidentally type "com" instead of "net" into an address and some ad site is there instead. I initially thought that maybe I had mistyped the URL.
It's funny that you mention that. I thought the same exact thing when I went to my bookmarks and clicked on PGC; I thought my browser had screwed up and sent me to a bogus site.
Post by: Louieturkey on November 16, 2006, 01:47:40 PM
Post by: MorningStar on November 16, 2006, 01:51:32 PM
Post by: Nick DiMola on November 16, 2006, 02:03:12 PM
As I said, great work guys, I like the color scheme and the flash and the stylized look. A few small formatting things and this site will look perfect.
Post by: Caliban on November 16, 2006, 02:33:37 PM
Post by: BigJim on November 16, 2006, 02:40:11 PM
Post by: Smadte on November 16, 2006, 03:14:34 PM
That's the first thing I saw when I visited this site, and I thought I had gone to the wrong place ... the whole page, for a couple of seconds, looked like an advertisement place-holder for a website that doesn't exist. I would make the name of the site larger and put it near the middle so the advertisement doesn't dominate. Those advertisements are an eyesore, I tell you.
Post by: stevey on November 16, 2006, 03:29:07 PM
Post by: Svevan on November 16, 2006, 03:40:55 PM
Post by: Djunknown on November 16, 2006, 03:42:41 PM
Keep bangin' NWR. I sense the best has yet to come... [/campy line]
Post by: vudu on November 16, 2006, 03:59:21 PM
QuoteMy favorite part is (AFAIK) Evan doesn't do any of this stuff.
Originally posted by: Svevan
No and no. We've covered this. I don't mean to be firm, but none of the options above are worth our time right now (and they would take a lot of time).
Post by: Artimus on November 16, 2006, 04:06:06 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Svevan
No and no. We've covered this. I don't mean to be firm, but none of the options above are worth our time right now (and they would take a lot of time).
That's nice to know, but if you think this design will win you new visitors over the next few weeks you're dead wrong. A large portion of visitors will go back to google when they stumble upon NWR. That's a major problem.
Who care what your content is if no one reads it?
And btw, what the readers say is perhaps the most important part of your site. Be careful how quickly you blatantly dismiss their input. Tact is a useful thing.
Post by: Rize on November 16, 2006, 04:14:40 PM
Post by: Artimus on November 16, 2006, 04:18:22 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Rize
Evan is just trying to say that we can't make any quick changes any time real soon. The guy who would have to do such things needs to focus on other stuff for the moment and has already put in an enormous amount of time. For better or worse, NWR is going to be as is for at least the rest of the year apparently. Hopefully any previous reader that is somewhat put-off can bear with us for now.
Oh I'm sure no one would stop coming! It's not unreadable. It's just new visitors I'd be worried about...
Post by: Rize on November 16, 2006, 04:21:03 PM
Post by: Shin Gallon on November 16, 2006, 04:44:06 PM
Post by: Shecky on November 16, 2006, 04:55:19 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: Pale
Oh wow. I didn't notice the cool new screen shot and art pop up before. That's awesome. Everyone go check it out!
Quite impressive indeed. I keep finding reasons to love the new site.
Post by: 18 Days on November 16, 2006, 04:58:30 PM
Post by: Smoke39 on November 16, 2006, 04:59:59 PM
Post by: TrueNerd on November 16, 2006, 05:18:20 PM
Kudos!
Post by: wandering on November 16, 2006, 05:27:21 PM
*puts on sunglasses*
Much better.
Lot's of impressive stuff going on. I like the use of the Wii colors - the hint of red is an especially nice touch. I like the little graphics on the right hand side ("NEWS - Wii", etc.) And yes, what happens when you click on a picture is very nice (though I'd appreciate 'previous' and 'next' buttons.) I like the logo. The use of flash is good. I know you guys put alot of work into the design, and the results are impressive.
But, I have to agree with others' complaints about it being too white. Now - we could all just be in shock. Maybe, objectively, there's nothing wrong with the design. I remember there was something of an uproar when one site I frequent went from looking like this to this. But I got used to, and came to like, the new design there, and maybe I will here.
...But, perhaps we aren't in shock, and perhaps there is room for improvement... in which case, I'd like to offer one suggestion. (Though I hate to give specific suggestions for things like this. Partly because I don't know if they'll be appreciated, but mainly because, one time, someone showed me a short story of his and I gave him a long list of suggestions. He followed them, and the end result was like a toothpick sculpture that had been touched up with a chainsaw. Anyway.) My immediate thought was that the site might look better if some of the white-on-blue was replaced with blue-on-white. If you, for example, flipped the colors in the navigation links on the left-hand side, so that they would always look how they look when you hover your mouse over them...like this (thrown together in paint.)
Oh, one other suggestion, if I may. I think the light grey you're using is too light. Maybe it's just my monitor, but I can barely see it. I think the site would look cleaner if you darkened the light grey areas, or removed them entirely.
I guess the idea behind these suggestions is the site needs more contrast. Contrast is something even Nintendo understands the importance of....look at the press photo of the Wii on the front page, and note how it isn't pure white. See how dark the shadows are.
Just my two cents.
Post by: mantidor on November 16, 2006, 05:50:44 PM
Post by: Shift Key on November 16, 2006, 05:56:11 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: TrueNerd
Although, I do wish the ads were a little more subtle and not so prominent, but that would be my only complaint.
Kudos!
Firefox + AdBlock = BAM!
Post by: WindyMan on November 16, 2006, 06:20:07 PM
Quote
Originally posted by: mantidor
the design is ok, but to be honest, I never go out from the forums, and since the news get their own automatic thread I've never seen a need to do it. I thought the forums were going to get a redesign as well, but if its not the case, then I'll barely notice the change.
We're going to eventually tweak the color scheme of the boards a bit, but they should remain largely unchanged besides that.
Post by: Plugabugz on November 16, 2006, 07:13:03 PM
The flow of text is a bit force fed down your throat.
Post by: Galford on November 17, 2006, 12:49:09 AM
I guess I'll have to give it a while.
No more PlanetGamecube? Well I guess it's the end of an era.
I remember the night PlanetN2000 changed to PlanetGamecube,
now I see it again.
The new name should prevent this site from
having to change it's name again.
Post by: Dozy Boy on November 17, 2006, 01:28:08 AM
Please?
Post by: Ian Sane on November 17, 2006, 04:51:02 AM
Sounds like something Nintendo themselves would have said. HA!
Post by: Svevan on November 17, 2006, 05:59:02 AM
Post by: Mikintosh on November 17, 2006, 06:34:04 AM
Post by: couchmonkey on November 17, 2006, 06:52:02 AM
Two more things I noticed:
- I like the colour coding on the system names in the news (eg. orange for Game Boy Advance)...I missed that before (maybe because there are so many Wii articles)
- In Firefox 1.0.7 (yeah it's old) the menu bar sometimes appears above the rest fo the content instead of beside. Most noticeable on the splash page.
Post by: Dozy Boy on November 17, 2006, 07:24:22 AM
Post by: Robageejammin on November 17, 2006, 04:17:34 PM
Like I said, I really do think you have a great design. It just looks a bit unfinished. The most noticeable part of this is how little separation there is between different sections of the page. The gradient on the top is a great start, but I think more of that could be implemented to further this. The 3 flash boxes are also a great addition but seem a little lonely compared to the rest of the non flash site. Again, just more of this would be great. The last thing I'll say is that the brand new name of the site, Nintendo World Report, should take up much more room on the page. I think its such a great, strong name that needs to be a much more powerful part of the site.
I made an example of some of the things I talked about, along with some of the suggestions we've all talked about recently which you can find here...
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-2/947569/nwrsample2.jpg
I would love to know what everyone thinks, what you think works, doesnt work, and maybe we can solidify some of our concerns for the best Nintendo site on the planet.
Also, I just want to make it clear that I am in no way trying to push anything on the staff or telling anyone what to do. These are purely just ideas I'd like to share with everyone. After all, it is a forum.
Post by: BigJim on November 17, 2006, 05:05:07 PM
Quote
http://img.villagephotos.com/p/2005-2/947569/nwrsample2.jpg
I'd hit that. Did you try silver stripes along the top before choosing the blue? Might be a tiny bit too much blue on the page, but I'm not sure if silver on the top would be any better. Overall awesome.
Post by: KirbySStar on November 17, 2006, 05:22:51 PM
I know that there are still bugs and things being worked out and perhaps small additions in usablity to the site but once that is done I highly recommend you use Robageejammin's example as a template for the site. It will do you a world of good. It can't be that hard to implement. At least do it to the center. That's where it needs the contrast the most.
Post by: KirbySStar on November 17, 2006, 05:27:56 PM
Oh, and the forum colors are perfect. Perhaps the only thing you'd need to change is maybe the dark purple to perhaps dark grey or blue. Keep the the rest of the colors though.
Post by: Robageejammin on November 17, 2006, 05:30:58 PM
Post by: Smash_Brother on November 17, 2006, 06:47:02 PM
To many more successful years!
Post by: Tuxedo.Bond on November 20, 2006, 01:30:57 PM
A few suggestions:
Add some borders and/or color to the site and it's side bars and stuff.
Increase the font size a little bit. Although I can do that with my Opera browser, it would still make it nicer. Possibly think about changing the font type.
And did I mention that you are paying for my glasses after I go blind from the brightness of the white? The bill is in the mail. Thanks.
Now for the things I do like:
I like how easy it is to see the past weeks news on the bottom, as I sometimes don't check back for a while and i don't like strolling through the news pages for stuff I missed.
The way the pictures are now displayed is very nice. I can view them and navigate the photos easier and faster.
The information displayed for a company profile is nice and easy to see all on one page. Although I must be blind (possibly from the *Wii White* scheme) or something, because I don't see a link to the company profiles on the front page...
And I think the images that tell you what the posting is for (news, screenshots, etc) and for what system (DS, GBA, Wii, etc) is really nifty and easy for me to find what I want really quickly.
Post by: IceCold on November 21, 2006, 10:53:57 AM
Post by: decoyman on November 22, 2006, 03:43:54 AM
This sort of style calls for a light hand, a delicate mark. I think, as I mentioned before, that some masterfully-placed light grey rules would help immensely, along with doing a breaker between the days in the news items. Again, it's the textual hierarchy that needs a little TLC, and this may be accomplished with just these minor suggestions.
EDIT: Forgot to list what you nailed, Rob- The size of the site name is spot on – That's exactly where it should be. Also, I think the light grey bars separating news items is a decent idea as well, but the same might be accomplished with rules instead of shades of grey, which migh be a better option. The grey bars could be used to separate the days, perhaps... again, we basically have to see it before we can know if it works.
EDIT2: OR, (I don't know if this is feasible from a technical standpoint) maybe the headlines from the current day are blue, and the headlines from past days are grey... that would be another way to differentiate the days anyways. When I visit the site, I'm most interested in what's new anyways.
