Gamingparents.org Created 18 years ago2006-08-22 01:28:49 UTC by satchmo

Only n00bs use screenshots as background for the entire page.

I talked to some of my grown-up gaming friends (they are all older than me, have two or three kids and mortgages), and this is what they think:

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As usual--my two cents. Take it or leave it or tell me to shove it.

How are you approaching building the web site? Your color scheme and design elements need to be stark and memorable and have a gaming feel to it (by your banner, I think you know that already). But what kind of color scheme are you going for--hopefully not white. Remember, your target audience are parents who ran through hallways shooting evil (and in some cases mutated) Nazi bastards and who have also descended into the depths of secret underground military installations to fight back hordes of demons spilling through a dimensional rip as well as pulled people out of cars and beat them to death with a baseball bat while listening to catchy 80's tunes.

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So I am leaning more toward a more stark look and feel for the site design. If you are curious, this is our CS:S clan site. All the members are older than 35, so us adults aren't so tame as you guys might think.

How about this one:

I like it, but kick the brightness down. its a nice shot but its to white right now. if you did the thing garrys site does with the blur for the text to sit on it will look good.

How about this one that incorporates Zombie's logo in the banner?

Yuck.

PM me the original screenshot. Ill try.

A couple of new ones. I'm more happy about these, actually, allthough I'd consider resizing the logo area to around 75-125 pixels high.

So much beter.

work on the contrast

Zombie, I really like the first one you got there. The sun glare in the second background is a bit distracting, in my opinion.

Perhaps I can work the "GP" logo you made for the first banner into that one too.

How about this one?

[img=http://img137.imageshack.us/my.php?image=gamingparentsbg4up3.png]

Eww.

Luke no like . . . :

I like the scan line effect, looks really computer related.

It would be cool it incorperate the site symbol as part of the text for the title

My awesome L33T paint skillz

Omg i came.

I told you it was top-notch stuff .

Zombie, can I ask a big favor from you?

Would you change the color of the text in this banner graphics to slightly orange to match the color scheme of the site?

If anyone wants the original background screenshot I used to make my banners, here it is.

800 is fine, but you can go a little higher. Very few people still run on low resolutions. Heck, if they do, they don't deserve to be on the Internet.

Tssk, Ant, you're not thinking like a corporation. The goal of a site is (usually) to reach out to as many people as possible - that's why webdesigners adapt their sites to the most common browsers, most common resolutions, fonts, etc. 800 pixels is actually very wide - you don't need more than, say, 600px for a nice-looking site. In perspective, the whole TWHL design is 750px, the whole Garry's mod 9 site is 600 pixels wide.
To cater for people using 800x600 isn't a bad idea, and it's not a lot of effort.

Satchmo: Sure, no problem. I'll upload the .psd if anyone else wants to edit it.

Actually, this is what I've been told from my Web Authoring class: few people run on shitty resolutions anymore, so it's relatively safe to go up a step. I understand what you're saying though.

Right-o, put all my GamingParents.org related content here. Enjoy.

If there aren't any other takers, I think Zombie's design will take the trophy.

Theres an extent on how orange something should be, and that defines too orange.

ya, to orange. needs to be a more muted background, and I think the block of the image the name sits on would do well to have a pixelate effect under it

I included the PSD, you edit what you want. I can't be arsed to re-edit it all the time.

I know it's orange, but I think it fits well into the color scheme of the site.

Just look at TWHL. It's pretty orange too.

I think your going about the banner all wrong. It should be an emblem of some sort that is clever, and makes you remember the site.

I think this is a good idea:

A man holding a baby in one hand, and a controller in the other. No details, just the shape of the man, the controller, and baby all in black, behind a yellow background which is a circle.

Anyway, Everything looks nice so far

I've set up a local Apache server and installed Joomla!. I played around with the style sheet a little bit, and here is a screenshot of what I have so far.

I still need to set up the forum and modify many aspects of the page, but at least this gives you some idea of what the final site will look like.

What do you think?

Looks alright, i guess.

I dont like joomla, myself, but it gets the job done.

And for your forums, PLEASE dont use phpbb2. Invest in something better, like invision.

I will be using phpBB. The interface is the most intuitive, even though it might not be the most secure or being the most versatile.

Here is a screenshot of what I have so far:

Well, I absolutely hate the colour design both in the forums and the main site, but it's your choice after all. I also hate phpBB in all its forms.

To be honest, I love how the forums on TWHl are layed out: simple, elegant, and part of the site. Granted, while it may be beyond your abilities to code such a system, it's an idea.

Good luck with it all!

Indeed, the colour theme is rather.. ugly. I hope you can control it via CSS. Also, make the header fit in with its background element.

The strong colour theme isn't suited for forums..
The user's eyes would get tired way too quick of the reddish colours. I'd get tired too, after reading through a few topics. Try something lighter for forums.

Indeed, the colour theme is rather.. ugly.

What do you recommend? I actually have modified the CSS template already.

The strong colour theme isn't suited for forums..

That's what I thought for the SnarkPit at first, but then I got used to it.

First of all, change the colour theme for the content background. That pukey yellow doesn't really fit. Second, change all the red stuff. That red just isn't nice on the eyes. Third, the menu needs revision - I'd say make the buttons bigger and, if you can, give them rounded corners. Fourth, get rid of all thick borders. In stead of thick borders to seperate certain paragraphs from the content, give them a 1px weak-coloured border and a different background-color. Fifth, try to round it all up - rounded corners ftw, both in mapping and web-designing. Just some initial tips, not really sure if it'd look good.

Thanks for all the suggestions. It looks like I have my work cut out for me.

[EDIT]: How about this design?

What do you think now?

I linked a screenshot of the frontpage to the URL itself.

It's alive!

. . . but not entirely. I am keeping this URL private until you guys think it's okay.

Mmm, I like the mouseover stuff. Informative. You have a lot of empty space to the right of the banner which looks rather silly. Not sure how to fill it, but I can suggest that you don't fill it with text - use some sort of graphic work.

Apart from that, and my dislike of the colours, it's clean and tidy, which is great.

Edit: Make the banner a link to the front page. I have a habit to use the title banners of sites as a link to home (I do so on TWHL and on Sliced Gaming, as well as any other site I visit).

Thanks for the quick feedback.

Make the banner a link to the front page.

I'll look into that. For a Joomla site, it's not as easy as it seems.

Lookin' good, satch.
About the design - you could add a 1px brownish/black outline to all the frames, to make the site look a bit sharper..

I also missed somethin like a 'Members' page, that'd display all of the members in that site.

I also missed somethin like a 'Members' page, that'd display all of the members in that site.

That shouldn't be too hard. I'll look into that.

Thanks for joining, by the way.

I am most concerned about the security of the site at this moment. If anyone is good with that sort of things, let me know whether the site can be easily hacked into. I just don't want any blatant holes.

About the colour scheme - try cutting down on orange and adding a bit more yellowish/dark brownish colours, to fit the logo.

In my opinion, the theme itself is just ugly. Not attractive. But oh well, I guess you don't have much to choose from with templates.
How about an article section with user-submittable articles about parenting, gaming, and computering in general?

But oh well, I guess you don't have much to choose from with templates.

I have full control of the template. I will experiment with the color scheme today.

How about an article section with user-submittable articles about parenting, gaming, and computering in general?

I have a section in the forum for members to submit articles. I (and other moderators) will screen the submissions before posting them to the appropriate sections of the site.

I am currently adding a blog section to the site.

I have been laboring away revamping the site. Daubster has been providing me with many helpful suggestions.

Many new features have bene implemented since yesterday. Check out the new site and let me know your opinion.

Those red buttons are ugly.

And where it says "a playground for grown-ups", makes it look funny cus theres no capitals.

Those red buttons are ugly.

That's a matter of personal aesthetics. I rather like the bold red colors.

And the small letters are intentional too.

I have added a "member biography" section for the user profile. That took me all morning to implement (that and the clickable forum avatar).

I've been up since 5 am this morning, and I haven't even eaten anything. I feel like passing out.

You're doing great Satch.

I like it all. Wait, no, not quite all: the "Main Menu", "GP Login" typeface is awful.

Oh, and "No Member Online"? Dodgy grammar, and silly caps.

Still... nice stuff generally.

Thanks, Seventh.

I'll change the typeface right this moment, and change the phrase to "No members online".

[EDIT]: Your wish is my command. The site has been modified to your specification. I have also added an URL icon (adapted from Zombieloff's original GP icon) to the site.

Ain't that pretty?