Ideas for Retro Gaming Mags

[ManciGames]

Okay, let's recap ideas that we've covered in the past...and lendelin, you'll have to recap your own, because they really are quite long winded. ;)

Just so it's clear, these aren't all my ideas. I'm just summarizing different thoughts that I've heard. Any current or future mag, zine, or online mag can chose to heed any, all, or none of these ideas:

So, to get the ball rolling:

1) Money. Get the ad revenue if you can.
2) Price Guides - Some think it good, some bad. What do you think?
3) Reviews - The concensus seems to be that if a mag is going to have reviews, they should be colored by the history of the game itself, or have an "entertainment focus," rather than a straight up review.
4) Articles - Give us exclusive info. There are still unknown things out there. Even if you can't get exclusive info, focus on little known info.
5) Find the key to selling the mag to the collector. Is it price point? Content? Both? None of the above?

Ideas?

[MegaDrive20XX]

Issue specials (Game Icons of the industry, Tributes to game series by having a time line about them) , free pull out posters with artwork submitted by anyone that is voted and chosen by the readers/reviewers, complete walk throughs for games that span 1 to 3 issues

[fishsandwich]

More Japanese coverage, and maybe an issue with a lot of shooter content. That's what I'd like to do. Shooters, man!

:2gunfire: :onfire: :rockets:

[Kid Ice]

Okay, let's recap ideas that we've covered in the past...and lendelin, you'll have to recap your own, because they really are quite long winded. ;)

Just so it's clear, these aren't all my ideas. I'm just summarizing different thoughts that I've heard. Any current or future mag, zine, or online mag can chose to heed any, all, or none of these ideas:

So, to get the ball rolling:

1) Money. Get the ad revenue if you can.
2) Price Guides - Some think it good, some bad. What do you think?
3) Reviews - The concensus seems to be that if a mag is going to have reviews, they should be colored by the history of the game itself, or have an "entertainment focus," rather than a straight up review.
4) Articles - Give us exclusive info. There are still unknown things out there. Even if you can't get exclusive info, focus on little known info.
5) Find the key to selling the mag to the collector. Is it price point? Content? Both? None of the above?

Ideas?

6) a cool name

[ManciGames]

Ideas?

6) a cool name

Good one! Any ideas? Are any of the current ones "cool" enough?

[TRM]

Personally, I would not be interested in a magazine with price guides. To me, I have my trusty DP guide, and having price guides in a magazine---that would just be boring.

Under normal circumstances, I would not buy a magazine of this sort. It would not matter the price. I am not stingy, or cheap, but I am a poor college student. I would rather put my money towards games and other weird videogame-related "memoribilla" then a retro magazine of sorts. This leads into my next thought.

A good retrogaming magazine has to have good EXCLUSIVE content. I don't want to read 50,000 Super Mario Bros. 3 reviews, and I don't really need codes for Combat. If someone finds a new code that was previously unknown (i.e. Super Mario Bros. 3 debug code...) then it would be interesting to read about. Otherwise, I don't care about it.

Unique content is a must. Make it something that people will be curious enough about, to grab the magazine and read. Some people like to game, others like to collect, and some of us like both. Provide a balance between the two, but keep it unique, or little known. On my website, for instance, I get emails about some of the more shitty articles that I wrote...why? Probably because no one else wrote about this stuff.

Just my thoughts.

[TRM]

Another idea, which may be a bit of a stretch, though a good idea nonetheless. Browsing around on videogame forums for tons of different games (Castlevania, Mario, Mega Man, etc) one question constantly comes up. Where can I get "enter game title here" sheet music? If someone has music theory and can compose, I imagine that a videogame sheet music page (maybe one song per magazine) would sell quite a few issues. That would get me to subscribe.

[ManciGames]

Another idea, which may be a bit of a stretch, though a good idea nonetheless. Browsing around on videogame forums for tons of different games (Castlevania, Mario, Mega Man, etc) one question constantly comes up. Where can I get "enter game title here" sheet music? If someone has music theory and can compose, I imagine that a videogame sheet music page (maybe one song per magazine) would sell quite a few issues. That would get me to subscribe.

Wow, this one is brand new to me. Weird, but very unique idea. Who knows?

[Half Japanese]

A name goes a longer way than most people give it credit for. To me, and I"m not being insulting here, "Manci Games" sounds like some guy's fanzine. While it may not have been, that's the impression I would get from seeing it on a newsstand. Video Game Collector, Retro Gamer, etc. are a little dry and upfront, but they tell you exactly what you're getting. Personally I doubt the market is there for a regular print magazine and putting them out online makes infinitely more sense from a financial standpoint, but to each his own.

[PackratVG]

One of the main reasons why I love CGE every year is the keynotes. There's nothing like them available to the classic gaming community, and the information shared is always extremely interesting. More "insider" articles in retro magazines would hook me.

Best,
Jarett

[ManciGames]

A name goes a longer way than most people give it credit for. To me, and I"m not being insulting here, "Manci Games" sounds like some guy's fanzine. While it may not have been, that's the impression I would get from seeing it on a newsstand. Video Game Collector, Retro Gamer, etc. are a little dry and upfront, but they tell you exactly what you're getting. Personally I doubt the market is there for a regular print magazine and putting them out online makes infinitely more sense from a financial standpoint, but to each his own.

Alas, "Manci Games" is no more, so that specific subject is moot. Funny thing though: Most people who knew about the mag now automatically associate the name "Manci Games" with "Retro Gaming Magazine." Kinda like how you hear "Pepsi" and you think "cola." What the heck was a Pepsi before it was a cola anyway? :)

Any ideas for a better name? If the current ones are so dry, maybe we can brainstorm for more fresh ones.

How about: Third Level, Power Up, Die Hard Gamefan (oh wait...), and my personal favorite: "Shur-yu-ken!"

[Habeeb Hamusta]

I wouldn't like price guides either. There are lots of price guides on the internet, and it would just be wasting space in the mag.
I'd want to see reviews more on the entertainment side and not so technical and boring.
I like mags with a lot of interaction from the readers too. Gives you a lot more insight on the thoughts of other gamers and not just the editors.

[RCM]

How about writers with some fucking balls. No offense to anyone that has done any work indie or mainstream. I believe that most videogame journalists just lack the passion that many hardcore gamers exhibit. I've met many journalists, they are mostly nice fellas. Haven't met a chick journalist yet! They just don't do anything for me. I know many will disagree. Oh well carry on.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[Habeeb Hamusta]

How about: Third Level, Power Up, Die Hard Gamefan (oh wait...), and my personal favorite: "Shur-yu-ken!"

Shuryuken??? Isn't it Shoryuken?? Just asking. :)

[MegaDrive20XX]

Price guide would bring too much hell I'd say...especially when everyone compares prices to Ebay and GameStop :roll:

I used to be a student of Journalism, and the problem I had is being upfront to people about an issue or how I feel about a game/system..tired of hearing what the big boys (IGN/GameSpot) say about a game and really get down and dirty to say "This is overrated" in the face of Final Fantasy boys as an example


I just don't give a shit! If I feel the game doesn't meet my standards, IT STINKS!

[ManciGames]

How about: Third Level, Power Up, Die Hard Gamefan (oh wait...), and my personal favorite: "Shur-yu-ken!"

Shuryuken??? Isn't it Shoryuken?? Just asking. :)

It's the Pittsburgh accent. :) Sort of like "somamitch."

[charitycasegreg]

SOunds nice. But whatever you do, do not put price guides!!! That will make it just one step harder to get cheap games!

[kainemaxwell]

I still wish I had gotten that manci issue #2 when I signed for the free issue a couple weeks before it fell apart.

But anyhow, find something unique for your magazine that few, if any other magazine sor forums don't have.

[Griking]

I'm ok with the idea of a limited price guide in the magazines. Game values seem to increase and decrease on a somewhat regular basis and since the DP Guide only comes out once a year if that I think it would fill a void. Perhaps only list the 25 or 50 most valuable games for each console or only cover a few different consoles each issue instead of doing them all every issue.

Another point, I love games and even though the internet is more current with information I still subscribe to many game magazines. While I (like I'm sure everyone else) have a limited budget I'd be more than willing to pay for a subscription to a retrogaming magazine as long as it had interesting content. $20-$25 for a yearly subscription isn't going to put me in the poorhouse. And for the record, yes I was a paid subscriber to ManciGames.

As for other content, I'd love to see a column like Joe's Collector Closet in a retrogaming mag. Sorry Joe, while I love your column I just won't subscribe to Tips & Tricks to read it every month because I have no interest in the other 90% of the magazine.

[lendelin]

First, I have to say something about the locked thread:

1) RCM, you are a little stir-up artist. You discredited yourself in my eyes completely. If you think your out-of-whack posts in the now locked thread makes yourself interesting, you're wrong. It makes you annoying. Annoying guys are never interesting. You will reply to this personal comment, and I can assure you I will ignore it.

2) Thanks to (and thank God for) the reasonable guys like ianoid, slownerveactin, goatdan, rolenta and so many others who are interested in substantial reasoning and like me don't give a damn about feeding on personal battles, and don't enjoy public keyhole perspectives.

3) @zmweasel and ManciGames: trust me, I understand your positions very well, and I mean VERY well. :)

But look at it this way: the thread was about VGC, it was constructive, it made the mag interesting; the worst result is that VGC will get 5 to ten more subscriptions out of it, not bad at all! :) Even I am now tempted to subscribe to it, and will for sure do so tomorrow.

I'm glad that I was informed what is in the mag, and it sounds very interesting and promising. That is more important than hurt feelings, false pride, and slight hints to past ugly history which is anyway only clear to the two involved. No public harm done, everything is well.

It is time to put an end to the former locked thread. In German, there is a nice saying: you draw a final line under something. THIS is the final line: :)

------------------------------------------


About the topic:

1) Reviews: do comparative reviews spanning genres and time emphasizing intersting angles like I explained in the former thread. There is no need to restrict yourself to one game like the big-boy-mags have to do! If you have thousands of games and 25 years of game history at your disposal, interesting perspectives open up which reviews about one single game can never deliver. Past and present conventional reviews should not be replicated. You have to deliver something different, because the target audience is different.

Combine in ONE comparative review the gamer and collectors perspectives, or divide one topic into two complementing articles. Do add-ons of listings with title, publisher, developer, release date of the games covered in an article. Someone writes abot the FF and Dragon Quest series or Mega Man series, list all the games on half the page. It is great information for gamers and collectors alike.

Always stress the enthusiasm for games, make them come alive, becasue both -- gaming and collecting -- flow from enthusiasm for games. Collectors are nothing else than nutcase, avid gamers who want to have gamestores in their homes.

2) Have writers with different approaches and styles, this way the appeal of the mag is broader, and it makes it more interesting. Looking at current mags, I have the impression the style of different guys is so streamlined that it could have been written by one author only.

3) Like 1), current big game mags leave necessarily a vacuum. They are big tankers which can't be steered easily. They have to neglect topics which is uninteresting for their huge subscriber base. A retro-gamer/collector mag has to focus on them. Exploit every weakness of the big boys and make it your strenghts.

Look at this board for example. There are certain topics coming up over and over again in variations, focus on these topics. The Internet is more often than not a channel for neglected Qs and topics of the mass media.

4) Get rid of price guides. Sooner or later they become an unnecessary appendix. Guys who are intersted in price guides have the DP guides anyway, and guys who become intersted in the prices will buy them sooner or later. Minor fluctuations in prices for games don't justify bi-monthly updates. Prices and development of prices can be delivered in a more interesting way. (see 1)

I have to say, these are all suggestions from a mere reader. I don't have any experience how to put a mag together, nor do I have experience in journalism. (three "academic" articles in German daily newsapers certainly doesn't make me a journalist. :) Zmweasel knows certainly more about the nuts and bolts of journalism, and everyone who tried to make a 'zine going knows more than me about it.)

[esquire]

Any ideas for a better name? If the current ones are so dry, maybe we can brainstorm for more fresh ones.

Just as long as it doesn't have "Extreme" or "Xtreme" in the title, LOL

How about "Retro Gamer"? I don't know if that is "dry" or it has been used before. Instead of focusing on the games, it focuses on the gamers.

As for the magazine itself, I really like the idea of articles on the history of a series, as mentioned in the other thread. For example a chronological outline of games like Castlevania, noting not only the console history, but actual game history and storyline, citing memorable moments and disapointments in the series. There are so many to cover to, Zelda, Final Fantasy, Mega Man, Metal Gear, Alone in the Dark, Resident Evil, etc.

That's just my two cents.

[RCM]

1) RCM, you are a little stir-up artist. You discredited yourself in my eyes completely. If you think your out-of-whack posts in the now locked thread makes yourself interesting, you're wrong. It makes you annoying. Annoying guys are never interesting. You will reply to this personal comment, and I can assure you I will ignore it.

Calling me a "stir-up artist" are ya? Do you want to ruin another thread? It seems you do.

THE ONE, THE ONLY- RCM

[TRM]

Okay, could you two just put it to rest? I think this thread has a lot of good ideas in it, and I don't want to see this topic deteriorate.

[Phosphor Dot Fossils]

What I would do if I was running a retro mag or even just had some kinda column or somethin': I'd actually branch outside of games.

You heard me...don't just do games.

Spread out into other areas of pop culture or even history. Pick one title or a handful, and put them in the context of their times. Why did people rave about Activision Anthology or GTA:VC? Not just because of the games, but because of the music. What was on the charts while we were playing Pitfall? What were we watching on TV after finishing a marathon run of Astrosmash? What toys were in our closets or toy chests next to that NES Zapper gun that we'd stopped playing Duck Hunt with about six months earlier?

Make a bit of an "I Love The 80s Strikes Back" out of it, but with more of a focus on the games. Did the fact that Buck Rogers was on the air (beedy beedy beedy) add that much more of a frisson to George Plimpton's much-vaunted Intellivision space games? Was is really cooler to listen to Steve Miller's "Abracadabra" while playing 2600 Sorcerer's Apprentice?

In my humble opinion, this context had a lot to do with John Sellers' Arcade Fever being an outstanding book. Sellers isn't exactly the authority on video games, but his ability to place the games in some kind of context, to stir up just that many more dormant synapses, made the book worthwhile. (Arguably better than Supercade, even though that was written by someone who could possibly more legitimately claim to be a hardcore gamer.)

[Fuyukaze]

I'm not so crazy about a price guide because I generaly buy mags for the content about games. Not a price list. That's not to say I think its a totaly bad idea. With the price of CDs as they are, I cant help but wonder if it would be posible to combine both print and CD. Place large things such as price guides on the CD as well as any picture galleries to the games being covered on the disc and most of the reviews in the mag. Contests wouldnt hurt either and wouldnt have to break the bank. Frankly, I'd love to win more games. And there are plenty of dirt cheap games available as prizes. A copy of Raident Silvergun would be a great prize, but so would a copy of EDF. Free is free folks, and if you win something for free and it works, then thats a sweet deal to me. Sections for codes would be great as well but the codes should be more then just generic codes one can find anywheres. Stuff like gameshark codes, game geenie, and such for the older systems wouldnt hurt either.

To be realistic though, I dont see a high demand for a retro gaming mag. While it may be popular and trendy to be retro, for the most part people tend to stick with gaming mags they know and or trust. Not to many of those devote more then 4 pages to retro gaming. The price would have to be something competitive as well. How many people honestly want to spend more then 5$ for a gaming mag? Sure, people do when they buy the "Official" mags of the curent systems, but when your dealing with retro games, chances are high your going to eventualy review a game many people wont be able to find. Atleast beyond rom format. I doubt it would be very profitable initialy. Maybe in the long run, but it would have to do something few have done before. Show the gaming world its more then just a fan mag. Well, thats my 2 cents. More ideas to come in future edits.

[slownerveaction]

I'm not going to get into the obvious about marketing/money/ads/etc., because that isn't my area of expertise. So this is limited to advice regarding editorial.

1. Hire me. No... seriously. I'm awesome If there's one thing Zach and Jaysen would agree on, it's that.

2. lendelin and some others have discussed the idea of unconventional reviews. I'm all for that. Comparing two or more games, dissecting the development of genres (and branches into sub-genres), series retrospectives, lists (I love any sort of Top Ten list, as do plenty of other people), or a multitude of other "outside the box" approaches to reviewing are all great.

3. While writers should be knowledgeable and passionate about their subject, I have no interest in seeing "hardcore" fanboy writers contributing to any of these "retro gaming mags" (and I know that description is in dispute to a certain extent but let's use it as an "umbrella" term for now). Please... for the love of God... no more fanboys in gaming journalism. Indulging in hyperbole and lacking objectivity are not synonymous with passion.

4. Any retro gaming mag that wants to succeed is going to have to draw both the dedicated "hardcore" crowd that visits message boards like these regularly AND the sort of average gamer who happens to indulge in occasionally playing/collecting NES game. That's practically indisputable.

5. I'm totally neutral on the issues of price guides. I do think VGC's is very well done though.

Of course, I make no claims to objectivity regarding the subject. I've got waaaay too close an association with VGC (and Manci, for that matter) to say that.

[Iron Draggon]

SCREENSHOTS! Lots and lots and lots of screenshots! I spend hours on end every week, scouring the net with all the search engines, just trying to find some screenshots, any screenshots, of some classic game that I'm thinking about buying but wondering if it's really any good or not. So I look and look and look, only to find that there isn't even a single screenshot of it left out there anywhere anymore, much less a review of it. Or when I do luck out and find a screenshot, it's just the title screen, or when I do luck out and find a review, it doesn't show any screenshots. So I'm left with no choice but to just buy the game and hope that it's worth it, or just forget about it.

IMHO, all the screenshots were what made DieHard GameFan such a great magazine. You never wondered what a game looked like after reading one of their reviews of it, even when it was just a capsule review, because they always showed at least one decent screenshot to give you a good idea of what the game was like. It may have cost them way too much money to do things the way they did, and that's probably why they eventually went out of business, but dammit it was a high quality magazine printed on high quality paper with high quality screenshots and high quality reviews. I always looked forward to the next issue of that magazine way more than I did any of the others. You probably couldn't afford to do something similar in the offline world today, but I see no reason at all why you couldn't do it in the online world. However, I still would prefer a print magazine, and would happily pay whatever I had to for a magazine of similar quality today, if it was all retro!

Now as for reviews, I don't wanna hear anything at all about how lame it looks compared to the games of today, or how the gameplay doesn't hold up to today's standards either. I'm not looking for more information about what a great game the latest hot seller is, I'm looking for more information about what a great game that old retro classic is for a retro gamer who doesn't expect it to look or play like anything on all the modern consoles. Just tell me if it's a dud by the standards of the era, or if it's a hidden gem just waiting to be rediscovered. Cover the hits as well as the misses too.

I would say focus on all the really obscure, rare, and hard to find titles the most, and just gloss over all the major releases that we all should know and love already by now as well. It is a good idea to go a little in-depth about them for all the newbies who've never even heard of them before, but save all the nostalgic high praise for the ones that even us retro gamers probably missed out on for one reason or another. We don't need anymore 4 page spreads about any Mario game or anything like that. We know, we know, we know, we know! You either loved them or you hated them, and no amount of waxing nostalgic over them all over again is gonna change anybody's mind. We want to hear about why that ultra rare game is so rare and hard to find, and why it's worth the hefty asking price, not why we need to finally break down and buy the game that everyone else in the world already has. I'm on ebay looking for the stuff that hardly ever shows up, not the same old same old that I see dozens of copies of every week at any given time for cheap.

[MegaDrive20XX]

3. While writers should be knowledgeable and passionate about their subject, I have no interest in seeing "hardcore" fanboy writers contributing to any of these "retro gaming mags" (and I know that description is in dispute to a certain extent but let's use it as an "umbrella" term for now). Please... for the love of God... no more fanboys in gaming journalism. Indulging in hyperbole and lacking objectivity are not synonymous with passion.


here here! praise on! We need people who speak the truth and not bullshit under the table about journalism

If you need someone like me or him, please feel free, I would like to assist in this magazine "dream team"

[fishsandwich]

I love the price lists in VGC. It's cool going down the list and picking a price point above, say, $20, and saying to yourself "I have that one and that one and wow that one too and..." I said it was cool. Sad, yes, but cool. Especially sad to see how shitty my NES collections is. Bunch of damn commons. Don't even ask about my classic games for the Ataris and such.

But I digress... I like the price list, and sets it apart from other mags. I think it goes great with the DP quide, like chocolate and peanut butter.

I always like a good "compare the same game on different systems" article, but that's been done a lot, too.

Cheers

[goatdan]

Here's what I think that a magazine should include before I subscribe to it:

1) A collectors showcase. Have someone take pictures of their collection and talk about various aspects of it. Explain how they display it and so on.
2) A collector's helper. Give ideas on how to best store games. Directions on how to make a perfect SNES storage case. How to best clean a certain type of game. A review on various resurfacing products and see if they work in various consoles. Ways to help stop your Activision games from getting Actiplaque. One topic a month.
3) Short reviews of perhaps five newly released games and five old games. These reviews would be no more than a paragraph and would be a quick summary of the game and how it holds up against today's standards.
4) An in-depth review of a certain game, whether new or old, that would take it and give the player strategies and stuff like that. Perhaps you could find something like this online... but the thing that I would really like to return is the level maps that were used by taking screenshots of the entire thing and then pointing stuff out on them. Those were so neat (anyone else remember Metriod? SMB3? Or others? Those were AWESOME!)
5) A main article based on something that was out of the norm. For instance, an interview with a developer, a history of a certain console with details that weren't previously done, an explanation of the court cases that have revolved around video games, a full history of Dragon Warrior, etc.
6) Compare and contrast. An article comparing games and contrasting them. Perfect examples would be something like TMNT II versus TMNT Xbox or Duke Nukem versus Duke Nukem 3D. What was kept the same? What changed? Was it a good entry to the series?
7) A decent letter section. People could write in and ask a few questions every month either about articles or whatever and they would be answered. This is the only section that I don't know how well it would work.
8) A short news section that would recap any big happenings since the last publication by system. I generally only follow the Jaguar and the Dreamcast closely, but I have a bunch of 2600 homebrews and would love to know what has been released for instance.

Also, I would rather the magazine not try to go "mainstream." In other words, I would rather see a smaller publication where if a reviewer said that a certain game sucked that other people didn't agree with (lets say Final Fantasy, just for instance) they could and the magazine wouldn't get a huge backlash because of it. I think too many people are worried about making too many people happy to actually say negative stuff about popular stuff. I'd rather hear all viewpoints.

One of the things that is crazy about the current magazines is the advertising rates. There are a LOT of classic game vendors and sellers and even new developers... but if I'm given the choice of spending $250 on a one page ad that will circulate to 3000 subscribers to a magazine or spending that same money on a radio advertisement in a show that averages 100,000 listeners in Milwaukee, I'd pick the radio advertisement every single time. I think that the ad rates for these magazines are way out of whack. An example:

If I were to take out a full page ad in the PinGame Journal, I would pay $90.00. Not just would this assure me having the ad show up in everyone's hands that is a collector, but I know that it would live on. Back issues of the PGJ are sold or traded usually. People don't just toss them.

On the other hand, if I am to take out an advertisement through Classic Gamer Magazine for a one page ad, I have to pay $120.00. For an advertisement that will not show up in print. I don't know about VGC, but I know that ManciGames advertisement rates were higher than that by quite a bit for a one page ad. While I was interested and wanted to support them, I couldn't justify that big of an expendature when I would be lucky to see that returned from it.

If magazines want to make money from vendors (and I don't think I'm the only one in this boat) you need to start with your advertising costs dirt cheap. If it was $25.00 for a full page ad in CG or $50.00 in one of the print ones, I would be a lot more likely to take out an ad or four. At the current prices though, when you're making maybe a dollar or two for everything that you sell, you have to sell a lot of stuff to pay for an ad and there is much cheaper ways of going about that.

I do not mean this comment to be in any way a huge negative against the people that have set their prices at what they are at. The fact that CG only has a handful of ads was great for the person just wanting to read it, and if that is how you want it to be done, then it works for you. Personally, one of my favorite parts in GameRoom and PinGame is seeins which games I'm interested in are selling at which vendors and for how much... I actually like more ads for places like that.


SCREENSHOTS! Lots and lots and lots of screenshots! I spend hours on end every week, scouring the net with all the search engines, just trying to find some screenshots, any screenshots, of some classic game that I'm thinking about buying but wondering if it's really any good or not. So I look and look and look, only to find that there isn't even a single screenshot of it left out there anywhere anymore, much less a review of it. Or when I do luck out and find a screenshot, it's just the title screen, or when I do luck out and find a review, it doesn't show any screenshots. So I'm left with no choice but to just buy the game and hope that it's worth it, or just forget about it.

Actually, I have been thinking about asking this question for a while and your message makes me think that perhaps it is the time...

When Gary and I rebuilt the GOAT Store, we built it so that we had the ability to expand it in the future and one of the things that we have thought about is adding screenshots to every game. Obviously, by ourselves this would be an insurmountable task.

I've been meaning to ask if anyone would like to help by taking screenshots of games and sending them to us. Our database currently holds every game name that was released in the US, so we could use screen shots for everything. The screenshots would be put into 140px by 140px (which isn't the best, but it is the only way we could host them) size. We were hoping for a screenshot of the title screen of each game and three different shots of gameplay. Would anyone be willing to help in this project? If we start it, after I were to get enough screen shots to actually have a database, I would figure out some way for other sites to access them (XML interface or something).

To keep this conversation on track, I'll start a new thread in a moment called "Screen Shot Database." Please reply in there if you are interested.

[Djfinny]

Excellent dialog here! You guys are coming up with some creative suggestions. I would like to add a few more and nod in agreement some of the ones mentioned.

1.) Rarity Guide: Not interested in it. The prices do change and DP does do a very good job with this right now.

2.) Add a 15, 20, 25 Years Ago Today Top 10 Ten Gaming list - maybe add a Top Ten Music/Movie/Video list for a particular week/months?

3.) Screenshot, screenshot and more screenshots -

4.) Expand the gaming to the early home PC. Review / compare the great games of the Apple 2+, Commodore 64, VIC20, TRS-80, Amiga, maybe early PC (late 80's to early 90's).

5.) Strategy Guide, Tricks and Easter Eggs.

6.) A name - I did like Retro Gamer or maybe The Classic Gamer?

I also like to add that I also had purchased a subscription to Manci Games. Did a second issue get released?

[tritium]

The biggest problem I have with magazines (online offline) and web pages, they dont' talk about the consoles I care about.

They usually stick to consoles from the 80s, but I'm interested in Sega Stuff, (Genesis, SegaCD, Dreamcast, Saturn)... or Psone stuff now that the psone is retired.

-Tritium

[slownerveaction]

SCREENSHOTS! Lots and lots and lots of screenshots! I spend hours on end every week, scouring the net with all the search engines, just trying to find some screenshots, any screenshots, of some classic game that I'm thinking about buying but wondering if it's really any good or not. So I look and look and look, only to find that there isn't even a single screenshot of it left out there anywhere anymore, much less a review of it. Or when I do luck out and find a screenshot, it's just the title screen, or when I do luck out and find a review, it doesn't show any screenshots. So I'm left with no choice but to just buy the game and hope that it's worth it, or just forget about it.

What sorts of games are you looking for pics of exactly? Through the powers of emulation, there are screenshots out there for most anything 16-bit and older. And there are screenshots of a lot of 32-bit and beyond stuff on GameSpot and IGN. If you're talking about what I think you are (really obscure, on the fringe import stuff), then... well... I'm working on it... slowly. My coverage of retro imports has ended up getting spread out over both issues of Manci, VGC #1-2 (as well as future issues), Classic Gamer #2 (second issue of the online edition) and hopefully beyond (already have a piece set for the upcoming third issue), and my website (http://www.famiconsumer.com !PLUGPLUGPLUG!). With the exception of my import column in VGC (which is more of a freeform thing), I'm doing 700-1200 word reviews with a smattering of screenshots -- plenty to help you make decisions.


here here! praise on! We need people who speak the truth and not bullshit under the table about journalism

If you need someone like me or him, please feel free, I would like to assist in this magazine "dream team"

Thanks.

But... yeah... I'm already writing for (or have written for, in the case of the defunct Manci) a lot of the "retro" mags. I'm just shamelessly self-promoting for anyone else out there who might be thinking of starting something else up. I have a resume and portfolio available, folks!




1) A collectors showcase. Have someone take pictures of their collection and talk about various aspects of it. Explain how they display it and so on.

There's already something like this in VGC called Collector's Spotlight.


6) Compare and contrast. An article comparing games and contrasting them. Perfect examples would be something like TMNT II versus TMNT Xbox or Duke Nukem versus Duke Nukem 3D. What was kept the same? What changed? Was it a good entry to the series?

There was a bit in Manci #2 comparing Ninja Gaiden (NES and Xbox versions). I was working on one comparing F-Zero (SNES) and F-Zero GX until the mag folded.

[RangerG]

There is no way a small magazine can produce a price guide four times a year that has any real statistical reliability. Perhaps a once a year price guide would be interesting and carry more reliability (however - the marketplace features are an interesting article and much better than the price guide). Everyone can just check the DP guide or Ebay if they want prices. VGC is a good magazine, but I don't want to subscribe to a mag/price guide. I think the price guide inevitably dominates the publication and detracts greatly from it.

[PackratVG]

I second Dan's thoughts on advertising rates. We're in the same boat as the GOAT store. I would love to support retro-magazines, but the rates asked thus far have been way out of our range. I would understand if the magazine were distributed nationally and showed up in places like Walmart and Barnes and Noble, but the current retro magazines haven't been able to break that barrier yet. Rates need to match readership levels.

Best,
Jarett

[delafro]

I agree with the visual aspect, lots and lots of screenshots. Also, classic Ad recreations and box art sections are cool in my book. Make sure the art direction looks good and fits with the subject. Be enthusiastic, emphasize the fun of gaming.

Exclusives are good, go behind the scenes, lots of interviews, and rather than a lot of small articles on many games I would say cover maybe 3 or 4 games very well with a lot of articles, maps, strategies, and so on. Having maps could be a huge attraction for some of the tougher games.

Should be colorful and eye catching too, as an extra challenge maybe only have the page design have the same color palette as the system that is being covered- like, what is it, only use 56 colors in the NES section, and so forth.

[lendelin]

1. Book reviews! Not too academic, not to deep, but 500 words maybe about two major strenghts and two major weaknesses. (like for the Kohler book "Power Up")

Why not a shorter essay review about the most important books of game history? Has to be done carefully, not too overwhelming for readers, and this stuff can be done once in awhile. Just a short essay what certain books deliver, what their weaknesses are, and necessary directions of future research.

2. I second screenshots!! :) It is strange, when I read about literature, movies, or politics (not to mention PoliSci, of cousre), I couldn't care less about pics. When it comes to games, I eat them up!! :) Even a guy like me who is interested in information and explanation, loves game pics!

The articles in the DP 'zine are so much better becasue of screenshots of games and boxarts which Dave Giarusso puts in. A screenshot of Cybernator is great, or all the boxart of the Mega Man games. Although I have all the MM games on my shelves, it was great to see these pics. Same goes for the "Power Up" book when all to familiar pics are shown of SMB or FF, or not so well known like Kartia. Pics make an article or a review lively, and even the articles seem better just becasue of pics.

[bluenote]

I think screenshots are a great idea. Some people were saying previously that you can find these on the internet, but really, you can find anything on the internet. This just puts in in an organized format. Why do people buy new video game magazines, you can find a review on any game you want on the internet

[Griking]

4.) Expand the gaming to the early home PC. Review / compare the great games of the Apple 2+, Commodore 64, VIC20, TRS-80, Amiga, maybe early PC (late 80's to early 90's).

5.) Strategy Guide, Tricks and Easter Eggs.

6.) A name - I did like Retro Gamer or maybe The Classic Gamer?

I also like to add that I also had purchased a subscription to Manci Games. Did a second issue get released?

I love threse three ideas myself.

I would have suggested including classic computer gaming myself but I've always felt that I was a minority in that area.

[rbudrick]

Interviews from homebrew coder and updates/news of homebrews in development would be sweet.

-Rob

[goatdan]

1. Book reviews! Not too academic, not to deep, but 500 words maybe about two major strenghts and two major weaknesses. (like for the Kohler book "Power Up")

I'm surprised that I didn't think of this... this is actually one of my favorite sections of GameRoom (the "reviews" section) and the one that I've done some stuff for. Make a reviews section and review ANYTHING gaming related. GameRoom reviews gaming books, videos, machines and so on. They even review amusment park books. That's always one of my favorite sections (and the one that I've contributed to before :) ).

[Iron Draggon]

SCREENSHOTS! Lots and lots and lots of screenshots! I spend hours on end every week, scouring the net with all the search engines, just trying to find some screenshots, any screenshots, of some classic game that I'm thinking about buying but wondering if it's really any good or not. So I look and look and look, only to find that there isn't even a single screenshot of it left out there anywhere anymore, much less a review of it. Or when I do luck out and find a screenshot, it's just the title screen, or when I do luck out and find a review, it doesn't show any screenshots. So I'm left with no choice but to just buy the game and hope that it's worth it, or just forget about it.

What sorts of games are you looking for pics of exactly? Through the powers of emulation, there are screenshots out there for most anything 16-bit and older. And there are screenshots of a lot of 32-bit and beyond stuff on GameSpot and IGN. If you're talking about what I think you are (really obscure, on the fringe import stuff), then... well... I'm working on it... slowly. My coverage of retro imports has ended up getting spread out over both issues of Manci, VGC #1-2 (as well as future issues), Classic Gamer #2 (second issue of the online edition) and hopefully beyond (already have a piece set for the upcoming third issue), and my website (http://www.famiconsumer.com !PLUGPLUGPLUG!). With the exception of my import column in VGC (which is more of a freeform thing), I'm doing 700-1200 word reviews with a smattering of screenshots -- plenty to help you make decisions.

Yeah, mostly the very obscure retro imports, but not just the obscure ones. Pretty much all of them, really. And it's still very hard to find very many if any screenshots of any old retro games anymore, domestic or import, obscure or otherwise. Usually all I find is box scans, cover scans, manual scans, or cart scans, and if there's any screenshots at all it's just the title screen and maybe the ending sequence. Not very much coverage on the heart of the game, except for the reviews here and a few other places, which are pretty much the best sources of information that I know of. So what I want is some pics of a smattering of all the levels and bosses, the really impressive stuff that will make or break my decision, not just some cheesy pic of the first level that says yeah, here you go, this is the first thing you'll see. That's usually not very impressive, and may be hiding some of the best graphics ever seen later in the game, but all I have to go on is one really lame and unimpressive pic.

Another thing that I've noticed is that foreign sites tend to cover all the retro games way better than any of the domestic sites do. Chances are if I find a really good review of a game with alot of good screenshots, it's either gonna be in Brazilian, French, German, or Japanese. I dunno why all the fans in those countries can do such a great job, while the ones in the US, the UK, and Canada still can't seem to do very much more than ramble on in colloquialisms, but that's the way it is. At least when I can find a decent translation, I get alot more out of somebody's broken English than I do out of most reviews in my own language. Or so it seems most of the time now.