Welcome to Four
By proph3t Sep 25, 2006 · 0 Comments
Welcome! If you are reading this you are officially browsing GameGum 4. This version is a monumental leap forward, and so in this post I will review what you need to know about the new features and enhancements that come with this grand new version.
Version Four
GameGum 4 includes so many changes and new features that there are a huge amount new areas of the site that will need to be discussed. To begin, I will talk about the largest new additions, and work my way down.
The Design. The design was the first aspect of GameGum to be improved after the release of version 3. Many pages have not only been visually redesigned, but also structurally and functionally redone. We aimed for clarity and ease of use throughout, not to mention a stricter adherence to standards and clean code. There is a new logo, and many pages are now using a wide format, removing the sidebar altogether to better use screen space. We are very pleased with the result of the redesign and hope you enjoy it as well.
The Forums. The forums are one of the biggest single expansion of the website on version 4, but are also the roughest around the edges. Because they have been developed in house for improved integration, they do not sport all of the features a normal forum would, but they are streamlined, effective and easy to use nonetheless.
Submitting Games. We aimed to make the submission of games as easy as possible, and hopefully have succeeded. The new submission form has been redone completely, and includes new features such as transferring games from another site straight to this one. Icons are now automatically resized and cropped too, so you don't have to worry about doing it yourself.
Private Messaging. Another all new feature, it's pretty self-explanatory. This should allow the forums to thrive and give user a better method to communicate with each other.
New Games Portal. Totally redone from the ground up, the new games portal has become incredibly powerful at sorting and displaying games. Sort by title, date, views, and rating, filter letters, toggle between small an large, browse by category, and so much more.
Front Page. Surprisingly, the front page has survived the redesign and retained many of it's original features. Recent users, threads, and comments are displayed now along the side. The featured games algorithm has been revamped to display new and upcoming games rather than the same old ones over and over again. The mini toplists also have been tweaked to keep fresh games on top. The latest news post is now a clipping below featured games. Along with featured games, there is also a featured user as well.
Control Panel. An all new control panel comes with version 4. We worked extensively on ease of use and on powerful management. The dashboard gives quick access to everything you do as well as your stats, while the new Friends, Favorites, and Content pages make managing everything a snap.
Friends. Mentioned here previously, there is now support for friends. This has been integrated fairly deeply with GameGum, but will be expanded on after launch.
New Game Pages. Redesigned from the ground up, the new game pages should provide a better layout of information as well as a few new and a few improved features. Ajax commenting, reporting of problems, related games, modal box popups and more.
Feeds. To be truly web 2.0 we had to add feeds around the site, and so now you may subscribe to author's games, new games, and news posts. We plan on adding a few more after launch.
There are so many more things not mentioned here it isn't fair, but I will save some more introductions for later. For now, enjoy it! We didn't spend half a year doing nothing ;-).
