SURVEY: The best shareware/indie game site?

[Sashelas]

I'd like to see a three part grid with the following fields pulled from a large review database:
1) Name / Description of indie game along with the name of the author
2) Screenshot thumbnails
3) List of tools and engine used

Downloads and game reviews are the best to feature IMO. Some rating system might be nice as well that allows registered users to note the score the game deserves from different areas.

I'd rather have the list pre-sorted by registered user prefs than receive an email. If the resource was comprehensive, I'd put the page on my toolbar or set it as a home page on my development machine. I kind of despise automated emails since a few of my accounts have been ruined by excessive email I'll never read.

Fields for game ratings, use star .gif (score 1-5)
-playability
-dynamic systems
-graphics
-sound
-originality

Also, file size maybe. I have a T1 but am pleasantly surprised when I see a tight game that other people enjoyed which is under a couple of MBs. Also some large games aren't really worth downloading to check out since you are no longer in the 'gaming' mood when the download completes.

Do author spotlights and list the authors names and contributors from the companies they work for. That would shed insight to the creative distinction of each indie game. It would also require research and information maintenance. Keep it short and succinct but do a little background research on the authors. Something similar to the actor/movie lists on DVDs would be nice to see which titles and author worked on previously.


8) Do you want to create your own game?
Yes. I've done a few game kits in the past including some graphics engines featured on tu-berlin.de a long time back, and have written variety of small indie games that had little distribution.

Your resource could be a good avenue for authors of indie games first releases.. Make it simple to register and submit games or download links. Download.com is too corporate lacks focus on indie developers unless the game is a hit. Also, delegate moderation to the sites most frequent users to lighten your workload.

I'd like to make two games: 1) a MMORPG that uses both the web and databases. 2) a game for toddlers

9) Any other comments or ideas about what you would like to get from a gaming site?
A utility or decompiler to look at installed DLLs by directory to find out which components were used in a game would be nice. :) I run them on commercial games I enjoy playing to see which libraries they use and find out a little about what makes them work. The program could be similar to spyware directory scanners which ID game components.

Ultimately the authors involved are the most important element, so you should have author or game company profiles. Plus it would be nice to have a 'game lab' where you invite people from different backgrounds and age groups to try out a game then do a write up about their reactions, things they disliked, and things they enjoyed about the indie game.

[Morphecy]

@Sashelas: Very interesting answers. Thanks. If I consider this gamingsite business to be profitable and launch the system you can rest assured that your ideas will be used there! :)

[BuckGFX]

Try to make as less clicks as possible.
I mean it have to be simple to get the game or try it.

For example:
clicking the name of game and i see the links to BUY and TRY.
And TRY link is to exe file, not to download page.

Or something like this...

[Morphecy]

Hi!

I have received enough answers and like to thank you for answering to this poll.

The other polls were made in these sites:

http://www.blitzbasic.com/Community/posts.php?topic=36629
http://www.blitzcoder.com/cgi-bin/ubb-cgi/postdisplay.cgi?forum=Forum1&topic=003977
http://indiegamer.com/forums/showthread.php?p=226#post226
http://www.cgtalk.com/showthread.php?p=1471711#post1471711

My conclusion is:
- There are quite many indie game sites in the net already
- In my opinion, the gaps are filled in most parts (like news, game reviews...)
- Problem with "hobby" sites are lack of updates
- It could be beneficial for indie sites to merge and form one bigger site. I think this would be beneficial in all aspects: for indie site reviewers (they would have more work force), for developers (one big site is better than lots of small ones - one good site to put your game available. Also one big site attracts more ad usage than several smaller sites...) and for the players (they could get the information from one site)

I won't go into that direction (put a new indie game review site on the net) but I hope some indie sites find this information beneficial for them.

Thanks for your help.

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