Forums, categories, and other ideas

[ward]

Got you covered @skullmeat
Check your profile to update last.fm

[RaZZlom]

I'll add Steam and GOG too.

I can see GOG field, but not Steam one. :confused:

[ward]

I can see GOG field, but not Steam one.

Oops... display was not checked. It's fixed along with several others.

[RaZZlom]

Then we need to figure out console gaming... do we have a separate forum for each console? Do we break it down by era (8bit, 16bit, 32bit, etc.)?

I'm thinking about it a little bit.

1. We can stay like it right now, but we need decide border between "retro" and "modern".
2. Separate like you said 8bit, 16bit, 32bit, 64bit and all other.
3. Or what I recommend, separate it by generations:
   • 1st generation (1972–1983)
   • 2nd generation (1976–1992)
   • 3rd generation (1983–2003)
   • 4th generation (1987–2003)
   • 5th generation (1993–2005)
   • 6th generation (1998–2013)
   • 7th generation (2005–2017)
   • 8th generation (2012–present)
   • 9th generation (2020–present)

But it can be too many forums.

[Virtua Wug]

You could possibly have categories for games for each decade instead of for each generation, since it can sometimes be difficult to determine what generation a certain game or console belongs to.

For me, I consider a "retro" game to be anything released on a console which is at least 25 years old. For PC games, I think 20 years old or older is a good cutoff.

[RaZZlom]

@Virtua Wug I've suggested it mostly because it decided by someone and everyone are agreed on that classification. It's not perfect but working.

In my opinion separate just by "retro" and "modern" not very good because every person has their own opinion about "retro" and "modern". We don't need flame wars here, do we?

Maybe it's best to stick to companies instead of decades? Like make forums for big three "Microsoft consoles", "Nintendo consoles", "Sony consoles" and "Other consoles". In this case we have small amount of forums and it's easy to decide where to post. :wink:

And I have question, where to post about DOOM, for example? Do I need create threads for every platform on what I play, like "[ DOS] DOOM", "[PS1] DOOM", etc. Or it preferable to create one thread "DOOM" and chat about all versions?

[ward]

Hmm... maybe we should spy on console forums to see how they break it down and then take some ideas from them, lol...

My issue with year-based generation categorizations is (I think) a lot of us will constantly have to look up stuff to see, "wait, when was 32X a thing?" I'd want something that clearly lists the systems. Rather than years, focus on the bits... The damn bits... we remember that marketing stuff and can easily recall for most systems. I guess I will also list the systems in the forum description to make it easier.

(I do think organizing things companies is more logical for many as well, but it's also weird to organize the PC and console sections with different criteria imo).

So, I'd like to keep things organized by era to match the PC gaming section... here's what I think:

• 8-bit & 16-bit Era (1980–1993)
  Atari 2600, 5200, 7800
  Sega Master System
  NES
  SNES
  Sega Genesis
  TurboGrafx-16
  Neo-Geo
• 32-bit & 64-bit Era (1993–2000)
  Jaguar
  PlayStation
  Nintendo 64
  3DO
  Sega Saturn
  Dreamcast
• 128-bit/DVD Era(2000–2012)
  PlayStation 2
  Xbox
  GameCube
  Xbox 360
  PlayStation 3
  Nintendo Wii
  Wii U
• Modern Console Era (2013–Present)
  PS4/5
  Switch
  Xbox One
• Emulation

I think we probably need software categories too... well, mainly for OSes since I'm sure we will get Linux talk and there's no category. However, I don't really want to break down the software by era... I think gaming is somewhat more generational... and I don't expect as much software/os talk. So, I was thinking just:

• Linux
• Mac
• Windows

Sound good... bad? Ideas?

[Casey]

• 8-bit & 16-bit Era (1980–1993)
  Atari 2600, 5200, 7800
  Sega Master System
  NES
  SNES
  Sega Genesis
  TurboGrafx-16
  Neo-Geo
• 32-bit & 64-bit Era (1993–2000)
  Jaguar
  PlayStation
  Nintendo 64
  3DO
  Sega Saturn
  Dreamcast
• 128-bit/DVD Era(2000–2012)
  PlayStation 2
  Xbox
  GameCube
  Xbox 360
  PlayStation 3
  Nintendo Wii
  Wii U
• Modern Console Era (2013–Present)
  PS4/5
  Switch
  Xbox One
• Emulation

I think we probably need software categories too... well, mainly for OSes since I'm sure we will get Linux talk and there's no category. However, I don't really want to break down the software by era... I think gaming is somewhat more generational... and I don't expect as much software/os talk. So, I was thinking just:

• Linux
• Mac
• Windows

I think this is the way to go. It's the best way to categorize things in a way that minimizes clutter.