1 reply to this topic

[MrFlibble]

I'm not sure if this is the right place to post, but since there seem to be both comments related to the site as well as comments related to the forums in this section, I think it is. Anyway, here goes:

Abandonia Reloaded defines itself as "Dedicated to freeware games and remakes! Download popular remakes and freeware games, all screenshotted with reviews, music and extras." However, browsing through the games featured on the site, it is easy to see that there are more different categories of games represented here:

• Modern independent freeware games, which apparently comprise the majority of games on the site (Cube, The Battle for Wesnoth and many, many others)
  
• Modern freeware remakes of classic games, which may or may not use the original graphics, sounds and other media (Turrican 2002, FreeCiv)
  
• Modern freeware games that aren't exactly remakes, but are closely modelled after, or pay homage to, some well-known classics (Hurrican, onEscapee)
  
• Games that were initially commercial products but have been officially released as freeware by the authors/copyright holders (Ken's Labyrinth, Grand Theft Auto, Starsiege: Tribes etc.)

The problem here as I see it is that the site provides virtually no information regarding these differences. That being said, I'm sure I'm not the only person who would appreciate more information about each featured game, such as the original release date, whether it is a remake or an independent title (or maybe an unofficial sequel, prequel or whatever to an existing game), is it an indie game or it was first released on a commercial basis and then had become freeware etc. It would also be nice, in my opinion, if the browsing categories on the site would not only include genres, but would also allow to specifically look for old freeware games, retro remakes and/or completely modern freeware titles not directly related to old classics.

Oh, and another suggestion: when browsing categories, the default screenshot for each game on the list shows its title screen. While this is nice, it's also very uninformative of what the actual game might look like, prompting the visitor to open the game's page and then go to screenshots to take a look at the game "in action". While not a major drawback, I think that using in-game screenshots for the game list would be far more informative and helpful, especially since the title screen is more or less redundant as game titles are already shown on the browsing list.

[Edit] One more thing to add, some modern games featured on the site are multiplayer-only, or are tailored primarily for playing online (OpenArena, Nexuiz, Warsow), i.e. the singleplayer part is either limited or completely absent. Can those be marked somehow, maybe through tags or a separate subcategory? BTW, does the site software support multiple tags for game entries? That would potentially simplify browsing a lot.

[Edit 2] I've removed sections that have become irrelevant due to recent site updates.

Edited by MrFlibble, 27 April 2011 - 09:32 AM.