What are some well-designed game web sites?

[george moromisato]

I'm going to work on the main Transcendence web site and Player's Guidebook (http://trans.kronosaur.com/guidebook.hexm). I'd like to see examples of good sites that you all like.

What are some examples of good tutorials?
What are some examples of sites that have good backstory for the game?
What are some cool things that you've seen in game sites?

Thanks!

[Watch TV, Do Nothing]

My impression is that most people prefer to get tutorials and backstory either through the game client itself or through third-party wikis.

[Ttech]

I found these - http://www.1stwebdesigner.com/inspirati ... -websites/
But the general thing I've seen a lot of is the Boostrap massive scrollers for most apps and sites these days.
It could give a nice flexibility in displaying content and story.

[pixelfck]

Most game websites seem to be created by the game's publishers. As such, they have a very high marketing centred approach and which seems mostly aimed at teenagers. This approach may be nice if your goal is to sell many copies in a short while, but it may not be the best for a game that is continuously in development for over 10 years.

Maybe just go with your own idea. The old website had many interesting sections which where [ under construction] if I remember correctly. I always thought it a shame that I couldn't read those interesting looking sections... so maybe aim at flashing those out?

~Pixelfck

[PM]

Only loosely related, but... I am old-fashioned and like to have documentation in a readme file I can read offline.

[JohnBWatson]

On most game websites I've seen, there's a collection of information on the game's plot. Organizing a tab like that would be a great help(especially considering the huge quantity of factions is a bit intimidating to new players), and would also let more people gain insight into the game's storyline, boosting forum activity and engagement.

Otherwise, a few prominent screenshots of the cooler looking systems(without giving away too many spoilers, I suppose) couldn't hurt.

[goo123]

Google airmech
Its an indie game still in beta and has a really good looking site with losts of graphics and a storyline.

[walkerfn2002]

Hi everybody, first post here. Great game.

The Dwarf Fortress site is a good example of what to do.

Also check out Wazhack, a successor to nethack.

[Watch TV, Do Nothing]

The Dwarf Fortress site is a good example of what to do.

The Dwarf Fortress site, much like the game's user interface, is atrocious. There's nothing there that would convince somebody who's never played before to try the game. Information is just thrown together with no sense of what is or isn't significant. The most prominent feature is the blog, which is cryptic or incomprehensible unless you're already heavily invested in the game.

[JohnBWatson]

Furthermore, the forums could use a clear link to the main game site.

[pixelfck]

Furthermore, the forums could use a clear link to the main game site.

^this.

Linking the forums back into the rest of the websites is maybe the most important change required.

~Pixelfck