GGE Holiday Cheer = New Features!
12/20/2006 (11:04 pm) by Sean Sullivan
Tomorrow marks the one month anniversary of our announcement of the Great Games Experiment to the GarageGames community. I would like to take a moment to thank everybody for their participation so far. We truly get excited in the web dev corner, here in The Garage, when we see the level of activity and excitement that is occurring daily at www.greatgamesexperiment.com. I would also like to thank all of you who have submitted bug reports and suggestions via the contact form available on GGE. These reports help us identify areas that need attention quickly and are important to our success!
A lot has happened in the last month on GGE. We have seen a large number of user accounts, games, and groups created! With the announcement of the GGE contest, we have seen a number of users step it up with high quality game submissions. These are great to see! Keep 'em coming!
Many new features have been rolled out since the GarageGames community announcement-- personal messages, increased image quotas, user contributions, etc.-- with many more on the way!
There has been a high influx of playable games brought to the site. Eric Hartman has been pushing for all games that have a playable flash file embedded or download link ready to be marked as 'playable'. The tag 'play now' is being used in the same spirit! Search for these tags when looking for games if you need something to keep you occupied during your next coffee break or beyond.
Game List Module
We have just released a very powerful new module type on GGE for you to include in your profile-- the Game List Module.
This module has been designed to help you quickly create a list of games for any purpose. "My Favorite Games", "Games I Play With My Girlfriend", "Games My Mother Said Would Rot My Brain!" You decide. The module is very easy to add and use in your profile. Simply go into edit mode on your profile and choose "Add a Module" from the menu on the right. From there you simply choose the "Game List Module" and click ADD! Now you can fix this puppy up whatever way you wish. Edit the title and throw in a short description (add GGE code here if you want). Then start adding games! It's that easy. You can add up to 15 titles. If you add less than 15, no biggy, we'll only show the ones you put in your module. You can even add captions to these games to describe why that particular game made it into your list!
Once you have your games added to your module, choose the display format. There are two choices here (for the time being)-- Vertical and Horizontal. The Vertical View will display the games in a list, with the captions displaying to the right of the game information (as quotes). The Horizontal View will show a ranked list of games (captions are not displayed in this view) for a quick and compact way of displaying this module.
Google Gadgets
Also, new to the site is the inclusion of Google Gadgets! If you are not familiar with Google Gadgets (a directory of gadgets is available at: www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open), they are a collection of various "gadgets" with various purposes that Google publishes for easy inclusion on your website. These gadgets range from search tools to calendars to mashups to games. You can even create your own Google Gadgets! We have added a tag to the GGE Code that allows you to put a Google Gadget in an Uber Module.
To add a Google Gadget to your profile, select the "Add to your webpage" button for the module you would like to add. On the next page, adjust the settings for your module according to the manner in which you would like it display, then select the "Get the Code" button at the bottom of the page.
Once you click the "Get the Code" button, a text box will appear with a line of code starting with the words: "
example: [ggadget=http://www.schulz.dk/pacman.xml]
example: [ggadget=http://www.schulz.dk/pacman.xml, left]
Google Gadgets can be aligned to the left, right, or center. The alignment is optional, the default alignment is left.
New Dashboard
The new My Account page now serves as more of a dashboard, complete with your message inbox, information on sharing your GGE page, my images tools and a recent activity log! This is now a great starting point for your GGE experience!
Improved Game Creation!
To help community members with their game submissions, Jacob has been working on a new and improved game creation process. In this he has added better form validation to the Create a Game form, in which we help you discover if the game you are adding has already been submitted (to cut down on duplicate entries). Also, we help you build your game profile right off the bat, collecting vital information to fill out some of your modules right when you submit! You can use the "wizard" mode, in which you enter features, system requirements, download links and we take care of the rest. If you are familiar with the GGE game submission process, we still offer the basic and advanced routes in which you can handle it all yourself!
More Beta Invites!
Many of you have been using up your invites to help bring your friends to the GGE community. I have gone ahead and given everybody a holiday gift of two more invites each! =) Once you are out of invites, send your friends to the main page of the site where they can enter their email to sign up for the beta. We are regularly processing these account requests.
Approaching 1,000 Games!!! That's a lot of games, but there's so many more out there that need to be brought into the limelight! Create a game today!
We have many more features on the way. If you have sent in a suggestion, I assure you we have received it and are currently working on assessing priority to those suggestions along with upcoming features.
Remember, the GGE Contest is now running until January 1st, 2007 @ 11:59 PM!
GGE Quick Links:
Main Page
Contest Information
Games Landing Page
Bug Report/Suggestion/Contact Form
Quick Survey
A lot has happened in the last month on GGE. We have seen a large number of user accounts, games, and groups created! With the announcement of the GGE contest, we have seen a number of users step it up with high quality game submissions. These are great to see! Keep 'em coming!
Many new features have been rolled out since the GarageGames community announcement-- personal messages, increased image quotas, user contributions, etc.-- with many more on the way!
There has been a high influx of playable games brought to the site. Eric Hartman has been pushing for all games that have a playable flash file embedded or download link ready to be marked as 'playable'. The tag 'play now' is being used in the same spirit! Search for these tags when looking for games if you need something to keep you occupied during your next coffee break or beyond.
Game List Module
We have just released a very powerful new module type on GGE for you to include in your profile-- the Game List Module.
This module has been designed to help you quickly create a list of games for any purpose. "My Favorite Games", "Games I Play With My Girlfriend", "Games My Mother Said Would Rot My Brain!" You decide. The module is very easy to add and use in your profile. Simply go into edit mode on your profile and choose "Add a Module" from the menu on the right. From there you simply choose the "Game List Module" and click ADD! Now you can fix this puppy up whatever way you wish. Edit the title and throw in a short description (add GGE code here if you want). Then start adding games! It's that easy. You can add up to 15 titles. If you add less than 15, no biggy, we'll only show the ones you put in your module. You can even add captions to these games to describe why that particular game made it into your list!
Once you have your games added to your module, choose the display format. There are two choices here (for the time being)-- Vertical and Horizontal. The Vertical View will display the games in a list, with the captions displaying to the right of the game information (as quotes). The Horizontal View will show a ranked list of games (captions are not displayed in this view) for a quick and compact way of displaying this module.
Google Gadgets
Also, new to the site is the inclusion of Google Gadgets! If you are not familiar with Google Gadgets (a directory of gadgets is available at: www.google.com/ig/directory?synd=open), they are a collection of various "gadgets" with various purposes that Google publishes for easy inclusion on your website. These gadgets range from search tools to calendars to mashups to games. You can even create your own Google Gadgets! We have added a tag to the GGE Code that allows you to put a Google Gadget in an Uber Module.
To add a Google Gadget to your profile, select the "Add to your webpage" button for the module you would like to add. On the next page, adjust the settings for your module according to the manner in which you would like it display, then select the "Get the Code" button at the bottom of the page.
Once you click the "Get the Code" button, a text box will appear with a line of code starting with the words: "
example: [ggadget=http://www.schulz.dk/pacman.xml]
example: [ggadget=http://www.schulz.dk/pacman.xml, left]
Google Gadgets can be aligned to the left, right, or center. The alignment is optional, the default alignment is left.
New Dashboard
The new My Account page now serves as more of a dashboard, complete with your message inbox, information on sharing your GGE page, my images tools and a recent activity log! This is now a great starting point for your GGE experience!
Improved Game Creation!
To help community members with their game submissions, Jacob has been working on a new and improved game creation process. In this he has added better form validation to the Create a Game form, in which we help you discover if the game you are adding has already been submitted (to cut down on duplicate entries). Also, we help you build your game profile right off the bat, collecting vital information to fill out some of your modules right when you submit! You can use the "wizard" mode, in which you enter features, system requirements, download links and we take care of the rest. If you are familiar with the GGE game submission process, we still offer the basic and advanced routes in which you can handle it all yourself!
More Beta Invites!
Many of you have been using up your invites to help bring your friends to the GGE community. I have gone ahead and given everybody a holiday gift of two more invites each! =) Once you are out of invites, send your friends to the main page of the site where they can enter their email to sign up for the beta. We are regularly processing these account requests.
Approaching 1,000 Games!!! That's a lot of games, but there's so many more out there that need to be brought into the limelight! Create a game today!
We have many more features on the way. If you have sent in a suggestion, I assure you we have received it and are currently working on assessing priority to those suggestions along with upcoming features.
Remember, the GGE Contest is now running until January 1st, 2007 @ 11:59 PM!
GGE Quick Links:
Main Page
Contest Information
Games Landing Page
Bug Report/Suggestion/Contact Form
Quick Survey
About the author
While completing a Bachelor\\\'s degree in Communication at Michigan State University, Sean focused on the studies of Mass Media Analysis & Campaign Design. Outside of the classroom he put those skills to use in the development of online communities and promotional materials for non-profit organizations. Upon graduation, he started his own business in media design--specializing in web design/development and video production. The goal of this business was to help small business and organizations integrate their overall marketing plan into their Internet presence, focusing on site professionalism, effectiveness, and usability. With a true entreprenurial spirit inside, fate decided it was time for him to follow his dreams of working in the video game industry, embracing his talents by joining the truly talented team at GarageGames! Recently relocating from the Great Lakes state, he hasn\\\'t looked back, leaving friends and family behind in his pursuit of professional and collective growth with the GG\\\'ers. In addition to a die-hard work ethic, Sean attributes his talents to his mother, a graphic designer, and his father, a composer/musician, who continually supported him in his mission of putting the left and right parts of his brain together to form a comprehensive skill set invaluable to new media. Aside from web development, Sean likes to pass his time gaming and playing music. [gge_user=seansullivan] view profile »
#2
...Thanks. :P
12/20/2006 (11:37 pm)
Wow, you guys are amazing! Congrats on the huge success! You deserve it....Thanks. :P
#5
*tries to be the first one in all of history to get his badge up without editing*
Edit: I failed ;)
12/21/2006 (3:45 am)
Sweet!*tries to be the first one in all of history to get his badge up without editing*
Edit: I failed ;)
#7
12/21/2006 (10:33 am)
Nice one! Game List & The Google gadgets thing looks cool. If I remember rightly, I think Jeff Tunnell had that pac man game in his profile, right? In any case, nice! ;0)
#8
12/21/2006 (4:39 pm)
Great news! I'm wondering if we can get a badge tag to include GROUPS here. Currently you can add games and users, but not groups. Say gge_group=Group Name ? 
#9
12/22/2006 (11:56 am)
You rock far too much for a human Sean... you must be a robot!
#10
12/27/2006 (7:39 am)
Emm, I can't add ANY module anymore to my profile, clickin on "Add!" always sends me back to my profile overview... :((
#12
01/03/2007 (2:58 pm)
If only the registration worked and if staff didn't ignore emails asking for help, I'm sure it would be useful to everyone.
Torque Owner Joshua Dallman
I just deleted and re-submitted Sploidz and Shelled, much easier now to add a new game w/screenshots, download link, basic features, etc. Keep at it!
If anyone's tried GGE before and couldn't get into submitting games, try it again now, it's much easier, you can post your game in far fewer steps. Get your game up and start getting rated!