Slashdot Mirror


Announcing Games.slashdot.org

For years Slashdot has had an abundance of game related content. Unfortunately, we've also had limited space to post those stories. We strive to cover a wide range of tech news, and this often means passing on a good game story because something else is more important. But today I get to announce the creation of games.slashdot.org, where we'll finally have a home for all the gaming related content that might otherwise have been rejected. Keep reading to learn more.

The Slashdot Game Section will function similiarly to the other major sections on Slashdot, like apple.slashdot.org and Ask Slashdot. Visitors to the direct URL will be presented with additional, more focused, topical content. The best stories in the section will be posted to the main page and shared with a more general audience as they always have been. Logged in users can choose to consolidate Games content to the main page.

You'll notice a few things in the game section that are new. Most important is the addition of our newest editor, Simon "Simoniker" Carless. Simon is a sharp guy who has written for a variety of publications, but also is uniquely qualified since he has a history as a game designer for Eidos & Atari. Backing up Simon is the man of many polls himself, Jon "CowboyNeal" Pater. CowboyNeal is an obsessive gamer, having sacrificed his body for years to become a better gamer. We'll all benefit from his efforts in the field of sitting, pressing buttons and eating snacks.

The Slashdot Game Section will cover a variety of game related material. We will not be limited by platform- we intend to cover the major consoles, new and old releases, as well as computing games. We want to cover classic gaming as well as emulation. We intend to provide occasional original coverage, but mostly, we want to provide more exposure to the existing gaming sites, while providing our users with a place to discuss the major gaming news of the day.

Initially content will be found in the overflow from the Slashdot submissions bin. But as the section grows, we expect that readers will use the Games Submissions Bin to submit stories directly to Simoniker and CowboyNeal. You can also contact them directly by emailing games at slashdot dot org.

We've been looking forward to creating this section for a long time, and I hope you will all enjoy reading it as much as we'll enjoy researching stories for it ;)

43 of 349 comments (clear)

  1. And that clears that up by Loosewire · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Ive been following this for the last couple of days, first i was looking through the Icons list and notice lots of ones with the (games) tag but nothing in - thats odd??.
    Then i notice some things being posted under a games.slashdot.org. Odd never seen that before, and its not in the sections, must have missed it...
    Now it all makes sense :-)
    Anything that means you can waste more time on slashdot when you need to do work cant be bad.
    What prompted the move to ads in a slashbox at the side then??

    --
    Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination
  2. What's next? by stiv · · Score: 5, Funny

    Perhaps dupes.slashdot.org? For all those other dupes there hasn't been room for on the home page!

    1. Re:What's next? by jkrise · · Score: 4, Funny

      Okay.. here's a list:

      1. sane.slashdot.org (Linux, GNU etc..)
      2. inane.slashdot.org (NASA, Service Packs :-)
      3. insane.slashdot.org (Throwing pies, personal submarines)
      4. microsoft.slashdot.org (isn't it already?)
      5. slashdot.slashdot.org (figure this one out!)
      6. music.slashdot.org (should've been up before games, methinks)
      7. troll.slashdot.org (let's give them a separate space)
      8. moderators.slashdot.org (we'd like to see the faces of our faceless foes!)
      9. joke.slashdot.org (LOL!)
      10. follow-up.slashdot.org (actually this is the one serious suggestion I'm making. Often, we read several articles that need review and follw-up. Slashback is inadequate since many un-related reviews get bunched. The recent Lance vs Sasha reg MS VS.Net Student edition comes to mind. The review was drowned amongst other junk).

      Cheers.

      --
      If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
    2. Re:What's next? by Obiwan+Kenobi · · Score: 5, Funny

      I wait patiently for natalieportman.slashdot.org

      You know they say the waiting is the hardest part...er...

      That come out wrong. Ish.

    3. Re:What's next? by worf_mo · · Score: 3, Funny

      You forgot

      11. dupes.slashdot.org

      unless it is supposed to be covered by 5.

    4. Re:What's next? by WhiteBandit · · Score: 4, Funny

      Apparently they are one step ahead of that game! Although the content is rather lacking... ;)

      http://natalieportman.slashdot.org/

    5. Re:What's next? by Markus+Landgren · · Score: 4, Funny
      Perhaps dupes.slashdot.org? For all those other dupes there hasn't been room for on the home page!


      Yes, dupes.slashdot.org, duplicates.slashdot.org and repeats.slashdot.org are set to roll out within four hours from eachother.
    6. Re:What's next? by NanoGator · · Score: 3, Funny
      1. sane.slashdot.org (Linux, GNU etc..)
      2. inane.slashdot.org (NASA, Service Packs :-)
      3. insane.slashdot.org (Throwing pies, personal submarines) ...


      11. mozillagetsaminorversionnumberupdate.slashdot.org
      --
      "Derp de derp."
  3. Argh... Purple? by CoolVibe · · Score: 5, Insightful
    This color scheme for the games section is hurting my eyes and is causing my brain to cringe...

    Please change it? Ouch.....

    1. Re:Argh... Purple? by Loosewire · · Score: 3, Funny

      hurting my eyes and is causing my brain to cringe...

      Please change it? Ouch.....

      Shouldnt that be its hurting my eyes and causing my brain to cringe, please crank up the brightness and BRING IT ON!!

      --
      Slashdot - The one stop shop for procrastination
    2. Re:Argh... Purple? by Joe+the+Lesser · · Score: 4, Funny

      Try loading the page while sufficiently baked, and you'll change your tune...

      It's like, I am the purple man.

      --
      "I only speak the truth"
      Karma: null(Mostly affected by an unassigned variable)
    3. Re:Argh... Purple? by Clover_Kicker · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I've been using the "light" HTML version of /. for years.

      Looks like I haven't been missing anything :)

    4. Re:Argh... Purple? by trezor · · Score: 4, Informative

      Well. For all those tech-savy who don't like the colors... Ever heard about user-css? It can be made domain-specific and all, you know :)

      --
      Not Buzzword 2.0 compliant. Please speak english.
  4. Colors? by bananaape · · Score: 4, Insightful

    The blue on black theme is messing with my head.

    Otherwise, good idea.

  5. Section bar by 42forty-two42 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Will this be added to the Section bar on the right-hand side?

    1. Re:Section bar by jamie · · Score: 5, Informative

      In about 45 more seconds, yes. :)

  6. Games.slashdot.org? by Matrix272 · · Score: 4, Funny

    Why not make a Microsoft.slashdot.org for all the M$ bashing? Or a Linux.slashdot.org for all the linux lovers (or is that www.slashdot.org)? What about freaking-stupid-legal-system.slashdot.org for all the people that get arrested and/or fined for doing things that shouldn't be illegal in the first place?

    --
    "It's better to have a gun and not need it than need a gun and not have it." ~ Christian Slater, True Romance
    1. Re:Games.slashdot.org? by Faust7 · · Score: 5, Funny

      Why not make a Microsoft.slashdot.org for all the M$ bashing?

      Because it spills over into all other sections anyway.

  7. Hrmm by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    Well, whoever this new guy is, he certainly isn't a graphic designer.

    1. Re:Hrmm by jamie · · Score: 3, Funny
      "Well, whoever this new guy is, he certainly isn't a graphic designer."

      Wow, you managed to be wrong about two things in that statement :)

  8. *clicks on link* by nherc · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Oww! My retinas! I'll never play Conterstrike again!!! You bastards!

    --
    'He was a dreamer, a thinker, a speculative philosopher... or, as his wife would have it, an idiot.' - Douglas Adams
  9. MY EYES!!! THE GOGGLES DO NOTHING!!! by Winged+Youth · · Score: 3, Interesting

    JESUS...the purple is sensory OVERLOAD. I'm not so sure that the first thing you want to see when you put down your sniper rifle, take off your night-vision goggles and exit the game is a bright white and purple webpage...

    I mean...don't get me wrong, the slashdot logo looks cool like that...but so much purple detail all over the place? it's just too much

    In other news: DUDE! Games.slashdot.org! COOL!

    --
    "p2p stabbing is such a vast, untapped market"
  10. Limited space eaten up by Limited space eaten up b by kzinti · · Score: 5, Funny

    For years Slashdot has had an abundance of game related content. Unfortunately, we've also had limited space to post those stories

    You'd have more room if you'd read your own web site and stop posting so many duplicate stories.

  11. Poll by Psychor · · Score: 5, Funny

    The gaming section colour scheme: 1) Hurts my eyes 2) Gives me a nice tan when I view it on my CRT 3) Features a new colour, infra-purple 4) Is even more garish than Barney the dinosaur 5) Clashes with CowboyNeal's underpants

  12. Original content? by shivianzealot · · Score: 5, Interesting

    "We intend to provide occasional original coverage, but mostly, we want to provide more exposure to the existing gaming sites [...]"

    Could this be a hint to a slashdot game reviews feature similiar to the current book reviews?

    ...I hope so

    --

    Bored with karma, be a fan/freak

    1. Re:Original content? by CmdrTaco · · Score: 5, Informative
      I didn't think it was really a hint as much as me saying that we would provide occasional original coverage- which I assume would include game reviews ;)

      CowboyNeal wants to write a review of Pokemon Saphire so badly, he might rupture something if we don't let him.

      --
      Pants are still optional, but recommended for you.
  13. Woo by rf0 · · Score: 5, Funny

    A section which I can waste more time on and go blind. No wait should this be pr0n.slashdot.org then :P

    Rus

  14. games.slashdot.org running Linux by NewbieSpaz · · Score: 3, Interesting

    OK, Netcraft shows:
    The site games.slashdot.org is running Apache/1.3.26 (Unix) mod_gzip/1.3.19.1a mod_perl/1.27 mod_ssl/2.8.10 OpenSSL/0.9.6g on Linux

    Linux on an Xbox? Dreamcast? What? GBA maybe? Nah, it'd get /.'ed too quickly.

    --
    ------
    Random, useless fact: I type in startx entirely with my left hand.
  15. Re:Argh... Purple? stop playing with my eyes.. by jkrise · · Score: 4, Insightful

    As a compulsive gamer, my eyes are already in a pretty bad shape. Please, please change the color. Dark green perhaps?

    --
    If you keep throwing chairs, one day you'll break windows....
  16. Of course... by Faust7 · · Score: 4, Funny

    I expect the Xbox category to be especially fair and objective.

  17. Ground Rules by matp · · Score: 5, Funny

    OK, we need to establish some ground rules early on. We bash XBox, PS2, Gamecube in that order. And I think we all agree the SNES was the best console ever :)

  18. Gaahhh, a new server! by Quarters · · Score: 3, Funny

    Now I gotta start a new character, run him up to level 60, find a new group of people to guild with.... So much to do...

  19. Why not a contest ? by ramzak2k · · Score: 5, Insightful

    a cheap giveaway like a subscription for slashdot for someone to design a cool logo and come up with a color scheme ? Am sure there are many talented ones out there who would like to get their work displayed !

    --

    Siggy Say, Siggy Do
  20. Re:What about goatse.slashdot.org? by Flarg! · · Score: 5, Funny

    Nah... Because then people would be trying to disguise links to legitimate sites as a goatse link

    --

    I may be wrong, but I'm never uncertain.

  21. I'm not so sure by Mattygfunk1 · · Score: 3, Insightful
    Anything that means you can waste more time on slashdot when you need to do work cant be bad.

    Nope, I wont be. The purple-white gradient with white text is rather painful on the eyes. After all the flak this site cops for the fugly, motherboard green layout of the main page this is not an improvement.

    Nice concept, but badly executed in my opinion. Let's hope it gets touched up a fraction.

    __
    cheap web site hosting

  22. Suggested new colours: #330066, #330099 by Compact+Dick · · Score: 3, Interesting

    The current colour, Electric Blue aka #3300CC, is very harsh on the eyes, as many have already made clear.

    I recommend using #330066 or #330099 instead. These browser-safe colours are easier on the eyes and more aesthetically pleasing.

    Cheers,
    CD

  23. New Slashdot slogan by borgdows · · Score: 5, Funny

    News for Blinds. Stuff that dazzle.

  24. Re:RSS Feed? by Saint+Nobody · · Score: 3, Informative

    it looks like http://games.slashdot.org/games.rss works.

    --
    #define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}
    F(#define F(x) int main(){printf(#x,10,#x);}%cF(%s))
  25. Browser-safe colours by Compact+Dick · · Score: 4, Informative

    ...are those colours guaranteed to render identically on Windows and Mac machines with 256 colour displays. This means that dithering [combining two colours to create a third, with grainy results] is avoided.

    There are 216 such colours, and a very easy way exists to work them out. Each colour channel [red, blue and green] should be any of the hexadecimal values 00, 33, 66, 99, CC and FF. For instance, 66CC99 means 66 red, CC green and 99 blue.

    In decimal notation, this translates to multiples of 51. So 00 == 00, 33 == 51, 66 == 102, 99 == 153, CC == 204, FF == 255.

    Most displays can now display well over 256 colours, but it is considered good website design practice to stick to them.

    1. Re:Browser-safe colours by radish · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Not quite. The browser safe colours are those which are guaranteed to be rendered without dithering on a browser running on a 256 colour desktop, regardless of platform. There is no requirement that they are rendered the same, as mac and windows boxes have different gammas and even different monitors can change the displayed colour. The only guarantee is that they will never be dithered.

      The reason it is less than 256 colours is to allow space for the underlying desktop's system palette.

      As for it's relevance, the person credited with figuring out the palette (as for some reason the technical people who defined it didn't release it) has since said there's no point using it any more. Particularly since (from a design point of view) it's such a horrible set of colours to use. She wrote an excellent article describing why it was useful, why it's not any more, and what it should have been in the first place.

      --

      ---- Den ene knappen er powerknapp, den andre er Bender voice knapp "Bite My Shiny Metal Ass"

  26. Well, *I* like it. by Randolpho · · Score: 4, Interesting

    I like the colors. I say keep 'em.

    One thing I note, however, is that the games section is not in the slashboxes yet. Hopefully this will be remedied soon.

    Also, why is it that the Collapse Stories preference works exactly the opposite of the way it is indicated? Collapse Stories implies that I only get main stories. Unchecking that should get me all stories from all sections.

    I had to check it to get all stories from all sections. That's kida opposite, isn't it? All stories from all sections should be the *default* preference, too.

    --
    "Times have not become more violent. They have just become more televised."
    -Marilyn Manson
  27. Wh don't you hire a *real* web designer? by autopr0n · · Score: 3, Insightful

    Slashdot has about the ugliest layout of any major site out there. And this hideous 'games' theme is the worst. Why don't you guys hire a real graphics designer? Other OSDN sites aren't even as bad.

    Totally friggn' lame, IMO.

    --
    autopr0n is like, down and stuff.
  28. Dumb idea... maybe... by pr0ntab · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Allow users to choose color scheme in preferences? You can enforce a default, and all the whiners can tweak it to their hearts' content.

    Hasn't anyone added a patch to slashcode that actually uses CSS? Jeez.

    But I do like the idea. games.slashdot.org and science.slashdot.org... and I wonder where does the time go? ^_^

    --
    Fuck Beta. Fuck Dice