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[vxXJordanXxv]

Yesterday i blacklisted IGN from my surfing habit not gonna give that shitty website anymore clicks after seeing that NPD article what a fucking shills.
Am really liking this and i really hope it take off

Can't spell ignorant without IGN.

 

[dreamfall]

I'd like to be part of your revolution. Will you be assembling a writing team? Anywhere we can send in samples in addition to help with donations?

There's a major overhaul needed. Open honesty about games, a more personal approach, interviews with devs to shine light on creators/teams and more discussion.

 

[FatalT]

Having to pay his rent and utilities:

Rent: ($375 x 12) = $4500

Utilities ($100 x 12) = $1200

$5,700 of this $8,240 proposal for his personal use/Arthur Gies uses.

"Yikes." As you say.



So, let me get this straight: You're charging $500 for a "free" website design?

So, let's add in that:

$6,200 of this $8,240 proposal is being used for your personal use then?

Am I the only one seeing a problem here? Unless your "rent and utilities" are "website hosting" in which case: you need to be more clear on this front because I'm extremely dubious you're using this for good purposes.

Ahahahahaha holy shit! What a scam.

 

[Ape]

That is the motivation behind everything I'm attempting to do. Everything is consumer minded. That's the very basis of the entire site.

I have dozens of people willing to help at this point. We will cover news. We will review things if it seems appropriate. But I know very well that doing just these things will be like a fart in the wind, as kooch so eloquently described the ps4nodrm movement. What I am going to hammer on time and time again is the consumer angle. What is best for us. Demanding transparency from publishers and developers. Writing about the underbelly of the industry that there are a ton of conspiracy theories about but very few fact based articles on.

This is going to sound corny but I grew up listening to punk rock and hardcore. Bands like Minor Threat shaped my world view. The reason why I made the thread that started the noDRM thing is because that's how I view everything. And that will certainly come through on the site. It will also be what I'm looking for in people who come on board.

I'm not going to get interviews with Phil Spencer or have the exclusive first review of Dragon Age 3 revenge of the revenge of super shit mountain. I need to do things differently. And to me that difference is fierce independence and concern for the consumer first.

There will be news, there will be reviews, there will be editorials. That's how it will be presented. Especially at first. But I do want to make it clear the plan isn't to make another website that has what everyone else has. I want us to have a very distinct voice and I want us to take up causes like NODRM did. Over time the site will shift in natural ways. If the news is a complete waste of time it will be nixed. There's no sentimentality here. If we do more behind the scenes advocacy, good. But I needed a starting point and a "normal" site with a consumerist lean is it. Where it goes from there... I can't wait to see.

As for my business model. It's simple. Give people what they want. Treat them with respect. If you want to copy and paste entire articles and post them on forums, please do. If you hate ads, use adblock. Tell me who created more goodwill from their fans... the grateful dead allowing everyone to record every show they ever made, or metallica suing napster and yelling at fans about stealing music? My plan is to be a good person on a good website that people like. People can subscribe. They can donate. They can do nothing. I can't control that. What I can control is how the site treats its customers. And I believe if we offer a good product people will come back. I believe if people take articles and post them around the web that it not only shows we aren't hounding for every single cent we can make but it also gets what we are saying out to a larger audience.

Idealistic and unsustainable? Maybe. But that isn't going to stop me from trying.

I've seen bad ideas, I've seen terrible ideas.....

Now I've seen YOUR ideas.

Ahahahahaha holy shit! What a scam.

It's only not a scam if he quits his job the EXACT MOMENT he gets the funds from everyone. If he works at the same time as he collects the funds from the kickstarter, wouldn't that be some deceptive shit?

 

[Dawg]

Right, I don't like Quarter to Three either, largely because their perspectives don't align with my own. Their scathing review of Rome II isn't too off the mark, given expectations and the state it shipped in. Yet Tom Chick loved Mass Effect 3's ending. SO CLEARLY HE IS NOT A MAN I CAN TRUST.

Spoiler

I still need to play Mass Effect 3 for real, only played the intro

You're going to give low scores to games people love. You're going to cop flack. You're going to end up with your embargo breaking Epic Mickey 6/10 review plastered on Go Nintendo and more, incurring the frightening wrath of Nintendo fanboys just because you thought a game you were super excited for turned out to be pretty fucking average.

This happens all the time, even on NeoGAF. People like to complain about games journalism and the fact many sites give scores that are way too high. Yet... remember the rage and insults in Naughty Dog review threads when the first review pops up that isn't a 10/10? People hadn't even played Uncharted 3 and they were shitting on a site giving the game a 8/10 (iirc). You simply can't please everyone. You will always have haters.

 

[jschreier]

That is the motivation behind everything I'm attempting to do. Everything is consumer minded. That's the very basis of the entire site.

I have dozens of people willing to help at this point. We will cover news. We will review things if it seems appropriate. But I know very well that doing just these things will be like a fart in the wind, as kooch so eloquently described the ps4nodrm movement. What I am going to hammer on time and time again is the consumer angle. What is best for us. Demanding transparency from publishers and developers. Writing about the underbelly of the industry that there are a ton of conspiracy theories about but very few fact based articles on.

This is going to sound corny but I grew up listening to punk rock and hardcore. Bands like Minor Threat shaped my world view. The reason why I made the thread that started the noDRM thing is because that's how I view everything. And that will certainly come through on the site. It will also be what I'm looking for in people who come on board.

I'm not going to get interviews with Phil Spencer or have the exclusive first review of Dragon Age 3 revenge of the revenge of super shit mountain. I need to do things differently. And to me that difference is fierce independence and concern for the consumer first.

There will be news, there will be reviews, there will be editorials. That's how it will be presented. Especially at first. But I do want to make it clear the plan isn't to make another website that has what everyone else has. I want us to have a very distinct voice and I want us to take up causes like NODRM did. Over time the site will shift in natural ways. If the news is a complete waste of time it will be nixed. There's no sentimentality here. If we do more behind the scenes advocacy, good. But I needed a starting point and a "normal" site with a consumerist lean is it. Where it goes from there... I can't wait to see.

As for my business model. It's simple. Give people what they want. Treat them with respect. If you want to copy and paste entire articles and post them on forums, please do. If you hate ads, use adblock. Tell me who created more goodwill from their fans... the grateful dead allowing everyone to record every show they ever made, or metallica suing napster and yelling at fans about stealing music? My plan is to be a good person on a good website that people like. People can subscribe. They can donate. They can do nothing. I can't control that. What I can control is how the site treats its customers. And I believe if we offer a good product people will come back. I believe if people take articles and post them around the web that it not only shows we aren't hounding for every single cent we can make but it also gets what we are saying out to a larger audience.

Idealistic and unsustainable? Maybe. But that isn't going to stop me from trying.

That's not a business model, man. And my advice is that your site should start small and try to do things that nobody else is doing, not start by trying to do everything once. The brutal truth is that no matter what you believe, your site's reviews and editorials will not be better or more popular than anyone else's. It's arrogant and short-sighted to believe otherwise. The "throw everything at a wall and see what sticks" approach is not likely to work.

But I genuinely wish you luck no matter what you wind up doing.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

That... isn't really a business plan, Pete.

 

[AyaisMUsikWhore]

Cool idea but I kind of agree with the minority. The idea is something kind of already invested in Gaf.

To add my two cents, how about this.

How about making a website that connects all these other opinionated youtube sensation , bloggers and the likes, onto this one site that is easy accessible to the community. I can't articulate this as well as I want since I'm on my phone but I'll try.

So take N4G for instance. The concept of the website is good, however it's runned by fanboys. I'm thinking your site can be the anti N4G.

It's a place where all the best of the gaming communities best can come together and share their opinions. In one section there can have a "Versus" section where it creates a topic and each specific blogger, YouTube sensation, etc can gave either a pro and con on the matter.

Basically you have the Pros on one side with snippets and text describing what they liked, etc etc.

On the other, is the cons with the same format describing what they didn't like.. Etc...

Towards the bottom would be the fan debate when people can decide by seeing both sides of the table offer up their slice of the pie.

The big thing is there will be no winners or losers for the debate but create a conversation and maybe a new star.

One thing I notice on GAF is that we have a lot of well articulated, respective contributors that we all know, but there's no way to highlight (besides tags) what they actually said in that thread. There can be that spotlight that makes way for friendly consumers with contribution to actually be recognized by the entire community and website, and who knows, they can probably be something big because of it.

We rarely see situations where journalist call out other journalist, whether it be on their opinion pieces, there scores or their biases. Maybe this can be the first website that can.


Ugh, I wish I can elaborate more but being on a smartphone limits my ability to say what I really want to say..

Hopefully you catch my drift.

 

[neither]

Just donated. People who constantly complain about the lack of integrity in games "journalism" should at least give this a shot. If there is no support for the truth in the industry then it will never change, and all we can/will ever do is complain about it. Best of luck to you famous!

Agree wholeheartedly.
Gonna donate once I get home.
I wish him all the best.

 

[Ikuu]

Idealistic and unsustainable? Maybe. But that isn't going to stop me from trying.

Fun to try when you're using other peoples money.

 

[Dr.Schlomo]

As for my business model. It's simple. Give people what they want. Treat them with respect. If you want to copy and paste entire articles and post them on forums, please do. If you hate ads, use adblock. Tell me who created more goodwill from their fans... the grateful dead allowing everyone to record every show they ever made, or metallica suing napster and yelling at fans about stealing music? My plan is to be a good person on a good website that people like. People can subscribe. They can donate. They can do nothing. I can't control that. What I can control is how the site treats its customers. And I believe if we offer a good product people will come back. I believe if people take articles and post them around the web that it not only shows we aren't hounding for every single cent we can make but it also gets what we are saying out to a larger audience.

Idealistic and unsustainable? Maybe. But that isn't going to stop me from trying.

So first off, that isn't a business plan. A business plan involves a set of actions you will take to make money. Your campaign says that the funding is for the first year. What about year two? How will you make money for year two? The only thing I have seen is adsense. Please take this advice from someone who knows, that won't work unless you have a VERY large audience.

Also, you mention that a lot of people are already on board. I think it will be help improve overall confidence if you let us know who is on board. Right now, this just seems like someone's idea for yet another blog. Show us that is not the case.

 

[pixlexic]

You can not have a site without having good management and editors to quell personal fanboyism. Even more from someone who is known to push hyperbolic rumors.

 

[PBY]

Just wanted to say one more thing-

As the "pro-consumer" guy- you have to also be SUPER mindful of your donors. Meaning, you cant just accept money for something thats doomed to fail. You need a business plan with hard details, if not you're just as guilty of the stuff you're crusading against.

My .02.

I do wish you the best though, keep workshopping it.

 

[Curufinwe]

Best of luck, fm.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

That is the motivation behind everything I'm attempting to do. Everything is consumer minded. That's the very basis of the entire site.

I have dozens of people willing to help at this point. We will cover news. We will review things if it seems appropriate. But I know very well that doing just these things will be like a fart in the wind, as kooch so eloquently described the ps4nodrm movement. What I am going to hammer on time and time again is the consumer angle. What is best for us. Demanding transparency from publishers and developers. Writing about the underbelly of the industry that there are a ton of conspiracy theories about but very few fact based articles on.

This is going to sound corny but I grew up listening to punk rock and hardcore. Bands like Minor Threat shaped my world view. The reason why I made the thread that started the noDRM thing is because that's how I view everything. And that will certainly come through on the site. It will also be what I'm looking for in people who come on board.

I'm not going to get interviews with Phil Spencer or have the exclusive first review of Dragon Age 3 revenge of the revenge of super shit mountain. I need to do things differently. And to me that difference is fierce independence and concern for the consumer first.

There will be news, there will be reviews, there will be editorials. That's how it will be presented. Especially at first. But I do want to make it clear the plan isn't to make another website that has what everyone else has. I want us to have a very distinct voice and I want us to take up causes like NODRM did. Over time the site will shift in natural ways. If the news is a complete waste of time it will be nixed. There's no sentimentality here. If we do more behind the scenes advocacy, good. But I needed a starting point and a "normal" site with a consumerist lean is it. Where it goes from there... I can't wait to see.

As for my business model. It's simple. Give people what they want. Treat them with respect. If you want to copy and paste entire articles and post them on forums, please do. If you hate ads, use adblock. Tell me who created more goodwill from their fans... the grateful dead allowing everyone to record every show they ever made, or metallica suing napster and yelling at fans about stealing music? My plan is to be a good person on a good website that people like. People can subscribe. They can donate. They can do nothing. I can't control that. What I can control is how the site treats its customers. And I believe if we offer a good product people will come back. I believe if people take articles and post them around the web that it not only shows we aren't hounding for every single cent we can make but it also gets what we are saying out to a larger audience.

Idealistic and unsustainable? Maybe. But that isn't going to stop me from trying.

axe the news and reviews, stick with leaks and consumer rights. What does the news have to do with what you are talking about?

What we need are people to do previews of games and actually tell us what they think instead of pr. Unfortunately, no one will give you that access if you do that.

 

[Epcott]

These Sony Ponys stop at nothing to keep up the charade!

Sounds like an expensive charade.

You don't have to be an all-out fanboy to be biased. Knowing a 'journalist' has clear preferences like that makes it hard for me to ignore that when I read or hear what they have to say. Its always in the back of my mind.

Funny you mention that, he did state that as a reason for buying the XB1 in his podcast. After all, how can one take a journalist seriously if they hold bias or favor for one without playing what the other has to offer? The fact that he's aware if it and is making a conscious investment to alter that preference shows he is at least trying.

Well, at least more than your average Gaffer, heh!

Edit: Not to say that you can't take journalist who tackle single platforms seriously, but I mean someone who wants to dedicate a website to encompass the entirety of gaming.

 

[Card Boy]

Fun to try when you're using other peoples money.

This lol.

 

[famousmortimer]

Thats the monetization plan? I wanna believe man, but this... isn't inspiring confidence.

I'm not a money man. I don't care about money. I don't base decisions on money. I understand that this doesn't inspire confidence in a lot of people. I also understand that there are others that see that and go "right fucking on, man."


I believe in capitalism. I believe if you work hard and create a good product that things will work out. Is this blind faith? Yes. I have been very transparent about that.


If you want a website run by a business man that has a path to profitability in 6 months that's not this site. If we become profitable it will despite us, not because of us. I'm not a business man, I'm an ideas man.

If there are any business folks who share my world view that want to help.... come on board.

 

[Impeccable]

I mean I can understand the thought of thinking it would be sustainable through donations only and it's certainly not an impossible scenario. As long as your goal wouldn't be to necessarily make money in the long term that seems like an okay thing.

Not sure you can necessarily have your cake (dream) and eat it too (provide for your family).

 

[famousmortimer]

ax the news and reviews, stick with leaks and consumer rights. What does the news have to do with what you are talking about?

What we need are people to do previews of games and actually tell us what they think instead of pr. Unfortunately, no one will give you that access if you do that.

News drives traffic. I also outlined how we will cover the news which I think will be different. But it's to get people to the site, hopefully the other stuff keeps them there.

 

[Dr.Schlomo]

I'm not a money man. I don't care about money. I don't base decisions on money. I understand that this doesn't inspire confidence in a lot of people. I also understand that there are others that see that and go "right fucking on, man."


I believe in capitalism. I believe if you work hard and create a good product that things will work out. Is this blind faith? Yes. I have been very transparent about that.


If you want a website run by a business man that has a path to profitability in 6 months that's not this site. If we become profitable it will despite us, not because of us. I'm not a business man, I'm an ideas man.

If there are any business folks who share my world view that want to help.... come on board.

Ok so why are you asking for donations? If the bolded is true, you would take Jason's spot on advice and start small.

 

[Lactose_Intolerant]

News drives traffic. I also outlined how we will cover the news which I think will be different. But it's to get people to the site, hopefully the other stuff keeps them there.

But it doesn't do anything different so why are people coming to your site for it?

 

[tuna_love]

News drives traffic. I also outlined how we will cover the news which I think will be different. But it's to get people to the site, hopefully the other stuff keeps them there.

Don't base your decisions on money, want news to drive traffic?

 

[Dr.Schlomo]

Don't base your decisions on money, want news to drive traffic?

Also, where is that traffic going to come from? Starting out, it won't be search engines.

 

[MormaPope]

I'm not a money man. I don't care about money. I don't base decisions on money. I understand that this doesn't inspire confidence in a lot of people. I also understand that there are others that see that and go "right fucking on, man."


I believe in capitalism. I believe if you work hard and create a good product that things will work out. Is this blind faith? Yes. I have been very transparent about that.

This mindset is how some game studios and publications get axed. This industry is treacherous when it comes to money, decisions based on faith and will alone sink ships faster than anything else. Being ambitious and having the will to do something will never be the exact recipe for success or notoriety.

I'm an outsider when it comes to the nitty gritty of this industry, but its not hard to see that faith and will are never enough. This entire thing sounds extremely ill fated.

News drives traffic. I also outlined how we will cover the news which I think will be different. But it's to get people to the site, hopefully the other stuff keeps them there.

Videogame news is being covered by hundreds if not thousands of people as we speak. What do you mean by different news?

 

[jschreier]

News drives traffic. I also outlined how we will cover the news which I think will be different. But it's to get people to the site, hopefully the other stuff keeps them there.

News in gaming doesn't really drive all that much traffic, especially if you don't have a large audience of people sharing that news in the first place. You should really have an understanding of this sort of thing before you ask people for money, I think!

 

[famousmortimer]

I mean I can understand the thought of thinking it would be sustainable through donations only and it's certainly not an impossible scenario. As long as your goal wouldn't be to necessarily make money in the long term that seems like an okay thing.

Not sure you can necessarily have your cake (dream) and eat it too (provide for your family).

Providing for my family is not part of my business plan. My wife is more than capable of providing for herself. And me. We have no kids.

I've worked since I was 15. I quit my job in December and this is the longest ive been out of work in 21 years. I cashed out my retirement fund because of all the awful shit that was happening back east with my wife's family. Weeks before we were supposed to leave her brother beat the shit out of her. I've spent every penny getting her away from that shit and helping us set up a life out here. That includes this site. That includes real estate school for my wife (her cousin makes 6 figures out here and she is going to work with her... mormons like to procreate, evidently). I do understand that the whole indiegogo thing sounds like "you just get to mess around with our money" and, in part, that's true. But the amount I have sacrificed to get to this point is my counterpoint to that. I've spent far more than I'm asking for in the indiegogo trying to make my wife's life better. And my reward for this is we live in a place cheap enough that I can finally pursue my own dreams. The last 15 years I've worked in the mental health field for very little money. It was rewarding work but it was fucking hard. I now want to do something that, yes, will consume my life... but it will be on my terms.

Is that a business model? Nope. Don't care, doing it anyway.

 

[Orayn]

Here, I've got an elevator pitch for Dodd Scientifics as a consumer advocacy site:

"You are being discussed. The internet has an exclusive club: a Forum that talks about you every hour of every day. I know because I post on it. The Forum was created as a companion to a game review site, but it sees everything. Acts of corporate aggression that affect ordinary people, people like you. Scandals most of the enthusiast press considered irrelevant. They wouldn't act, so I decided I would. But I needed a site, an outlet that could reach the masses.

Hunted by the authorities, we work in public. You'll never influence us, but victim or perpetrator, if your number's up...we'll find you."

Now all we need is Jim Caviezel to save the day and shoot some kneecaps.

 

[EmCeeGramr]

I'm not a money man. I don't care about money. I don't base decisions on money. I understand that this doesn't inspire confidence in a lot of people. I also understand that there are others that see that and go "right fucking on, man."


I believe in capitalism. I believe if you work hard and create a good product that things will work out. Is this blind faith? Yes. I have been very transparent about that.


If you want a website run by a business man that has a path to profitability in 6 months that's not this site. If we become profitable it will despite us, not because of us. I'm not a business man, I'm an ideas man.

If there are any business folks who share my world view that want to help.... come on board.

Okay so I was going to point out the contradiction between saying you don't care about money but also believing that capitalism will just drop money in your lap, but I got to the phrase "I'm an ideas man" which has to be one of the biggest red flags possible when someone is pitching a project and wants money for it.

 

[famousmortimer]

News in gaming doesn't really drive all that much traffic, especially if you don't have a large audience of people sharing that news in the first place. You should really have an understanding of this sort of thing before you ask people for money, I think!

Thanks for the snark.

Driving one person to the site is more than zero people. Everything doesn't have to be HUGE OR DIE.

 

[OdysseusVA]

The more FM posts the more I see that this is a very bad idea.

I've seen bad ideas, I've seen terrible ideas.....

Now I've seen YOUR ideas.



It's only not a scam if he quits his job the EXACT MOMENT he gets the funds from everyone. If he works at the same time as he collects the funds from the kickstarter, wouldn't that be some deceptive shit?

If I remember correctly he's unemployed?

 

[The_Monk]

That... isn't really a business plan, Pete.

Indeed fellow GAFfer.

I think Pete might be a bit lost if you don't mind me saying. It's important to structure your ideas for short and long term. The better your business planning will be the more serious you will be taken, otherwise, everything might feel like you decided something like "hey, I just got this idea, let me see if I can get some money for it".

It's up to you as how serious you want this project to be but if you want people to donate their hard earned money you need to be precise and professional. Having a proper business plan is one of them and I strongly advise you to work that so it can boost your credibility and also to show that you are taking this seriously and professionally. There are other things that may give you more credibility but that will heavily depend on the other's people point of view, for example, what education and work experience you have as a writer. Do you have a degree in a similar area? It's just an example but the more there is from your experiences and studies the more credibility your project may get (again, it depends. Lot's of people may not care about this and still donate/support).

 

[Ape]

The more FM posts the more I see that this is a very bad idea.




If I remember correctly he's unemployed?

Oh, then carry on. This all makes a lot more sense then, because it seems very desperate.

Nice avy btw.

 

[famousmortimer]

Okay so I was going to point out the contradiction between saying you don't care about money but also believing that capitalism will just drop money in your lap, but I got to the phrase "I'm an ideas man" which has to be one of the biggest flags possible when someone is pitching a project and wants money for it.

I did not mean that money will drop in my lap. What I was trying to say was that if it was something that people wanted, it would work. If they don't, it won't.

And if me being an ideas man is a flag - so be it. The entire point of this is that I'm not bullshitting anyone on anything. I'm being completely transparent about what i think my strengths are and what my weaknesses are. If my weaknesses scare people off - fine. I'd rather they get scared off than donate and then realize they don't like the way I think.

 

[PBY]

Thanks for the snark.

Driving one person to the site is more than zero people. Everything doesn't have to be HUGE OR DIE.

I don't think people are trying to snark/crush/sarcasm your idea to death. Theres something there. You have a name.

But you're asking people for money without a roadmap. You have some responsibility to the donors to at least try to plan so the site doesn't die within 6 months.

 

[jschreier]

Thanks for the snark.

Driving one person to the site is more than zero people. Everything doesn't have to be HUGE OR DIE.

I genuinely like you and want you to succeed. This project seems destined for failure. That's the only reason I'm posting here. I hope you take my advice: start small, do something different, find a business manager.

 

[Santiako]

famousmortimer, no offense but you sound super lost. You should get a clear business plan, clear goals and at least a mock website with some articles and stuff before asking for money.

 

[miDnIghtEr20C]

As for my business model. It's simple. Give people what they want. Treat them with respect. If you want to copy and paste entire articles and post them on forums, please do. If you hate ads, use adblock. Tell me who created more goodwill from their fans... the grateful dead allowing everyone to record every show they ever made, or metallica suing napster and yelling at fans about stealing music? My plan is to be a good person on a good website that people like. People can subscribe. They can donate. They can do nothing. I can't control that. What I can control is how the site treats its customers. And I believe if we offer a good product people will come back. I believe if people take articles and post them around the web that it not only shows we aren't hounding for every single cent we can make but it also gets what we are saying out to a larger audience.

Idealistic and unsustainable? Maybe. But that isn't going to stop me from trying.

This is good. This is why I pay for my own site yearly/monthly and why members and myself give away free games and consoles and crap on our own dime. I can rock and or roll with this one.

 

[Jobias]

It's all well and good if you're willing to jump into this based purely on faith, but if you plan on growing (or at least plan on putting out more than a few high quality pieces a week), you will need writers.

I don't know whether you plan on hiring them on contract, freelance or as actual employees. But if you plan on hiring full-time employees, what you've said here is incredibly frightening. Someone who has given so little thought to financial sustainability of their business makes for a very unattractive employer, regardless of how attractive their ideals are.

 

[Thaumaturgic Tomato]

Can't a person just register a domain at bigdaddy and make a website? And run it from home free of influence from the big game publisher's of the world? For a few dollars a year? As a hobby? Hosting is cheap and youtube is free if gigs of videos are to be a part of it. Seems cheap to start and if good enough can become self-sustaining later via fans if no ads are wanted at all.

 

[xxracerxx]

nevermind....

 

[bitesnintendog]

I hope everything works out well for you. I just want to point out the trap a lot of sites run by volunteers seem to run in to. No one is going to be as invested in it as you are. While a lot of people may be willing pledge support, many are likely to bail for a number of reasons. I think you have to consider that almost all of the work load will fall on your shoulders, so if you are planning for the volunteer content to lighten the load, think twice.

That's not to say all volunteers are flakes, but what you will often see is some one jump in, pump out a fair amount of content in a short amount of time, get their taste of what its like and stop.

 

[CambriaRising]

Can't a person just register a domain at bigdaddy and make a website? And run it from home free of influence from the big game publisher's of the world? For a few dollars a year? As a hobby? Hosting is cheap and youtube is free if gigs of videos are to be a part of it. Seems cheap to start and if good enough can become self-sustaining later via fans if no ads are wanted at all.

This is essentially what a couple of buddies and I have done, and it hasn't exactly broken the bank. We all have other jobs and we don't make any money from the site really, but we like doing it.

 

[Deleted member 22576]

Organizing something like this is one of the most difficult things imaginable. Even just making a single page scrolling blog that looks and reads professional is a huge huge task. Let alone building from scratch with 8grand. Even just managing an editorial staff like you describe is going to require an insane level of skill. I don't think you've quite let the project incubate long enough. Start small and focus on execution.

I guess what I'm saying is that you've started with the ideals which are the least important part to building anything. They're the catalyst and inspiration for creativity but ideals don't help execution.

 

[Uff duh]

What is the plan for content creators on this web site? Who is writing all the articles? Is it just you? If you have people lined up maybe it could start as a small grassroots thing with people donating time and not money. Then when you start getting traffic monetize at that point. Maybe? Also you could all ways have a donate button on the site its self for people that want to throw you a few bones? Just seems to be a bit of hesitation in a lot of people in giving you money with the comments regarding the business plan.

 

[Dr.Schlomo]

Thanks for the snark.

Driving one person to the site is more than zero people. Everything doesn't have to be HUGE OR DIE.

That wasn't snark??? That's how websites work. That's what Jason is trying to tell you and that's what I want you to understand. He writes for a website and I am a developer. We both understand how these things work. Instead of getting defensive you really need to have an open mind and listen to what people are telling you. I know it's not what you want to hear but it's the truth...

 

[Ape]

This is essentially what a couple of buddies and I have done, and it hasn't exactly broken the bank. We all have other jobs and we don't make any money from the site really, but we like doing it.

I don't know if it is a problem asking but what is the site? Only if it's ok to ask. I don't want you to get banned for self promoting. Seems rather silly considering this thread but I would rather be cautious.

 

[CambriaRising]

I don't know if it is a problem asking but what is the site? Only if it's ok to ask. I don't want you to get banned for self promoting. Seems rather silly considering this thread but I would rather be cautious.

I think its in my profile, but its Endless Backlog.

On topic: I have read your blog Pete and I have liked what I read. Whats stopping you from just turning that into rumor mill of sorts and monetizing that?

 

[famousmortimer]

I don't think people are trying to snark/crush/sarcasm your idea to death. Theres something there. You have a name.

But you're asking people for money without a roadmap. You have some responsibility to the donors to at least try to plan so the site doesn't die within 6 months.

I have a roadmap for the first year. It's gotten easier as people have come forward to help with things for free. I'm not going to make the goal. I always knew that. What I need to know is what amount of money I have and calibrate from there. It's hard to create a business plan when so many things are in flux. I'm trying to be honest about that but it feels like people just want me to blow smoke up their asses.

As for the site staff. I still need to go through all of the applications and pick who is qualified and who isn't but there are atleast 15 people who have asked to write for the site. I have several people helping me with site design. One, you guys know, he goes by Mik on this forum - check out his work in the mock up videogame covers - the man is fucking brilliant with design. As a i mentioned earlier I have two different sociologists that want to contribute from time to time because I think the fact that games being "addictive" being thought of as a good thing is worrying. Or that most mobile games are basically slot machines. Several gaffers want to help. Vince McMahon (formerly sunflower) completely sold me with a PM where he said he had no interest in snark and wanted to do something earnest. I have a professor of english who does not want to be named that will help edit (and we all know I need that). I have a few other 'grammar nerds' that have offered to do the same. This will be a much larger operation than I planned. And every one of these people are doing this for free because they believe in the idea and they are also looking for someone to give them their break. I'm happy to a part of both of those things.

I would love to have an advertising department that has zero contact with me or anyone in creative. As of yet I don't have that person. So google ad-sense it is, for now.


As for resources. Jason, here, is someone I chat with a lot. Owen Good and I are friendly. Pastapadre, who has basically already created this website, but for sports games, is a friend. The co-host of my podcast, Rich Grisham, has been doing freelance work in the industry for a decade. The entire playerone podcast crew, which all worked at various publications, are very good friends. Boogie and I have become fast friends. I also have my industry contacts that beyond giving me "insider info" are good just to bounce ideas off of. I'm surrounded by people much, much, smarter than me.

I also plan on launching the private forum ($15 tier and higher) very soon and will be using all of those people as a sounding board for ideas.

If this thing fails it won't be for a lack of trying. I'm not going to pretend I have all the answers because I don't. But I do think there's a good idea in here and I do believe it can work. If you think it can to and you want to give a few bucks - awesome. If you don't - cool. There will be far more people on this planet that won't donate than do. See... I know some math.

 

[Pennywise]

I think its in my profile, but its Endless Backlog.

On topic: I have read your blog Pete and I have liked what I read. Whats stopping you from just turning that into rumor mill of sorts and monetizing that?

It's pretty hard to find the balance between his achieved fame via leaks that pretty much hit the spot or just spitting out every possible rumor, even though they are far from bein confirmed.

If there is one thing about Pete, he's cautious what he is gonna drop along the way.
Besides, it's not like his friends and people that give him the leaks, would be glad about every leak out in the wild.

Playing Verendus isn't gonna work.