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[FStop7]

What? They'r'e fun. Lighten up, Francis.

 

[NIN90]

Does anyone even read the text in these bloated OPs? It's a waste of time for everyone involved.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

I agree, they are ridiculous. Look at the BF3 one - that took the dude two months or something stupid.

They need to be toned down. I think solid rules to limit OTs from being OTT would be great.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

At this rate, eventually page 1 will just be the OT.

Then when it spills over on to page 2, we'll have to start skipping that!

Would be neat if the OT was self contained for those that truly wanted an update. Like OT's getting special 1 page and however many posts they need then it goes to page 2 automatically after the OT posts.

 

[Ricky_R]

wow

That Ass Creed OT looks as if the dude got paid by Ubi to do it. Not saying he did.

Very extensive. I mostly enjoy OT's because of the design anyway, I hardly read anything.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

Holy fuck at that Creed OT, lol.

It just kept going.... hahaha

 

[sixteen-bit]

Brevity is the soul of wit

I think you mean wit

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Effective communication is clear and concise.

 

[The_Leducs]

Whining about too much content, for real?

That OP is amazing. If it's too long then don't read it. They clearly but a lot of effort into that thread, much more so than you did. They deserve credit for their dedication and you deserve to be shunned for your laziness and complaining about someone being overly informative. No one is forcing you to read anything.

 

[ghst]

I agree that OTs are getting a bit crazy, but it's sort of mean to call out some guy's specific thread and effectively accuse him of being a shill.

i won't call him a shill, but i will say that he's doing a shill's work.

 

[NinjaBoiX]

It's a shame, it looks like he put a lot of work in to that. But yeah, it's awful. Every three or four swipes of my phone I was like, "shit, there's more?!?".

I stopped after like 20 swipes. Fuck that dude.

 

[commish]

If someone wants to put the effort in, where exactly is the harm?

This is ultimately where I come out. I am not a fan of them (though some look great if unnecessary), but ultimately, after 50 posts, I don't give two shits about the OP's, since there's never any useful information in there once the game is released (with some notable exceptions like Dark Souls). If some folks enjoy them, then that's fine with me.

 

[WillyFive]

I'm going to do some market research here.

Tell me what you think would be an appropriate design for an OP should be.

From the responses, it seems that a short, easy to read disclaimer with the release date and price would be useful as the first thing you see in an OP.

What comes next?

 

[enzo_gt]

I don't understand the problem. Everyone always loads up the OP of a topic? I see a OP like once or twice and never again.

This only helps prove OTs point, unfortunately.

I like seeing spectacles, the MGS4 one specifically due to the context of it, but this shit is out of control.

People saying what's the big deal don't understand that sometimes these OTs go overboard in their intent to inform and they all just end up as a muddy mess of text obscuring important info.

Like the OP says, the utility aspect of it is gone.

 

[notworksafe]

I agree. Too much information and useless junk in OTs now makes people less likely to read them and just post info without even checking if it is in the OP (or the first 15-20 OPs).

Not to mention all the info in images is impossible to search and takes forever to load, even on a good computer, and every one of these OTs looks like shit on the mobile site. Not a fan at all.

The AssCreed thread turning into a series OT at the end is obnoxious and not appropriate for a single game OT, imo. I'm a fan of the series, but there no need to post about every game for every system and phone along with each game's soundtrack in a single game OT.

 

[herod]

I don't see the issue. Don't open page 1 if you don't want to see it.

It has a ton of useful info for the game, which an OT is supposed to have.

I think the point is he wants to see a concise, text-based OP that is genuinely useful, instead of this new meaning for the word useful that you've just devised.

 

[Auto_aim1]

I rarely read the OTs, but if someone wants to put an effort into it, I don't see the problem.

EDIT: Just saw the AC: R OT. Wow lol.

 

[TyrantGuardian]

I concur. I like the style of the OPs - custom banners, info boxes, etc - but they go on for way too long. Less is more. Leave out the filler.

This. Keep the design and look & feel while doing away with stuff like the full lore of previous games in the series. Anyone really interested in that stuff will either already have played the game or look that stuff up elsewhere (Wikipedia and Youtube comes to mind).

 

[scarybore]

Bloated is certainly the word for official threads these days, if you can't fit all your fan advertising into one post then you should probably rethink what you are doing.

 

[ZZMitch]

I disagree, and I think it is a little disrespectful to the maker of the OT who put a lot a work into making it by the looks of it.

 

[herod]

This is ultimately where I come out. I am not a fan of them (though some look great if unnecessary), but ultimately, after 50 posts, I don't give two shits about the OP's, since there's never any useful information in there once the game is released (with some notable exceptions like Dark Souls). If some folks enjoy them, then that's fine with me.

Again, I think you're agreeing with the OP, because a genuinely useful OP is worth far more than a carefully constructed advert on how to buy the game and what DLC and review scores it received.

 

[BlueScrote]

Text in images is the worst part. It's like they're trying to hide information. Ctrl+F? What's that?

This is my biggest issue. For all of the information in the massive OTs, I can't find what I am specifically looking for because all the information isn't text!

 

[Chet Rippo]

So, how did I do for my first |OT|?
Good? Bad?

 

[Live Free or Die]

Now we're complaining about unofficial official threads on a gaming message board? Just play the game. If you need info a quick google search is all you need.

 

[DaBuddaDa]

If someone wants to dedicate that much of their time to creating a fancy OP, then what is the harm in letting them indulge? Is it a crime to be excited by anything these days?

What results is masturbatory and useless to most readers. This is a gaming discussion forum, not a PR factory.

 

[Scotch]

Thank you, agree completely.

The longer they are, the less likely it is I'll read any of it. And they make the first 5 pages or so of the thread a worthless circlejerk. Besides, I have serious doubts whether a significant number of people even read them.

 

[Skilletor]

I'm going to do some market research here.

Tell me what you think would be an appropriate design for an OP should be.

From the responses, it seems that a short, easy to read disclaimer with the release date and price would be useful as the first thing you see in an OP.

What comes next?

I think Kagari's Type-0 OT is perfect.

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=449939

 

[WickedLaharl]

Going beyond one post is never necessary.

 

[°°ToMmY°°]

I don't see anything wrong with them. Those OTs are usually made by people who work in the designing dept or have a passion for it, so they actually use those as a way to improve their skills while doing what they like. What's wrong with that? It's also a way for people like me who doesn't follow games like assassin's creed rev, for example, to catch up with all the info and media released.

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

Whining about too much content, for real?

That OP is amazing. If it's too long then don't read it. They clearly but a lot of effort into that thread, much more so than you did. They deserve credit for their dedication and you deserve to be shunned for your laziness and complaining about someone being overly informative. No one is forcing you to read anything.

Which is exactly what people are doing. The good stuff is getting lost in that wall-of-words/images. Ideally the OP should be something that most people can digest.

Although well intentioned, that ass creed OP actually poorly communicates the game to its readers.

 

[Barack Lesnar]

I wonder if this thread would have been made if the OT was about a more revered game/series. It seems like because it's Ass Creed, people are being harder on it than if it were a GAF darling like Skyrim or something.

Good job, iNvidious. I'm gonna read it once I finish AC2 and Brotherhood in prep for Revelations.

 

[krimsoncharge]

I love gaf OT's. I will make one for a game someday.

 

[diffusionx]

I hate these. If I want to read up on the old games there are places to do it. These giant PNGs and 10 posts describing games that have been out forever.... it's so unnecessary. Just put some pricing info, preorder bonuses, links to pics/videos/reviews/previews. And do it in text for heaven's sake.

 

[Square Triangle]

I have been outspoken about this very subject in the past. The information dump/PR promo OTs is one of the more obnoxious trends here, useful to nobody and only exist to stroke the OP's ego.

That Assassin's Creed one is absolutely horrible. It's like you scanned a PR flyer from GameStop and posted it.

Speak for yourself. I got a ton of information out of the ACR OT as I couldn't remember much of what happened in AC1 or 2 and haven't beaten ACBH yet.

All these people complaining about OTs should go in and claim the rights to making the OT then. If not, let people do what they wish- it's not offensive.

 

[no angel]

I admire the work and dedication that goes into OTs like the Assasin's Creed one but like the OP I prefer a briefer post personally. Each to their own I suppose.

 

[MaddenNFL64]

I hate these wikipedia entry style shit too.

I hate to be that guy, but. Do it like SA. Not full on sardonic derp, but somewhat original.

 

[GCX]

There's nothing wrong in doing visually appealing OTs, that's only a good thing.

There should however be a max limit of how long the OP can be. Two or three posts should be enough to provide all the necessary information.

 

[NHale]

What I really like is when the person that creates an OT receive gifts from the PR person handling that game like it's no big deal.

EDIT: WTF 15 posts for an OT? Ridiculous.

 

[Jonnyram]

That AC thread is ridiculous. The animated GIF still hasn't finished downloading for me.

 

[Parallax Scroll]

Sometimes I just ignore list whoever made the OP in official threads. It makes the thread more readable.

 

[54-46!]

All that text in images...

 

[fernoca]

This only helps prove OTs point, unfortunately.

I like seeing spectacles, the MGS4 one specifically due to the context of it, but this shit is out of control.

People saying what's the big deal don't understand that sometimes these OTs go overboard in their intent to inform and they all just end up as a muddy mess of text obscuring important info.

That's the thing, how it is overboard?
If every OT since then was "huge" Id agree, but this year Mortal Kombat, Battlefield 3. Assassin's Creed Revelations, Modern Warfare 3? That's 4 games; 4 OTs.

Maybe add a few more I'm probably missing and is like what..10?
There are hundreds of games released every year; with most getting either an OT or some general discussion thread. Less than 10% of the OTs been "big or "bloated" is not what I'd consider overboard.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Ok I take it back after seeing the Ass Creed OT... holy shit

 

[PopcornMegaphone]

I don't see anything wrong with them. Those OTs are usually made by people who work in the designing dept or have a passion for it, so they actually use those as a way to improve their skills while doing what they like. What's wrong with that? It's also a way for people like me who doesn't follow games like assassin's creed rev, for example, to catch up with all the info and media released.

Good design includes being clear and concise.

 

[Foliorum Viridum]

What's just as bad as the obnoxious, PR-driven OTs are the following four pages of nothing but "Nice OT".

Great way to kick off discussion for a game that.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

i won't call him a shill, but i will say that he's doing a shill's work.

Look, if you like something and constantly enter threads to praise or comment, you could be considered a shill so it's really a baseless claim. I'm in lots of sports threads, PS3 related and especially PC threads but I'm not shill. It's a fair claim you make and I hold nothing back in my criticisms of your own opinions but I have no issue if a user wants to devote time to making a spiffy OT.

Some of it is fluff like history of a series and such which can be linked to a wiki or something, I do think that's something that should be cut back from OT's. But that makes them a devoted fan, like most of us, not a shill.

Just cut back on the pics that I have to DL. Or do more hotlinking, I don't know. It's really a rather ludicrous discussion we're having here, albeit fun

BUT, there are shills here and both you and I know it

 

[thetrin]

The only time an OT should be long is if it's full of patch notes and places to get mods that make the game better.

There's no point to most of the masturbatory OTs that GAF has. Most of it isn't ACTUALLY informative.

 

[Spacebar]

The reason I found GAF was the MGS4 OT. It really amazed me how much work and thought was put into a forum. Not only does it inform, but also builds hype. I can't even count how many times I've bought shit just because someone on here made an amazing OT to get me even more excited about a game.

The ACR OT is big because for one it's the 4th game in the series so there is a lot of content. I regularly go back to the main OT page to view some of the wallpapers, avatars, and promo art for my favorite games. MK, SF4, and MGS4 are my favs.

Thanks to everyone who puts in effort to make those threads. I appreciate your work and hope to see big OT's in the future.

 

[Enosh]

i did also enjoy the couple of times that OTs have been granted "roast" privileges, neutralizing the usual worshipful narrative of most OTs. but with fanthing tensions as taut as they are, i foresee many faded usernames should that ever become the standard.

I hope a game you like will be granted such "privileges" just to see your reaction

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I would comment but I clicked these threads at the same time but the AssCreed OT is still loading...