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[Quintopotere]

Originally Posted by red_avatar

Yeah I was thinking about that - but from more an aesthetic point of view: how has Monkey Island changed? Guybrush's looks, the world, the people, etc. Content wise we can't know much before the first episode is released (and incidentally I bought the first season so I can give a head's up on that).

That's it.
About that, agood pic is the one used by Lucasart for their merchandising, the Guybrush evolution one (I don't post the link to don't make advertising..)

[CrybKeeper]

What about an article touting games that allow custom music files to play in the game enviroment. I spend alot of shopping time, simply searching for games, that will allow me to create a custom sound file, just for the sake of hearing my favorite music, while enjoying the game.

What about an article concerning customer service online? This is a VERY popular forum rant and would draw in nearly 100% of all people who have ever experienced the nightmare called Tech Support. Be it, games, software, hardware, or web communities, there are so many companies adopting an 'I don't care about you, only the money I can sucker you out of' attitude.

Also. a very very good way to draw new readership, is to have a periodic announcement, concerning member activities and accomplishments.

We need articles that cover broader topics, than simple single game reviews, or else, your mag will have no identity.

[El Quia]

But it's a magazine mostly about abandonware! Which, by definition, is not supported?

[Saccade]

Originally Posted by JudgeDeadd

I've seen someone suggest "game guides".

Nice idea, but not for games like Doom or Civilization that already have tons of guides and walkthrus all over the internet, because then it would be pretty pointless. Instead, a guide for some obscure game which wasn't yet satisfactorily covered on GameFAQs or somewhere else. That would be nice.

There're a couple of us (well, Another_Guest and me...) who are starting to write a guide for the game Chaos Overlords. We're using its discussion thread as a starting point.
If you like the look and sound of it and want to download the game and give it a play, let us know what you think..!

Most of the best game guides I've seen for sale in Game stores, or independent game shops, are usually written by more than one person but never more than three or four.
Even then, it would be two groups of two on separate sections.

I'm trying to figure out multi-player that isn't hot seat as it is just not working on my network...
The discussion thread has AG's preliminary ideas on the strategy guide, but I haven't gotten around to writing my brainstorm yet.

[Saccade]

Originally Posted by The Fifth Horseman

We could open "challenges" for writing guides for a purposefully restricted gameplay - eg, "beat Fallout without firing a gun".
Or we could have guides covering easter eggs and secrets inside games.

I'm convinced we could review a modern game once per issue - under condition that it's faithful to the classic gaming spirit. Secret Files: Tunguska, anyone?

I'm well with you on the idea of beating games by tightening the rules.
I do it for nearly every game I've got and play. After I've played it through once or twice, I'll start to add extra challenges for myself.

A bit like the Trophies - Platinum (of which I only have four), gold, silver and bronze - for some PS3 games.
Most of them will give you only a few trophies for playing the game through normally and only give you the reward if you do something extra or particularly well or adhere to certain conditions.
Some games just give you all the trophies just for finishing the game... Mind, that in itself can be worth a platinum trophy (for getting 100% of others) because those games are usually pretty naff. Like Dead Space. Well too easy.

eg - Mirror's Edge.
I must've finished it over a hundred times but am only a few trophies away from the Platinum. It is easy to finish the game on hard mode and to achieve all the trophies for special moves and accomplishments. But I just cannot do Level Three in less than eleven minutes to get the "Speed Run" trophy for that level.
Closest I've ever got was eleven minutes and eight seconds.
I'm going to be playing that game 'til I complete that level in under the time limit! There's got to be a short-cut I'm missing or something.

The guides thing:
See above post - I think it is a grand idea to have as a regular thing in AT.
Even if it is available on the web after a bit of searching, if ever the AT gets stuck for content on that section, it could be used as bulk filler. People will still read it and it'd give people more time to write the unique guides for games hosted here on AB.

Easter Eggs and Secrets kinda fit into the suggestion I fielded about the cheats and hacking stuff.
You need to know a game really well in order to know all the Eggs, but you can find secrets. Maybe even use a walkthru or FAQ or something..?

I think that there've been some really good ideas in here for the AT.
I like that there would be a new game, that stems from or is influenced heavily by a classic game or genre, is great!
There are so many out there that can be compared to earlier games that are not just FPS or new Monkey Island (at least, because of old monkey island - perhaps if it were more on SCUMM and point 'n' clicks) and stuff.

Would they be PC games or console games? Both or either/or?
I have several in mind that could be reviewed and also have their gameplay and design, etc... compared to certain older and similar (if not quite how you'd expect to be similar!) games that I've played after downloading them from AB.

[The Fifth Horseman]

Would they be PC games or console games? Both or either/or?
I have several in mind that could be reviewed and also have their gameplay and design, etc... compared to certain older and similar (if not quite how you'd expect to be similar!) games that I've played after downloading them from AB.

Either.

[Tracker]

Hi! I think I have some good ideas for articles in Abandoned Times. Here are some:

Music SoundTracks
This would be about reviewing legendary game soundtracks from games.

Strangest Game Ideas
This article would be about strange game ideas. What would it be like to play a side-scrolling Wolfenstein 3D? A Super Mario Bros. MMORPG? Or a Simulator Simulator?!

Quote of The Month
Stupid comments, funny quotes from games & forums or from anywhere related would go there. Yikes!

[red_avatar]

Originally Posted by CrybKeeper

What about an article touting games that allow custom music files to play in the game enviroment. I spend alot of shopping time, simply searching for games, that will allow me to create a custom sound file, just for the sake of hearing my favorite music, while enjoying the game.

How about changing that idea a little and recommending music for certain games? In the age of DOSBox, it's simple to be playing Doom with mp3 music playing in the background. For example: Highway to Hell, Bad To The Bone, etc.

Originally Posted by CrybKeeper

What about an article concerning customer service online? This is a VERY popular forum rant and would draw in nearly 100% of all people who have ever experienced the nightmare called Tech Support. Be it, games, software, hardware, or web communities, there are so many companies adopting an 'I don't care about you, only the money I can sucker you out of' attitude.

Hmm I would like this idea to be a bit more specific. Tech Support is a HUGE angle so we should narrow it down. There's a billion Tech Support horror stories around the internet so we should try something different if we can.

Originally Posted by CrybKeeper

We need articles that cover broader topics, than simple single game reviews, or else, your mag will have no identity.

Identity comes from specific topics, not broad ones. By trying to be everything, you'll end up being nothing if you're not careful. There's a gazillion websites out there that try to combine reviews of all kinds of consoles with articles, interviews, and they all blend together and barely get by. Abandoned Times survives by being linked to Abandonia and as such, we got to target the Abandonia audience. It's not meant to be a magazine for everyone.

So: we already will deal with a lot of gaming angles and I think we should not move outside that line or we risk losing our identity (and we don't even have one yet - we need more issues for that).

[Tracker]

Most of the games have their own music I think. Only CD-rips or old ones don't have, or maybe there are some games which are lack of great tunes. For example, while playing Death Gate, or something good game, like Discworld, I didn't try to turn off the music, simply beacuse I liked it. On the other hand, I recently played Elite, and it doesn't have any music - except the "Blau Donau Walzer", which isn't really enjoyable (for me). So I used the Dosbox & Winamp combination, which really payed off. But I think the 90s are memorable for their great MIDI music, not to mention the 80s with the C64 musics... But this kind of advices would be good for those who don't enjoy the "beeping" music of the old games

[El Quia]

Some old games had an absolutely INCREDIBLE PC Speaker music. Sierra and Lucas Arts games comes to mind. I wish there were a repository of that old music... I have the one from Zak mckraken and the "for your thighs only", the famous Larry theme.