CPC Scene: a proposal!

[Targhan]

Hi all,


For several months I have been having an idea about a "CPC Scene" website, a concept that quite never managed to live very long or satisfy everyone in the past decade(s).


I have made a quick design (with an already working server and front page), which I'd like to present to you and gather your opinion. Basically, the concept is as follow:
- CPC scene would be a simple website showing all the latest productions of the scene, sorted by year.
- No forum, no texts, no trolline, nothing else!
- It is not meant as a replacement of any existing website such as CPC-Power, CPC Wiki, or anything else, but as a complement.
- It does not store any data. Only links.


Here is a first design. Please note that the layout is not finished at all (logo, icons, colors, etc.). It is also zoomed out to show a maximum of productions. However, the functionalities are there:







The icons at the bottom of each production include, if possible:
- a direct download link.
- a website link (if the authors have one).
- a link to CPC Power.
- one or two videos.
- link to Pouet page.
- one or two links to reviews (CPC Game Reviews, Amstrad Today, etc.).


So you may ask, what would be the purpose of this website? Well, it occurred to me that many people simply "miss" news. CPC Wiki is fantastic, but no one updates the front page with the latest productions, and forum topics often get over-sighted. CPC-Power is invaluable, but did any of you used the search engine only to see the latest productions? I didn't, yet I use it a lot.
Imagine a casual CPC user, or simply someone interested in retro gaming/scene. How can he/she easily know what was released recently? This website is the answer. Simply keeps it in your bookmark, opens it once it a while and quickly know the latest productions. If you're interested in games only, you can use the related filter.


Some more information:
- Though I said everything is ready, I still need some work to add the real design, and I also have to install all this on a real server. This will cost me time and money. I will only do it if it shows some interest. So make your opinion known.
- I intend to populate the database by myself, but if someone want to help, you're welcome to do so. The admin page is very easy to use. One click and you can add a production.
- This website is selective. I do not intend to add all 2-line basic productions, or half-baked games. Only finished productions. For example, in my opinion, only about 7-8 productions from the latest RetroDev competitions should be added here. All the buggy games should be discarded. For a comprehensive list of productions, check CPC-Power.


So, tell me what you think about all this! Even if no one is interested, well, I would still have learned a bit about Django server and Semantics-UI web development .

[robcfg]

I think it's a great idea!


I'm the missing-the-news and didn't-have-time-to-try type. So having a comprehensive list of CPC scene productions would make it easier for me to sit down from time to time and enjoy the cool CPC developments.

[Kris]

Hi Targhan,

It would be a very good idea to have such website and I agree with all the good reasons you listed above. Actually, it is not an easy task to look for the last prods and news are slightly different from a site to an other...

On the over hand, I think it would be also a good idea to change its name; the "CPCscene" still sounds like a closed area for a lot of CPC users...

[reidrac]

Please add RSS support and I'm in!

(Actually, that's something CPC power could have and that would be perfect, is unfortunate that CPC power is not more collaborative)

Also, please no direct link if there's a website for the game. People miss instructions because of that.

[AMSDOS]

I had to fix up the Main Page on the CPCWiki once, after someone decided to remove a whole bunch of updates (one of which was a game I spent months working on), and not update in the Older News feed.

So perhaps something like this will mean no-one can just go in and remove stuff.

[mr_lou]

I went with "Yeah, would check this every 6 months." - because I would.
But I gotta admit I don't see a reason for a new site.Why not "just" decide to put productions on Pouet?It's already there, designed for the purpose, and seems to offer the same things.

A new site would definitely get visitors, no doubt. But I'm fairly sure it'll mostly be CPC users. If Pouet got more CPC productions added, it would show non CPC users that the CPC is an active platform, which would probably result in more people gaining an interest in the CPC.
My weeks are very busy with job and family, so I know I don't personally need to be able to check new CPC releases every week, since I don't have the time for it anyway. I could settle for some yearly compilation release containing all CPC releases that year.Currently I think I check "New creations" every 4 months or so. Then downloads but never find the time to actually look at it. It's almost as if "1 download" is too little to fire up the CPC for.My "Downloads" folder has lots of CPC stuff, that I haven't even checked out yet. 
Getting a compilation every 6 or 12 months would mean needing to set aside time for it, just like you do when wanting to watch a movie (or 8-bit Memoirs  ).That would rock.Some package with a menu and maybe a short story for each production, and then click to start in an emulator. Or click somewhere else to just watch a video.
Actually this could all be done with web-tech now, couldn't it?

For a website like this, I'm also a bit against only using links.Links are bad in my experience. They die all the time! It would become a maintenance nightmare.(Lots of (bad) experience maintaining IndieGameMusic.com here).
So my wishlist looks different:1: Use Pouet for this idea2: Create a yearly compilation thingy too 

[Targhan]

Thanks all for your comments.


@mr_lou: Pouet is very well suited for demos. But there are many games missing. Once again, who among you goes to Pouet to check the latest games or tools on CPC? No one I bet!
As for links, this website would only be an aggregator, I don't want to hold any data. And some people want me to disable the direct download, so...


I feel pretty confident that many people would find this CPC Scene site useful, even if they wouldn't feel they need it right now. Just like people asked what Facebook was about before getting addicted to it .

[genesis8]

It would be interesting.

I can provide my database of programs if you want it to help, I try to create new programs when they are out since a moment, but for older titles they could be missing.

If needed, I can propose the pages on my site with a web interface to update it.

[mr_lou]

@mr_lou: Pouet is very well suited for demos. But there are many games missing. Once again, who among you goes to Pouet to check the latest games or tools on CPC? No one I bet!

It's possible I'm misunderstanding something about Pouet, but there is a Game category there, and it's used exactly for "scene" games.
As I said: Why not "just" decide to be more active on Pouet and add CPC creations there? It's designed for it, and there's room for both demos and games. I've asked this before.
I don't think many people goes to Pouet looking for CPC games either - because everyone knows that only few people adds their CPC productions there. Hence why I keep asking; why not just decide and agree in the community to start using Pouet more. So what is the answer to this question? Why avoid Pouet? Why the need to create a new website instead of using Pouet?Instead of adding new creations to a new site - add them to Pouet - even if you didn't create it yourself.

I feel pretty confident that many people would find this CPC Scene site useful, even if they wouldn't feel they need it right now. Just like people asked what Facebook was about before getting addicted to it .

I have no doubt that your site will be great.I just don't understand why we're turning out backs to Pouet, when that site is exactly the place to look for productions for a specific platform, and offers a lot of other search criteria as well.

[Targhan]

I know there is a game section on Pouet. It is just not convenient/natural to use it. To me it is as simple as that. The same for CPC Power. If you want to find a specific game, or all the role-playing game of 1989, it is fantastic. It is just not straightforward. In this day and age, having direct information is key.

I've been knowing Pouet for two decades, and I almost never used it for games or tools. And people don't add all their productions there. Asking people to "use more Pouet" will not work. Are the spanish devs putting their games there? Well, no.



The guy from CPC Power is not passive: he finds the software by himself (by reading forums, etc.), which is how he gets all the prods. By asking people to "use more Pouet", you *rely* on people putting their prod here. And many don't care. So you are a Pouet user, you will simply miss them. With CPC Scene, I intend to be active too. If people can notify me of their prod, great, but they don't, I can find about them by myself because I browse forums quite often. So you can be sure news will be fresh and the list comprehensive.

[mr_lou]

In this day and age, having direct information is key.

I may have to see your site before understanding what you mean by that.

People don't add all their productions there. Asking people to "use more Pouet" will not work. Are the spanish devs putting their games there? Well, no.

No. A group of people will have to add productions for other people.

The guy from CPC Power is not passive: he finds the software by himself (by reading forums, etc.), which is how he gets all the prods. By asking people to "use more Pouet", you *rely* on people putting their prod here. And many don't care. So you are a Pouet user, you will simply miss them.

Yes someone has to be active. That's what I mean too with Pouet. Someone has to add productions there that they didn't create themselves.

With CPC Scene, I intend to be active too. If people can notify me of their prod, great, but they don't, I can find about them by myself because I browse forums quite often. So you can be sure news will be fresh and the list comprehensive.

Well, I'm looking forward to see your site.

[Targhan]

Really, the website is only the page shown in the first post. There is nothing else. It's just nicely (hopefully) presented cards of productions, with links. Nothing else.


>No. A group of people will have to add productions for other people.
Yes. Optimus used to do that. I don't think he does anymore (and we can't blame him). I don't think he does it for games or tools. But to me, Pouet is not the right tool for "cpc scene". I personally also like the fact of a dedicated place for the CPC productions, not just "any website" for all platforms.


In this day and age, having direct information is key.

>I may have to see your site before understanding what you mean by that.

It was only a general remarks. For good or bad, people wants the right information right away, right now, without navigating twice. By having a CPC Scene website showing right away the latest productions, this is exactly what I intend to offer.

[MaV]

pouet is for demo scene productions. The few games that are hosted there are games which were released on parties (mostly ... it is chaotic). Moreover, if you search for a "prod" it will return results which are indiscriminately demos and games which sucks big time if you search for one or the other.
pouet's intention never was to be a games announcement and hosting platform, neither is it a platform to host scene graphics, for example, which are nevertheless counted as scene material.

Other retro computing platforms also use their own sites to announce their games, close to none of these productions to my knowledge make it to pouet.

[VincentGR]

Great idea.
I hope it will be a simple page so I can visit it with my Amiga too 

[Targhan]

I hope it will be a simple page so I can visit it with my Amiga too

HTML, CSS and Javascript. Nothing too fancy in this day and age.

[villain]

On the over hand, I think it would be also a good idea to change its name; the "CPCscene" still sounds like a closed area for a lot of CPC users...

Mhhh... Call it CSDB. CPC Scene Data Base. 

Honestly... I really like the idea. A few days ago I thought how useful a blog would be, just dealing with actual (more or less) CPC games, as I often lose track of the releases. But I had to realise I lack knowledge, time and probably sustainable motivation. I always admire guys like Octoate and Emmanuel for running their projects for years. What I just wanted to say: thumbs up, @Targhan

[Targhan]

CSDB. CPC Scene Data Base

It does not sound very "fun" . I like "CPC Scene", because it is really CPC-related. Like @Kris mentioned, it may sound "a CPC restricted area", but it is exactly what it is. If you're intersted in CPC, go to CPC Scene. Else, move out!

[keith56]

The design looks great, and it sounds a good idea, I tend to hear about the latest releases on here, or twitter... but it would be superb to check up on releases I've missed, or when I know there was a game I wanted to play, but can't remember the name!

The layout looks easy to use, and the big pictures really show off the games, which may encourage people to play games they had previously overlooked.

[MaV]

Here's my 2 cents: A filter would be nice. Say you list all of the games, then filter by year (or month) then filter by category (games, utilities, demos). If the website doesn't host the software itself, a link to the original site would be great, like for example for commercial games.

[MaV]

I might add, the emphasis of my previous post should be the list, perhaps switching back and forth between tiles and list views (and then the other things which are mostly realised in the picture of the first post anyway.)

[Targhan]

Yes, most of what you asked for was in the first post. I don't think a list should be done. A thumbnail is much better. Lists are not fun. No one wants to see a dull list on a webpage. The purpose of the site is to show productions under the best light possible, so a nice screenshot is worth a thousand words. Plus, there aren't that many productions per year, so, along with the use of the filter, scrolling shouldn't be a problem.

[roudoudou]

Really, the website is only the page shown in the first post. There is nothing else. It's just nicely (hopefully) presented cards of productions, with links. Nothing else.

This is a good idea because it won't need a huge personal investment to update/manage the website
I prefer to know that you do something else 

[Targhan]

Indeed, my aim is not to waste too much time on this, but do this as a small side-project. The most demanding part will probably to populate the database of the past years productions. But once again, not all of them will be present.

[Shining]

Speaking about new productions and creating an overview should not forget other things than software. A scene overview should also include new hardware, new fanzines etc.


Just my 2 cents...

[Skunkfish]

Speaking about new productions and creating an overview should not forget other things than software. A scene overview should also include new hardware, new fanzines etc.

I kind of agree with you, but the availability of hardware is so much more finite that software that whilst good for new releases it's use would soon be obsolete when looking back at past releases. Also, the method of acquiring CPC hardware can be a little haphazard - it's normally a 'me too' or a PM on these forums