The Video Game Critic

Maybe I'm in the minority, but I don't use an ad blocker, and I have never had any problem with the ads on the site. I'd also happily support the site directly, if I can. I access the site through the mobile version, basically 99% of the time.

I'd love to have a link to the review comments directly on the reviews, if possible. Even if you just start that feature, I don't think it would have to be retroactive. Or at the very least, it doesn't have to be all at once. Perhaps you could work those links out over time?

A premium membership that allows voting, avatars, signatures, etc could be a workable solution. As an aside, is the voting feature active on the mobile site? I've never figured out how to vote.

Gentlegamer wrote:Let me get this straight: the ads deliver malware, and you want people to pay you to get rid of them? To directly monetarily support a site that is essentially your own personal gaming blog?

If you think you're putting too much into this site, then just shut it down and save the money. You could go back to your old shorter style reviews and just post them on twitter.

Yeah dude, this was way uncool and really petty. You're better than this.

VGC, this thread is a work in progress. I like the idea of a plus membership, but it would be all about what "plus" would be.

IMHO, I would do a donation drive during one month of the year. This strategy is rather effective on other sites (i.e. RFG, Assemblers) as long as a targeted goal is identified. Personally, I am more apt to contribute one time rather than having to remember to re-up every month. Using a 'thermometer' type of graphic on each page to track donations versus the goal would be ideal. You could also have a 'stretch' goal which, if obtained, rewards the community in some manner (i.e. free game giveaways via raffle, etc.).

Regarding viewer comments, I like the idea of just adding a link to the respective forum post. This would be very easy to do and would definitely cause less headaches for the Mods. Having multiple spots to gather/access user input on the same subject may be a recipe for disaster.

Just a few thoughts. Keep up the great job Dave.

Terry

Sut wrote:

Rev wrote:You could also do a patreon for the site. Those have gotten fairly popular and would allow you to get money from people who enjoy your work.

Although I'm a little Patreon'd out as everyone seems to use it these days (as much as I'd like too I can't support everyone I like). I'd be willing to pay $1 a month via this method. I would feel more secure with Patreon as it's an established service rather than a bespoke, possibly vulnerable site based contribution system.

Also with Patreon you can offer rewards for contributors for example review suggestions or preview of new reviews or something.

I like the idea of comments if the preferred method of linking to the review feedback forum page is a non starter (for me that would be the optimal option). But to keep it from degenerating into a juvenile YouTube type mess could take some policing.

Yeah, I'm not a huge fan of patreon because it seems like every youtube channel I watch these days has a patreon channel. However, it might be the preferred method in this case because it wouldn't segregate the people in the forums into ones that have avatars, signatures, etc, and those that do not. There wouldn't be any difference between people in the forums and would also allow people to give however much they deem appropriate for the site. Those that want to give more, they can, those that want to give $1 can do that as well. If a person doesn't want to give anything, then not a problem, they won't be treated any different than the same people on the site. Also, one of your rewards could be a PIN or something that disables ads on the site (or some kind of setting change). Other possible rewards you could give could be:

-insta posting (this one kind of contradicts my previous paragraph but it is not a visibledifference between people on the forums)
-chances to skype, chat, text, or something with the critic himself over content they might be interested in.
-thank you (a lot of patreons use this as the lowest reward).
-getting a game signed by the critic
-get added to a patreon thank you page or something.

I'm with Marrott Guy. This is one of my fave sites out there and I enjoy it thoroughly. But I'd rather have like a one time donation rather than a monthly charge.

Gentle Gamer that was uncalled for.

I really enjoy your work Dave!

Marriott_Guy wrote:I am thinking about a proposal that I will share in a future thread.

4600+ reviews is enough for some to be premium content for members only, along with forum access.

Scotland,

I am like you in many ways. I want to see more activity in the forums. The main reason I come here is for the reviews of console games and the forums.

Portable systems and games just don't interest me.

My fave console game reviews are for the 2600, Genesis, PS2 and 360.

The membership model I had in mind is that you would pay (via paypal) for a fixed number of months.
For example, $6 for six months (you could choose any number of months).

Then when you log in, it would say in the corner "Welcome [username]. You are a gold member until [six months from now}"
The membership would give you ad-free reviews, plus the satisfaction of knowing you are supporting the site.
I could add more perks in the future.

What's nice about this system is that if I set it up right, it could be completely automated, which is a big deal to me.

matmico399 wrote:Scotland, I am like you in many ways. I want to see more activity in the forums. My fave console game reviews are for the 2600, Genesis, PS2 and 360.

Thanks. Four solid consoles. Have you ever gone back to explore the NES, SMS, or TG16 libraries? I was a C64 guy too, still am, but those years you wrote of skipping consoles may have games you would enjoy as retro games.

I would like more activity in the forums, as long as its generally substantive. If the forums become a component of financially backing the site, forum activity would likely go down. That might be offset to a degree by contributing, members visiting more often.

I read all of Dave's console game reviews even if I don't plan on buying the system. For example the Turbografyx 16 (sp). I have no plans on buying one (too expensive for a retro console and finances are limited) but some of his reviews for that system lead me into other games I might be interested in. This is just such a great site and the VGC has it with a beautiful layout. All the other game sites are just all white with black lettering and boring.