Poll: Escapist tips & hints forum

[MiracleOfSound]

I've been thinking about our beloved site lately, and how whenever a large game comes out the gaming forum tends to get a lot of 'help me!' threads.

I want to see what people think about possibly putting the idea forward to the admins to see what they would think about maybe granting us a separate forum for this kind of thing.

For example, I'm doing an Insanity run on ME2 at the moment and when I'm done would love to do a little tips guide for you guys who haven't done it yet, but it would feel a little arrogant to randomly post it on the gaming forum.

I'm sure many other Escapists who are far better than me at games would enjoy sharing their tips and helping the other members of the community too.

They way I see it, here are the pros and cons:

Pros

Help each other out in the community
Chance to share our little tricks and strategies
Stops the main gaming forum being overwhelmed with 'help!' threads
Better Than googling because you could discuss tips and tactics with people you're familiar with
INcrease site traffic due to results showing in google searches etc


Cons
Gamefaqs and other sites already do it
Google helps (but not always)

Share your thoughts on why you think it would or wouldn't work.

 

[Batfred]

It couldn't hurt to have. Would it adversely affect the site even if it is being done already?

 

[Not Good]

Problem is that those threads will still get posted by people who don't pay any attention to anything except their own needs.

 

[DragonsAteMyMarbles]

It couldn't hurt. I'd use them.

 

[Hippobatman]

Yes, I agree. It would be an ideal method to clean up the general forum and make way for some more structured content.

It would also, as you say, encourage discussion around the game and give feedback, which is nice.

The "Pros" heavily outweights the "Cons", in my opinion. To the Mods' office!

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Well, I think it would involve a lot more asking for help than actually helping, new threads at least show up on the latest threads page where someone who can help, whether they know it or not, can find it.

I dunno man, any thread asking for help on a popular game usually gets a lot of fast replies.

Though the other con I just thought of is that people might not check it often and miss help they could be giving, so I see your point.

 

[S.R.S.]

It's all relative to the game in question really but that's actually a good Idea. Oh and I like how the cons were google and gamefaqs. They're pretty much the sites I use for help anyways like getting all the treasures in Uncharted 2.

 

[Jenova65]

I think it is a pretty good idea, especially as it keeps people on the Escapist rather than having to go elsewhere for hints or tips!

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Problem is that those threads will still get posted by people who don't pay any attention to anything except their own needs.

But in a way that's no harm, because someone else will more than likely be stuck in a similar spot... there are moments in most games that stump a lot of people.

I.e.

Water Temple
2 Scions and lots of Husks , The Collector Ship
One Shot One Kill
Raam
The Sloth Demon
Shooting the Meteors
The Dahaka
Pandora's Temple
The whole lot of IWBTG
Respawning checkpoints in the African Savannah
Wesker
Seth

The list goes on...

 

[FROGGEman2]

Oh Jesus, someone mentioned the Sloth Demon...

OT: Depends on how it was billed. If it was billed as a real community thing, it would be great. If not, it would suck.

 

[Toriver]

Sounds like a good idea to me as well. I'd certainly turn here for as much good information as the other options. More sites with gamers helping gamers is a good thing.

 

[EscapeGoat_v1legacy]

Yeah, I reckon that sounds like a good idea, and the pros do outweigh the cons. I know I'd probably make use of it, both to help and to ask for help, and I think plenty of other people would as well. Time to go pester the mods!

 

[MiracleOfSound]

I fully support it. It'd mean I might never have to deal with the retarded seals that manage to get internet connections and gamefaqs accounts.

Plus when Googling and getting answers from Gamefaqs it can be slow and you sometimes don't get exactly the answer you were looking for.

Yeah, I reckon that sounds like a good idea, and the pros do outweigh the cons. I know I'd probably make use of it, both to help and to ask for help, and I think plenty of other people would as well. Time to go pester the mods!

As would I, and I think most people would too.

Not only would it great to be able to get tips but we all get a little ego kick when we manage to help someone else too, especially on very tough puzzles or levels.

 

[scotth266]

If it were to happen, I'd probably be more a provider of help than a seeker (except when getting my games to RUN, which seems to be a fairly frequent problem.)

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Well this and a tech support thread would be nice not sure if it would take off or work out though but you never know.

 

[Onyx Oblivion]

Not really, an occasional topic and GameFAQs works fine.

 

[Kodlak]

I think it is a good idea, means that might get some good help and also could bring more people to the site.

 

[Volstag9]

I'd say yes. this is the most trusted gaming site i go to. I come here a hell of a lot more than anywhere else. so it would be nice to have something like that.

 

[TheEarlOfGrey]

Yeah I'd love to see one. Everyone here (generally) is mature and helpful enough for people to ask about game problems.

That and there will be less clutter in the gaming forums.

EDIT:

Cons
Gamefaqs and other sites already do it

Are you suggesting that users could post their own guides of sorts? Would be good I reckon. I've never liked Gamefaqs but like the concept.

 

[The Last Nomad]

Whether I'd use it or not, I don't know, I usually try to do things myself... I find it more fun... But I think It would be a good addition to the site...