The Road to 2019: Site Changes, Reader Feedback Survey, End of the Year Content
2018 has gone by so quickly! As 2019 approaches, now is that time of year to think about changes moving forward with how the site operates, presents content, or any other changes that might be needed to make the site operate more efficiently.
This year GameReviewPad took a particular turn to focus a lot on independent games and we plan on continuing that moving forward in 2019. As someone who was always particularly fond of indie games, it never occurred to me how difficult it was to follow the indie game scene as someone trying to cover the development of indie games. Independent developers are so spread out, either with a PR company or on their own, that it is sometimes extremely difficult to follow all the game that should be getting attention. I can easily see how independent games just slip by on release or can get totally ignored.
In 2019 we will be making some changes to how we gather information internally on the backend of GameReviewPad in order to run the site a bit more efficiently to present readers more content quicker.
Below I have listed site changes that will happen and potential site changes that may happen in the future.
Site Changes That WILL HAPPEN in 2019
- Scrapping the contributor ranking system that was presented last year, but the site will remain open to new writers on a case by case basis. This will be clarified once 2019 starts.
- Informational Content: GameReviewPad has up to this point been more of an opinion-based site with content that reflects our writer’s opinions. In 2019 GameReviewPad will shift to more of a role of presenting more game information for upcoming games, in addition to the content where we express our opinions.
We want readers to see GameReviewPad as not just a secondary source of opinions, but as a primary source of information for upcoming releases.
- More GameReviewPad streaming: Earlier this year we promised weekly streams, unfortunately due to technical errors on my end I couldn’t fulfill that promise, but now that I have most of those issues figured out we will be utilizing streaming more often…hopefully weekly.
- Content Layout Changes: I am always looking at ways to tighten our layouts for our content for better presentation to the reader. We will definitely have changes to our content layouts in 2019, but those changes are still being determined.
- Better Social Media Presence: Social media is tough to keep up with and in 2019 we will up our social media game to of course spread the good word of GameReviewPad. This year the Facebook group took the year off, but in 2019 that group will be resurrected for more activity, in addition to more activity on instagram and twitter.
POTENTIAL Site Changes in 2019 (Non-committal)
- Removing the MiniReviews tab in reviews due to not enough activity.
- Adding additional tabs to the Reviews with more related content available to the reader quicker.
- Written Q&As with Indie Game Developers
- Op-Ed Content
- Light Video Review Content
- Patreon Support
Reader Feedback Survey – Winter 2018
I have put together a short Winter 2018 Reader Feedback survey that will help me a lot making site decisions in 2019. Your feedback is very valuable to me, as I value every reader. This survey will be available until the beginning of 2019.
TAKE THE GAMEREVIEWPAD READER FEEDBACK SURVEY – WINTER 2018
End of the Year Content
We will have our usual “End of the Year” content, but no schedule or exact plans have been made. Check back in December for that!
As 2019 approaches the site may enter maintenance mode a few times as backend changes are rolled in.
Thanks for being a reader of GameReviewPad. I truly appreciate your readership.
Sincerely,
Andre Calvert
Editor-in-Chief of GameReviewPad
