Did we take you by surprise? We’ve got a new look this afternoon.
There’s plenty to check out in our redesign, so we’ve broke it down. If you’re wondering about our “???????” logo, though, then scroll on down.
Main Feed
- Post categories now appear inside the image, saving space.
- Post details — comments, author, and date — now appear at the very bottom of the post.
- Sidebar of main feed contains: Most Popular News, Latest Reviews, and Latest Comments.
Articles
- Title is bigger, highlighted by upper red border and lower gray border. A Facebook “Like” button is neatly placed right below
- Post details — comments, author, and date — are displayed on a new left column.
- Read More — on the left column — displays the post categories and tags. It’s more in-your-face than our previous method, allowing users to easily discover new content.
- Share — also on the left column — allows users to share our stories across N4G, GameKicker, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, and more.
- Sidebar of our articles contains: Latest News and Latest Comments. We felt it was necessary to include the latest news in our articles sidebar for those who are linked here off-site, making it easier for them to discover interesting new content.
Comments
- Redesigned. Comment text is highlighted with a gray background. Users avatars hang nicely on the left. Comment details — name, date, and comment number — are neatly displayed at the top of the comment text box.
- A new rating system is in order, allowing users to give thumbs-up and thumbs-down for those times when someone especially deserves a cookie/laxatives.
Features
- A new Features page is now available. The page lists our current running features and columns in a simple, easy-to-read list. The latest feature is highlighted up top. Check out the page through here.
Reviews
- A new Reviews page is now available. Our latest review is displayed up top, score and all, while our other most recent reviews are displayed in an image gallery-type format below. Check out the page through here.
Gallery
- Our gallery has also received a face-lift. Check out this screenshot of Catherine‘s Vincent and friends for a demonstration.
- Sidebar of gallery displays the site’s two latest articles below the ad.
??????, formerly Scrawl
So we’ve still yet to decide on a name. A few of our readers have sent in names already, however, they were either inadequate or taken (names like Loading.com would be great, but of course, they’re not available). So if you’re still up to helping us out on that front, then please by all means keep sending in your names to editor@gematsu.com. Like I said, we’re looking for something catchy and brandable. We really like names like Kotaku, Destructoid, Bitmob, JoyStiq, and Kombo. That’s the type of feel we’re aiming for.
[Image]
Very, very, very nice! Has an IGN-vibe to it and that’s a compliment.
Hope you find a name but I still say Scrawl is a great name.
Aha! Scrawls new clothes are revealed to the world!
I like the new looks.
I’ve been trying to think about a new name for the site, but I’ve yet to come up with some catchy and unique.
I can understand the frustration of coming up with a new name, its tough to do so, and like you said, some readers don’t think about the technicality that comes with it.
Indeed. I don’t want to settle with any old name, either. Because then I’d be uneasy about it. Whatever it will be, I’ll have to be 100 percent certain on it.
I feel like I just walked into a surprise party! looking good Sal! Long live Scrawl…or whatever your new name will be!
This is much better and at first, I didn’t know where I was. I thought I punched in the incorrect URL.
Thanks, Falsate. I consider you to be quite the impressive designer, so I’m a bit flattered.
*blushes*
Yeah. :D It’s my new homepage (I’ve never changed my homepage since I first got my laptop so it was always Google).
Wow, I really wasn’t expecting this!
Sal, you guys have done it again!
Waaaaw, very cool and well done :-).
Just a small note. I know that the forums look like crap. I’ll be fixing that up over the weekend. Problem with the way it’s set up is that I can’t develop the forum’s image alongside that of the site until the new look is actually activated.
Hopefully a crisper forum will get more users posting.
Love the new look! As for the name change, Im with Incred I Iike Scrawl…
i like the mew layout. looks clean and a it’s not that compact anymore which is nice :)
Sal why do you look high in your avatar?
Anyways the new site looks cool i really like it
As for the name give it something short maybe XD
I know this is not the place but im lazy so here are few:
PlayWin or JoinQame.com or even Otaqu
lol thanks for the attempts but all sound a little too… you know. Otaqu, even though it’s a play on Otaku, would draw too much comparison to Kotaku. The other two just aren’t very interesting. =\
And as for my looking high, I don’t know. I can assure you I am 100 percent not high, though. =P
Limitbreak.com is for sale although it might not fit your tastes.
I mention “Limit Break” specifically because the heading for Scrawl was “Scrawl, the limit break.”
NeedMoreHp.com
GameStory.com
ConsoleFlash.com
KillerGames.com
NoGamesNoLife.com
LOL
Just don’t turn this site into Kotaku. What I mean is making posts about your everyday life and other stuff that isn’t really gaming related news. I’d keep the name Scrawl, it’s a unique name and stands out on its own in my opinion.
Hey Sal, i’m not new to the site mate, I was known as the theOtaku_83 on here before. Regarding the name, I’ve been visiting Scrawl for along time now and I am serprised that you want to even change it because it was great the way it was. Well I liked it anyway haha. Whatever you decide the new name will be I am sure it will be a worthy replacement for scrawl. Keep up the great work mate, I love your site and the people on here are awesome to talk too.
aww man, why change the name? scrawl its great tbh.
As for the new design, its really great very neat indeed.
Well I like how streamlined and more or less metallic the graphics are~ Though i guess that’s just me personal taste, being so minimalist on the shininess~ Still don’t know why you’d change scrawl’s name, since that’s what i’ve been calling it for a looooong time~
But either way, good luck in this venture and keep up the good work. :)
Everything looks nice. I don’t like the name change though… Please, stay as Scrawl. We all love “scrawl” here. We go to “scrawl” and not kotaku, destructoid or any other fancy game-page. Scrawl is good =)
I wasn’t sure where to post this, but I just wanted to wish a Merry Christmas/Holidays to everybody at the site! It’s suitably snowing here in the UK, a perfect backdrop to the day ahead. Make sure to have a brilliant day and accept my remote yet genuine wishes. Happy Holidays!
Feliz Navidad ! para toda la gente de scrawl !
Oh a new name huh?
How about something like:
Save&Load
8BitGen (eration)
HPMax
MPZero
CorruptData
Actually i gave alot of thinking to it…and Scrawl is a perfect name but not Scrawlfx those F and X are rather weird so maybe do something like Scrawling? XD or Black Scrawl like in NieR xD
PixelCritics
thatgamesite – simple and not hard to remember
I’m a little drunk, but I think this is a good one (unless you guys do consoles a bunch too, just found you tonight via Portal 2 news/info)
But…
F6.com
I like it because it was the default quicksave binding in the original Half-life (and other Valve titles) and I have always had a connection since those old days playing HL over and over, to the F6 button.
Whether it’d translate to your audience … I don’t know. Like I said, I just found you guys. But, thought I’d throw that out there.
Goodluck!
Whiteboard?
I do like the Scrawl name too, but I also like Scrawlfx!
Just found you guys, and I love the layout! Here are some ideas:
Playable
Button smasher
Retry
The Back Button
Demobomb
Insert Disc
Now Playing
Gameland
Quicksave
Sidequest
Frame Rater
Thumbstiks
Gamestream
Secret Area