Random game
LGDB news
Trademark issue
Fri, 08/27/2010 - 20:45 | by pheontonToday i did some googleing to check the position of lgdb.org on the search result pages, because i noticed, that lgdb.org sometimes jumps from page one to page three, for the term "Linux games".
So i check some other terms, like "Linux arcade games" -> no lgdb.org in sight *sigh*
Well, i check "Linux games metascore" because thats the last feature that was added to lgdb.org.
And viola, first entry... mhm... that made me think. is the term "metascore" copyrighted (a trademark)? I didnt think so, because for me, it is a common word, the combination from meta (from greek, used to discribe something that is the essence of something else on a different level) and score. just think of metadata or metaphysics. hehe. but those two words are also trademarks (metaphysics no more though) just like metascore... uh, you think, so can i not use the word metadata anymore? I dont know.
But i don't want to find out, if metascore can be used or not and rather change it.
Goal: Use a different word than metascore for the avarage of game ratings by external game-review-sites.
My offer would be metarating (<- wow how original is that.)
But if you have something better, leave me a comment.
New feature: Metascore
Fri, 08/20/2010 - 19:40 | by pheontonA new feature for the Linux Game Database was just been deployed!
Every registered user can submit links to reviews and ratings of games. From all the submitted ratings a Metascore Metarating will be calculated and shown along with the already implemented user rating. On the right side of every game page is a link to submit the rating.
To lighten the burden of the server the metascores metaratings will be stored in the database and only visible after the site cache has been cleared (approximately every 4 hours).
The next weeks are for testing and streamlining the complex system, specially the usability still needs work. Hoping for lots of ratings and feedback!
Cheers,
pheonton
Now also on identi.ca
Sat, 07/10/2010 - 15:12 | by pheontonYes right, connect here:
http://identi.ca/lgdb
Posts on identi.ca and twitter will be the same. Its very easy to connect twitter and identi.ca and have posts on identi.ca also on twitter BUT NOT VICE VERSA. so new stuff will go from this site to indeti.ca and from there to twitter. luckily this project: http://drupal.org/project/twitter makes it possible for drupal.
Markup and Twitter
Sat, 07/03/2010 - 07:13 | by pheontonTime to write about the latest changes.
The user berserk9779 suggested some editor helpers, preferable with keyboard shortcuts in this forum thread. And now the buttons are implemented. I used the markItUp! editor. it is unobtrusive and easy to extend, i hope people don't get confused when they suddenly see some strong or em tags in their text. If one moves the mouse arrow over the editor icons the keyboard shortcut is displayed e.g. Ctrl+B for Bold.
LGDB is now on Twitter http://twitter.com/linuxgamedb and already has two followers yeah! A link to every new game or other content will be posted on Twitter and also if to already submitted content that is updated. This is still in an evaliation status so things migth change. Somethings i want to have are not possible and somethings i want to have are probably useless so feel free to make suggestions.
Every game page now has a link to get promoted on facebook, twitter and identi.ca.
Looking for Games?
Fri, 06/11/2010 - 12:03 | by pheontonThere are two possibilities to look for games on this site
Using the "All Games" link:
List all games
or the search:
Search for games
(only showing games, sorted by last update.)
Since the last changes the search could become the default method to look for games. Despite all the benefits that are introduced with the faceted search, e.g making it possible to dynamically filter the search results, there are two drawbacks, it is not possible to sort the results by rating or last release.
My question for you is now, shall the search become the default method or not?
Here is a Poll for that question:
What method is better to look for games?
Greatly improved search
Wed, 05/26/2010 - 08:31 | by pheontonDuring the last weeks the search function on the site got some improvements and might become the default way to look for games and will eventually replace All Games.
The most important feature is the suggestion of similar words in the case of spelling e.g. a game name different from how it is spelled within lgdb.org. The suggestion can be found at the top of the search results. At the moment the search index has to be build so some words are still missing.
Another feature is a so called faceted search positioned at the right of the the search page. Now the search results can be filtered dynamically based on game attributes. One can even start with no search-word and look for games, just by applying the filters.
On the other hand its not possible to sort the search results by rating, title or when they where last updated.
Technical side note:
The drupal modules used in this case are: Search Lucene DidYouMean and Search Lucene API.
News section and submitted games
Thu, 04/29/2010 - 06:39 | by pheontonNews section By now all of you have seen the new section on the front page with news snippets from Free Gamer and Linux Gaming News, two of the most important news sites for Linux gamers! Together with news from game developers, you'll be up-to-date whats going on in the Linux gaming world and the latest changes for the games you play.
Submitted games You will find a list of all the games you've submitted to the database on a tab labeled "My content" on your account page. If a new comment was added or the page received an update, you'll see a note next to the game name.
New section: Emulators
Wed, 02/24/2010 - 09:27 | by pheontonThanks to lgdb.org user 4no1 you can now access a listing of emulators for several gaming platforms on linux.
The new section is just at the beginning and the look and the displayed information will change in the coming weeks. All users are now able to submit emulator entries to the database.
Spammers get deleted
Thu, 02/18/2010 - 16:38 | by pheontonEvery user that posts comments with unrelated links gets deleted. Sorry if i make a mistake, i think they are just bots and i don't have the nerve to investigate any further. So if you hate me for that write me a feedback message.
If you have any idea how to protect the site maybe with a nice drupal module, let me know. Help is always appreciated.
New feature: Feeds
Thu, 02/11/2010 - 13:41 | by pheontonOk, its not really a new feature, but the implementation is completely new. Now it is possible to enter a feed url when submitting a game to the database, or add it to existing entries. The headlines get aggregated and displayed on the game page and, with all other feed headlines on the Game news page.
The aggregation interval 12 hours at the moment and that is also the time one has to wait before the feed is checked for the first time. Some feeds might not get aggregated at all, sadly the drupal method is very very picky.
