The Hamster Burrow - a call for content

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TheCube
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Post by TheCube »

Mogri wrote:I was hoping that the default Wordpress theme was just temporary.
Me too. I'm looking for a Wordpress theme that is much more customizable, but...most of them aren't. It's very frustrating. The only thing I can really change on this theme is the background color (which I will change to brown when I get a minute; writing this ten minutes before class).

Wordpress is great feature-wise. I can create multiple accounts for people and all sorts of neat stuff...but it sure is ugly. I have a bad feeling I may have jumped the gun in choosing Wordpress.

If anybody does have experience with WP, do you have any recommendations for better, customizable themes? Alternately, does anyone have any recommendations for good blog sites that allow that sort of customization? I'm trying to get something that doesn't require a LOT of maintenance, but I'll take any suggestions at this point. Anybody used Blogger?

Any other suggestions re: style are good too, because I am not exactly a visually oriented sort of person, and now is the time to change things.
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BMR
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Post by BMR »

Well, I don't have much experience with Wordpress.com, I've always only used self-hosted sites for work and for personal use. Still, I think I can find a more customizable WP theme that works with the limitations of wordpress.com
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The Wobbler
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Post by The Wobbler »

I don't know how its features compare but as far as looks go, Blogger offers a ton of customization.
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Mogri
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Post by Mogri »

Wordpress also offers a ton of customization, but its ways are somewhat more inscrutable.
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TheCube
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Post by TheCube »

Mogri wrote:Wordpress also offers a ton of customization, but its ways are somewhat more inscrutable.
Somewhat is an understatement, IMO. As far as I can tell, if I want to customize a wordpress.com blog, I have to pay them. And I'm still broke :(

Fooling around with blogger and I like it a lot more so far. Very customizable, though I think it might be a bit bland in general. Despite that, I think I might move everything over there unless I can find a better option in the next few days. Here's a preview: http://hamsterburrow.blogspot.com/ . I'm not a web designer so I'm open to any suggestions. The banner is temporary.

Also, once I have a banner (I think Jack is working on one) I'll make a favicon using a bit of it or something thematically related. That's always a nice touch, and I'm glad Greenwado thought of it.
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Greenwado
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Post by Greenwado »

I personally use Blogger for my movie reviews and such. I really like the look of our Blogger blog so far it just needs a little bit of work to look a little less "non-professional", you know what I mean?
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TheCube
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Post by TheCube »

Hey all! I got an article up RE: HotOHR. I used Pepsi Ranger's list of games (thanks!) and I plan on doing a more detailed look at each later, to get the votes rolling in.

I'm still looking for a banner with the width of 940 and a height between 160-200 pixels. If I get multiple banners for any reason, I'll rotate them out occasionally. A holiday themed one would be awesome, but anything goes! I am personally thinking of something to do with Bob the hamster sitting in a comfy underground burrow, maybe playing games.

Also, I haven't had any articles submitted yet, but now that HotOHR entries are (mostly) closed, I am hoping people will have some time to write. Feel free to send me any reviews you write, any resources you wanna share, any postpartum articles from making a game, or anything else you can think of! I'd be especially interested to hear from entrants about the development processes behind their own games.

Oh, and I decided to make the move to Blogger since I found it easier to customize and it has all the features I need. I think it'll look nice once we get some graphics on there, but any advice or criticism of the page as it is now is more than welcome.

Huzzah!
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Post by Pepsi Ranger »

I read the Heart of the OHR article. I just wanted to clarify that late entries will not forfeit the winning prizes; they only lose the entry prizes. They can still win the first place prizes if they take first. I don't want the article to send the wrong message to people who still want a chance at winning.

Thanks for writing the article.
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TheCube
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Post by TheCube »

Fixed. :D
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Post by TMC »

Hmm, I think you have the definitions of Rereleased and Lengendary games a little wrong. Rereleased games weren't necessarily submitted for the last contest.

Now that the move is official, you should update the announcement on CP to point to the new blog. And it would be a good idea to make the wordpress blog a redirect to the blogger one, or take it down.
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Post by Master K »

My blog has gone public! I had to create it for a school project, but i'll try and keep it updated. You'll notice that it literally has posts in the past, that's because it's for my project. But, it's nice to have them there for posterity.

Click!
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TheCube
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Post by TheCube »

TMC wrote:Hmm, I think you have the definitions of Rereleased and Lengendary games a little wrong. Rereleased games weren't necessarily submitted for the last contest.

Now that the move is official, you should update the announcement on CP to point to the new blog. And it would be a good idea to make the wordpress blog a redirect to the blogger one, or take it down.
Yep, I had it wrong. I got so excited to make a post I forgot to fact check.

And thanks for reminding me (again) about CP. I treat them terribly... the WP blog also points to the new one now.

Master K: I added a link to your blog. If anybody else wants me to link to their personal blogs, let me know! I'll add it on the right side.

I made a banner myself, but as you may be able to tell, I am not exactly an artist. I was gonna draw Bob the Hamster sitting in a little chair, but I got stuck on trying to do perspective. Well, at least there's a little TV :D

I plan on doing little 30 minute jaunts with each of the HotOHR games, and I'm going to start doing monthly roundups starting in January. Hopefully that'll get the project really kick-started, especially because I'll have a lot more time after Christmas.
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Post by The Wobbler »

I don't want to see the sidebar get totally flooded with personal blogs but if we're submitting links I've got to throw the bobsurlaw.blogspot.com in there.

I'll write some stuff for you after New Year's.
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Post by Spoonweaver »

What kind of readership do you have so far, and where are you advertising?
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TheCube
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Post by TheCube »

Well, I haven't advertised anywhere yet as I'd like to get some content before I start slinging the page around. I think I'm going to start pushing it in January, when hopefully I'll have a few good pieces on HotOHR entries.

Honestly, I'm not too worried about traffic. Usually good content sells itself. I'll start posting updates on Twitter and Facebook once I have 3 or 4 articles on here. Maybe I'll post a monthly update on pageviews in the monthly roundups I plan on doing, though.

Honestly, I'm a bit sad that I haven't had any submissions yet, but I think it'll pick up for the new year. I'll definitely have more time to write and hopefully others will as well.

Wobbler: I linked to your blog and I look forward to posting your stuff next year :D

Anyone else who has OHR related stuff on their blogs, I'd be more than happy to link to your blog. It'd be nice if you linked back, too. :D
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