my Enders Game website

[zeldagirl1234]

hello. I don't know what happened, but I put this on here before and now I can't find it, so sorry if this is a duplicate.

I am making an Enders Game website and I need a little help. Just go here,tell me what you think, comments,ideas,etc. it will be muchly appreciated. I'm not even close to being done but here is what I've got.

www.wix.com/DelliriousInfections/EndersGame

[spanish_rockette]

no, becasue i havent seen it. but ill go on it now

[spanish_rockette]

i just tried it and it isnt working. it says i dont exist.

[zeldagirl1234]

try it again and if it still doesn't work then message me and I will fix it, if the above doesn't work try this www.wix.com/DelliriousInfections/EndersGame
take note of the s at the end of infection that is the difference

[spanish_rockette]

alright.

[spanish_rockette]

alright. ill copy and paste anything it says.

[zeldagirl1234]

did u try the above

[spanish_rockette]

yeah, i typed it on and tried the one above.

[zeldagirl1234]

Everyone, the link above in my first comment is now working

[spanish_rockette]

yes it is!

[Janus%TheDoorman]

It looks like it took a lot of effort to put together, and it's certainly more than I've ever done either for web design or as a fan work.

Cut out the music, though, and definitely don't make it autoplay. It feels intrusive and frankly at this point it's practically a faux pas. It's an easy mistake to make from the end of the creator - adding it in makes the site seem richer, more featured. But from the end of the user, they're probably just looking for information, not looking to simply enjoy the experience of the site. The novelty of music on the web was worth it in about 1996, but it's a different web now.

Also, spelling mistakes. Doesn't seem like a big deal, but even one or two makes the whole thing seem unprofessional, and like I said, most people on the web are simply looking for information now, and don't feel they should be getting their information from second-rate sources.

There are other, incidental issues, too. Non-uniformity in the navigation bar hampers usability. Having to look for how to get around the site makes me less likely to want to use it. The Nav-Bar is a tool, and tools should be simple and effective.

The site's a bit lacking in focus, too. The Home, Preparation, and Welcome screens are all redundant, and don't really serve any purpose, even if you were to put them all in one place. I'm not sure what the Meeting Ender page is supposed to do. Looks like a simply contact form, but... are you posing as Ender answering fan mail or something?

That brings up a thornier issue - copyrights. I'm really only bringing it up because it came up in the FAQ topic, but OSC is very protective of his intellectual property, and there's no explanation of what this site is, and seeming to pose as Ender strikes me as a bit over the line. Especially with no disclaimers or explanation that this is a fansite. Not even on the numerous intro pages is there an actual explanation of what's going on here.

There's definitely room on the net for an Ender's Game fansite, since PWeb's running strictly as a forum now, and all the EG wikis are... lacking, and you'll get there so long as you keep at it.

[zeldagirl1234]

thank you and I know that it's in the works I was going to go back and put copyright things in and more pages and check spelling etc, but right now it's just the basic information and I know it's not all that great yet. I've done all that work in about 7 hours in between 2days and so I know I have missed things. I'm not even close to being done, so be patient.

[spanish_rockette]

yeah, not everything can be perfect the first time.

[zeldagirl1234]

Oh, and Janus, If you don't like the music, you can quite easily turn down the volume on your computer or simply push the "stop" button on the site.

[Gravity Defier]

No, I agree with him; the music should be off by default.

[spanish_rockette]

just turn down the damn music if you dont like it.

[Jayelle]

just turn down the damn music if you dont like it.

If you're looking for opinions on a website - you have to know the truth, websites should NEVER have music. Never.

[Eaquae Legit]

you have to know the truth, website should NEVER have music. Never.

Never.

You're lucky my sound was already off before I noticed the music buttons, because when I encounter a website with music, I close the tab and never go back. I know I'm not the only person with that reaction.

If you love the music, truly love it, then leave it up. Just don't expect high traffic to your site.

[spanish_rockette]

fine.

[zeldagirl1234]

wowwww.... okay then. since you can't just deal with it then I will remove it can you guys talk about te rest of my site now??

[Jayelle]

Here's the thing, it's really cool that you made this website and it's fun to make websites, but if you're wanting honest opinions... I can't help but tell you that your website isn't great. It's way to visually complex and difficult to navigate.

Take a look at other websites and note how they navigate, think about how a person's eye reads naturally from left to right. Look up some tutorials on what colours work well together - specifically what is easiest to read.

In terms of content... I'm not really sure what you're goal is, so maybe you need to make that a bit more clear. Is this a blog? A fansite for information? A news site? An in-world site or an out-world site?

[locke]

nice site in terms of effort, but I'm not sure what the site is really supposed to be. your passion for the material is clear.

And websites should never ever have music by default. That's the main reason I never went to myspace... or geocities.

Heck I get ticked off at ESPNs website autoplay of video as well same principle same problem.

[neo-dragon]

I think it's nice that there's finally an Ender's Game fansite not frequented by weirdos...

[zeldagirl1234]

thanks and yeah i really dont know what the problem is. How hard is it to turn the frickin music off? Some people like it. So why dont the ones that dislike the music simply turn it off and drop the subject? And the point it this: I felt like making it, and so I did. Whether you like it or not, This site is mainly for me and i simply wanted to share it with you all. I was doing this for a project in my gifted class, I'm a 13 year old, and I did that in approximately 7 hours in a time span of 2 days. How good do you expect it to be??

[neo-dragon]

You probably shouldn't ask for constructive criticism if you don't actually want it.

[zeldagirl1234]

I do but its stupid when it is something the viewer can easily change the 'problem'. But whatever. I'm done with that. I changed it. Sorry to fight with you all but its kind of depressing

[spanish_rockette]

[quote="locke"]nice site in terms of effort, but I'm not sure what the site is really supposed to be. your passion for the material is clear.

And websites should never ever have music by default. That's the main reason I never went to myspace... or geocities.

Heck I get ticked off at ESPNs website autoplay of video as well same principle same problem.[/quote]

myspace never had and never will have music.

[spanish_rockette]

[quote="zeldagirl1234"]wowwww.... okay then. since you can't just deal with it then I will remove it can you guys talk about te rest of my site now??[/quote]

who are you saying that too?

[zeldagirl1234]

the people who disagree with my music. which should be terribly happy because I deleted it. so there.

[spanish_rockette]

the wedsite or the music?

[Psudo]

It's standard web etiquette: never play music by default. Always wait until they push a "play" button. You can see it if you go to the website for your favorite musician; they won't play music until you hit play. And they're musicians! You never know when some poor fool might be surfing with his volume up WAY too loud.

As for the rest of the site, I absolutely LOVE the idea! The whole narrative of the reader being invited to the Battle School and wandering around, getting to know people and places... it's a fantastic idea! My brain is full of cool stuff you could do with it. I wish it was my idea.

The style is pretty great. It reminds me of a good text adventure, except with eye-candy for flavor. I like how you play with typography and effects, things I have no talent for at all. What the heck is that blue, animated thing on the right of the Preparation page? It's completely cool.

Are you going for progressive storytelling, with a beginning and an end and a linear story in between? If so, you should put in next/previous links. It's fine to click the navigation links in order, but people can click them out of order, too, and that might mess up the story for them.

But maybe you don't want a set order. Are you going for a wander-around-the-fictional-world kind of style? I like that idea even more. But it needs choices of some kind. Like a choose-your-own-adventure choice (Click here to follow Ender, or here to follow Bonzo), or a map where you can pick what room to go to next. Maybe meet some more of the characters depending on which rooms you go to.

Overall, I'm completely excited about the project. Keep me up to date when you change things! I wanna see what it becomes. And if you ever get bored of it, I wanna steal the idea. =]

[Jayelle]

Honey, when you say:

Just go here,tell me what you think, comments,ideas,etc. it will be muchly appreciated.

and

can you guys talk about te rest of my site now??

and we do what you've asked, there's no need to get defensive.

[zeldagirl1234]

the wedsite or the music?

the music

[zeldagirl1234]

thanks psudo and yeah I know jayelle im sorry

[locke]

hey it's absolutely alright that you were defensive. You're clearly really passionate about Ender's Game and you put hard work and effort into making that site, damn right you're defensive. You LOVE your site you want everyone else to love it to and it is really hard to hear someone say they don't like something that you think is awesome.

One of the hardest parts of doing anything creative is learning to hear why someone else doesn't like the things you like.

And I'd say that there are a ton of adults who do creative things for a living who have the same issues with criticism, constructive or otherwise.