Have some of the usual members left Racketboy forums ?

[BogusMeatFactory]

I still have like 4+ levels in the works. I just got some sort of writers block (building block?) and felt like I couldn't make fun levels all of a sudden. Maybe it's just my mental exhaustion when I have a little video game time. After learning about the upcoming update though, I decided to wait for it before trying to jump back in. I definitely want to utilize the additions, so it's best to wait for them so I don't have to go back to tweak things and re-upload levels (which is very annoying).

Maybe it's good that I put Mario Maker on pause, I don't wanna burn it out. I really wanted to replay a couple retro games (which I haven't had the chance to post about in the games beaten thread) and I've been waiting for Yoshi's Woolly World for a while. But definitely expect to see me back in the Mario Maker thread soon.

I am with you on that. I have made a single level since mid october and have decided to wait until the update hits to start moving on. I am well into the 300s in stars though, as I check that regularly. Can't wait to to dig back in, in a couple weeks.



Anywho, back on topic. Let's be happy! Who loves retro games! WE DO! RAH RAH SIS BOOM BAH!

[fastbilly1]

I think the shift away from retro games discussions is expected. A lot of people have been priced out. Most hidden gems have been found. The retro gaming community as a whole is slowly shrinking as a result (along with other factors).

Sadly this is becoming the nature of smaller forums. Dedicated forums such as this, are a niche of a niche. Most of the newer generation stick to social media and super hubs: like Gamefaqs, Reddit, and Something Awful, which is why medium to small sites have issues staying afloat and/or keeping members. Why should I go to a smaller site with an established userbase where I am a nobody, when I can post on Tumblr or Facebook with my 10,000 followers? Now I know alot of you are thinking "I dont want to use facebook for that," well you are in good company, many of us feel the same way.

Really without the main page posting new articles, which are spread to various news feeds, which people often repost, the site goes dark. When the first GOG article went up the response I got the most often was "I thought you guys shut down." I fully admit that I slacked on articles over the last few years. I had some stuff in my personal life take over and I was kicked out of my secondary job and was really bitter about it for a while, so I just put the site on the backburner. So my lack of enthusiasm may very well be the cause for the current slump, but many of us are working on fixing that.

I am not going to tell anyone not to leave. If you feel that is the best thing for you to do, I hate to see you go. But the only way for the site to grow and get back to what it was, is for new content to start being produced. Believe it or not, there is a concentrated effort to do a major project that could bring alot of new light on to the site for the next few years. The core writing team is more enthusiastic than I have seen them in a long time.

[MrPopo]

Most of the newer generation stick to social media and super hubs: like Gamefaqs, Reddit, and Something Awful, which is why medium to small sites have issues staying afloat and/or keeping members.

Damn kids with their books of faces and their twitters.

[BogusMeatFactory]

@fast

I definitely understand that your real life takes priority and you should know that I don't think you should be the main person responsible for content on the site. Those who are interested n articles and want to see content can easily suggest articles to be written and if they even want, should go out and write those articles themselves.

Don't think you have what it takes to write an article. Come talk to the folks that do already and get input. I make a better editor than a writer and I love to give positive feedback and critique to help people improve in writing. Seriously, we don't have to sit idly by for things to waver into obscurity!

[marurun]

Writing a good article worth posting is a bit of work, but if you're enthusiastic about something, go to town! I'd say the biggest things you can do to make things easier and make your work better are:

1. Organize your thoughts (outline) before you start writing. That way your article will flow from one topic to the next.

2. Find someone whose writing skills you trust to edit your work and listen to their advice. It's good to get feedback from someone outside your own head. It also helps you make sure you spelled important words correctly and avoid grammatical head-scratchers.

3. Play the games you're writing about. Don't just work from memory. Do some of your playing on an emulator so you can capture relevant screen shots, or work with someone who can grab screen captures for you.

[Luke]

The fact that this surprises you speaks volumes about you.

Sticks and stones. The mods here do this type of shit all the time where they can say offensive things, but if a member does...OHHHHHHHHHH! BAN! Even if provoked. The mods run people away and continue to elephant walk. The mod fraternity sucks gaping gash, as what have they provided in the past few years? Making people think "fuck these guys" and leave. I'm a card carrying member.

But this is good, as we finally have some discussion going on other than "Beat all the Boarderlands DLC!". It's boring without a continuous conversation of shit that know one cares about.

Thin skin has killed this forum. A retro forum where no one seem to play retro games has killed this forum. Zero sense of unity has killed this forum.

When Dish and I went at it, we went at it, and it created polarizing nests of arguments that almost always created a buzz that ended in a solid common ground. We argued, but in light. Now it's "I beat a PS4 game", and "Life sucks".

TLDR/ The fun has been sucked out of the forum.

[Key-Glyph]

I want to add to the positivity and say that I love this place. I feel like you guys are all a part of my graduating class; we all congregate at lunch time in the cafeteria, and although we often keep to the same tables out of habit, we see each other's faces and enjoy each other's presence and hang out at the pizza place after school every now and again. (I am now resisting the urge to sort us all into Hogwarts houses.)

The thing that's unfortunate about forum contact in comparison to a cafeteria is that we can't be aware of the indirect effects we have on each other. I've mentioned it before, but some posts here have made me laugh so hard, and I don't always respond and say "Hahahahahahaha." If we were in the same physical space, you'd hear me laugh, or I'd wave from a distance, or we'd share one of those "wassup" nods as we passed in the hallway. So, sadly, a lot more of you add cheer to my days than probably realize it. This probably contributes to the feeling of isolation among members when people aren't logging in every second to say "Hahahahahahaha."

As I read people's allusions to "mods chasing people off" and "no real discussions happening anymore," though, I feel confused. This is not my experience here, yet it keeps getting mentioned as a serious issue by some people. Am I completely naïve to some dark undercurrent, or is there a certain amount of hyperbole going on? I don't really want to poke at any festering wounds, but I really am curious.

On my end of things, my life has been crazy busy. I am taking two graduate courses, working two jobs, suffer from chronic illness, contribute to two podcasts, and have been preparing for a sudden move this past month.

After all of this stuff sorts itself out I will definitely be more active again. Among other things I will soon have a dedicated Retro Room and cannot wait to get it set up. It has wood paneling and everything! I have a swag lamp from my childhood to hang up in there, and you know you folks will be seeing some pictures of that gloriousness. You won't have a choice.

[MrPopo]

I like that I can come here and talk about how I just finished Ninja Gaiden 2 and people both expect the NES version and can appreciate the achievement. But at the same time we can talk about the latest games coming out. We're all gamers who started when we were young, maybe dipped further into the past as we learned more of the history (or that starting young was the early generations) but we still keep up with new games that come out (except Bone).

As I read people's allusions to "mods chasing people off" and "no real discussions happening anymore," though, I feel confused. This is not my experience here, yet it keeps getting mentioned as a serious issue by some people. Am I completely naïve to some dark undercurrent, or is there a certain amount of hyperbole going on? I don't really want to poke at any festering wounds, but I really am curious.

If you look in the dictionary you'll see that the word "internet" is actually a synonym for "hyperbole".

[Key-Glyph]

If you look in the dictionary you'll see that the word "internet" is actually a synonym for "hyperbole".

I think you're exaggera--

Oh. OH.

*slow clap*

[Ack]

Well, maybe not a complete exaggeration.

You see, I'm sitting at my computer right now thinking of ways to kill all of you and then use your bodies to make into hideous trophies or furniture, or possibly even clothing. Past members who have vanished over the years have become all manner of household objects and the like. BurningDoom? I'm actually sipping a spot of tea out of his skull cap right now. Nickfil? His femurs make for excellent back legs on the chair I am sitting in. Anybody remember DoctorFugue? I'm wearing boots made of his leathered hide. Hell, I'm wearing Inazuma's face for underwear right now. But I'm not intentionally driving all of you away. I need you. I need you close. Why?

Because I need to feel loved.

That and because the warmth of your bodies keep me feeling fine on these cold autumn evenings. Sure, things get a little sticky when I lay next to yet another fallen member of our dear community while he flops about gasping and bleeding all over the place from the gaping wound I just left in his throat(like a PEZ dispenser! Haha, that gets me every time). But it really does help me get through the night. Why just the other day I strung up nateup2 by his ankles and told him how pleased I was that he was a member here before I slit and trussed him up like a deer. His skin is mighty comfy, and his meat tasted a bit like cantaloupe. That's good. I like cantaloupe. No, what we need are new members. We need to keep cycling through and bringing in fresh meat for the Racketboy table. We all deserve to keep the retro conversation going. And I need new socks. Lordofduct is starting to feel a little funky between my toes.

Don't worry, folks. The site is far from dead. We have lots more in store for you. Lots, lots more. So much, sometimes it even scares me.

Welp, to show my sincerity, here's a photo of me I took just this morning. I took it just for you. Can't you see how much I care?