Polygon.com is live. What do you guys think?

I hope the new Giant Bomb design isn't like this or even the new IGN design.

If I want to read a review I want to actually read it. I dont want gratuitously massive images breaking up the article for no reason. If I want to see pictures or video of a game Ill go look for them I dont need them in between every paragraph.

Also I am really put off by their general attitude. From the way they talk they act like they're fucking curing cancer. You're making a website about videogames that's it, get off your high horse.

Only negative thing I have to say about Polygon so far is their forum system (on mobile). Double posted cause there was no indication my first one went through. Also, when I tried to hit reply it didn't bring me to the comment box. Had to scroll ALLLLLL the way down to get to it. There's lots of bombers invading their forums right now. I'm WMWA over there =)

I honestly liked the design better on the verge. I like how they blended the images in there. These horizontal images are too big and completely take away from the review.

Gamebomb.ru takes note, updates incoming.

http://gamebomb.ru/blogs/5176/viewPost

I think the RSS feed for The Besties broke both Winamp and Foobar2000 for me earlier today. I had to go into the %appdata% and narrow down the offending file causing the crash, and it ended up being the RSS feed xml file. And when going back and re-adding my feeds, the Besties feed was the only one that wouldn't accept as a valid feed. That was in Winamp. For Foobar, I just had to launch in safe mode and reset the settings to fix the crash.

@Brother_PipPop said:

Gamebomb.ru takes note, updates incoming.

http://gamebomb.ru/blogs/5176/viewPost

Still the superior site, I see. All is well in the world.

http://www.polygon.com/2012/10/24/3541950/thq-vice-president-of-corporate-communications-angela-emery-departs

THQ

It's going to seem like bandwagoning at this point, but I too honestly really dislike the massive images everywhere. It reminds me of a magazine spread (not saying that that's a bad thing, but I still don't like it). I'm not a huge fan of how the site is laid out either, but that is probably partially due to the fact that I've spent so much time in Giant Bomb that I am now accustomed to this.

It's a navigation clusterf*ck with glaring white spaces bordered by garish Hot pink, overly long pages and superfluous giant images. Looks like it's purely stories and reviews, I had a hard time finding much depth to the site. I don't need another news site and I don't care about their opinions on games.

I could see this format possibly working ok on an ipad or something that lends itself to magazine-esque formats, but I don't have an ipad so I don't personally care.

And what the heck is the reason with having a ten point scale, but allow half points? Why not just have a twenty point scale then?

I personally don't care one bit for the really pretentious and very self-serious tone I read in their pieces either. No thanks.

I doubt I will go back. It isn't just not as good as giantbomb, it's not even as useful as most of the big name sites today. I wish them the best, I just don't think I'm their target audience.

also GEICO sponsored forums? uhhhhhh.... ok.

@Deusx said:

@Coafi said:

@Deusx: Where did you get the idea I was using IE/ Opera? I'm using Chrome. It's not terrible, it's trendy, it has some neat ideas, but it's not my style. Maybe it's all the white that's melting my retinas and I can't see the design clearly.

Like I said, "I know I'm being a dick" and I apologize. Just saying, design isn't art. It's not subjective, it isn't asking what your "style" is. It's bad or good and that's it.

You realize saying something is good or bad is about as subjective as it gets.

It feels like a website designed by and for ipads. I do not like it. Maybe if I used the browser zoom to cut it down 40% it'd look better? Not worth the effort though.

At least they're not being hypocrites with the review score.

The main page is a clusterfuck, and articles themselves are really displeasing to look at. I'm not even sure what it is about it that's bothering me, it's almost like it's too "in your face" or something. To the point that even if there were some decent articles to be read, I wouldn't bother. I could see maybe if I was on a tablet or something, but on my laptop I just can't stomach the site for more than a few minutes.

not a fan of the "bottomless web page" thing. Overall too much .js garbage strewn around. It's still better than the gamespot mess though.

I really like it.

@Maginnovision said:

It feels like a website designed by and for ipads. I do not like it. Maybe if I used the browser zoom to cut it down 40% it'd look better? Not worth the effort though.

Are you saying ipads have become self-aware and are now creating websites for themselves?

I hate the layout, and their documentaries are pretty pretentious to tell you the truth. I like the group of people there for the most part, and wish their content would just speak for itself rather than feeling the need to do the documentary.

I tend to like Dave-philosophy in that, I like scrolling rather than a wide layout. All of this widescreen crap is killing me.

Looks funky. I don't like the way the news articles are positioned above the header and there is too much going on on the homepage.

Just checked out the mobile site and it feels way more intuitive than it would be on a computer with a mouse for that much content on one page.

@WickedCobra03 said:

I hate the layout, and their documentaries are pretty pretentious to tell you the truth. I like the group of people there for the most part, and wish their content would just speak for itself rather than feeling the need to do the documentary.

I tend to like Dave-philosophy in that, I like scrolling rather than a wide layout. All of this widescreen crap is killing me.

I feel the same way about their pretentiousness. I like some of the guys on the site, but it just feels like they really convinced themselves that they are A grade actors or something and it's coming off in everything they produce. All of their twitter account pictures are even color coded to match their site... I don't know, maybe it's just me.

@Subjugation said:

It's going to seem like bandwagoning at this point, but I too honestly really dislike the massive images everywhere. It reminds me of a magazine spread (not saying that that's a bad thing, but I still don't like it). I'm not a huge fan of how the site is laid out either, but that is probably partially due to the fact that I've spent so much time in Giant Bomb that I am now accustomed to this.

That's what they were going for, though. They want to make it look like a magazine on the internet. Personally, I like the layout.

I like the layout but hate the pink gradient and overlay on every single image.

The design philosphy I think is sound but its actual implementation is way too severe. My biggest problem with the home page however is how the infinite scrolling is utilized. You keep scrolling and you get different features as you keep going instead of different page categories all scrolling down infinitely to give you just news on that page for example. I feel like the former is just throwing everything into one giant list where there's no indication that one feature will be there or another making it seem more like a chore than a smooth "river" of content.

This is why I feel that little pop-down ribbon is necessary to navigate the site and I rather like it. Ironically enough though, they paginate the reviews archive but leave the front page to go on forever. They've got some great ideas but without long-term user feedback the site's still in its infancy. Certainly I don't think that's unreasonable and I look forward to what the site will become in the future. Also I think people are reading way too much into the little details clearly showing they just want to take shots at the website.

I thought the "about reviews" section was frankly some of the best I've read, accounting for almost everything codified originally by Kasavin and co. back in the day but updating it with initiatives like the "bump" which I agree is a much needed refresh of quantifying games over time. It's such a bummer that at this point Arthur is still by far the predominant reviews editor on the site. I know other people don't like him, I don't have an opinion, but I was looking forward to a greater variety considering they've employed like 568 editors by now.

Way too much scrolling to find the content on the main page or to get through the start of the articles themselves. I'll probably throw it in an rss feed like I do with RPS since that site also involves way too much scrolling and clicking before I find the articles I actually wish to read.

I just went on the site on a tablet and it is the best thing ever. There is still a lot of scrolling to do on the home page though.

I just went on the site on my computer and it is the biggest pile of shit of a layout.

I like it a lot, pretty good content too. That massive article about the middle eastern dev scene was great.

Yeah the giant pictures thing is still pretty stupid.

But I guess we have to get used to it because our next redesign is going to be taking cues from them.

People haven't actually said anything useful. Most of the hate stemms from "It's not Giantbomb" and they aren't saying anything worthwhile. The site design is well done, if you don't like it you need to give specifics. The issue I have is the never ending scrolling system. Various catagories, articles and videos pop-up. I'd like a daily timeline and easily accessible categories of content.

@Jazzycola said:

@Maginnovision said:

It feels like a website designed by and for ipads. I do not like it. Maybe if I used the browser zoom to cut it down 40% it'd look better? Not worth the effort though.

Are you saying ipads have become self-aware and are now creating websites for themselves?

Haven't they always? I thought that's why people kept buying them.

Eh.

I didn't like The Verge's design, and I still don't like it.

Content is fine.

@JasonR86 said:

I like the mobile version of the site. I don't really like it on my laptop though. The homepage sort of looks like a clusterfuck of everything all at once. It just looks like there's stuff everywhere. I'll probably get the hang of it eventually though.

I just checked out this site on my phone after reading your post, and I have to agree. It's one of the best best looking mobile sites I've used (using Chrome for Android on Galaxy SIII). The desktop home page is an absolute mess.

They pressed reset.

The site would look just great if not for their overuse of gigantic images.

I don't at all understand the site layout. If I wanted to find a specific article, or even a specific category of article, I wouldn't even know where to begin except to scroll down forever. Don't mind the aesthetic otherwise, apart from the gigantic images.

@Encephalon said:

I don't at all understand the site layout. If I wanted to find a specific article, or even a specific category of article, I wouldn't even know where to begin except to scroll down forever. Don't mind the aesthetic otherwise, apart from the gigantic images.

Logo dropdown menu or the big search button.

Given, I can't name another site where the entire navigation is hidden behind the main logo of a site in a drop down menu. That being said... doesn't matter because everything you need from the site is right there on the homepage and continues to expand as long as you keep scrolling.

I like it. I'll agree that the pictures on the articles and reviews are quite large. I love big pictures but those are pretty freakin huge. I guess they wanted it to literally fill your screen which it does on my laptop.

I'll gladly go to this site right behind Giantbomb. Much better than my occasional visit to IGN where you scroll through a bunch of garbage articles to find anything you want to read.

@handlas: Oh shit! That logo is a dropdown menu! That function was not apparent to me at all, which either speaks to the opacity of the site's design, my idiocy or some combination.

@Encephalon: Eh, it's just a newish concept as @handlas points out, so I don't think it's your stupidity. I didn't notice at first either until I clicked it thinking it'd take me to the home page.

I still like it after using it some. Not totally sold on the home page scroll forever thing, but I find reading the articles just fucking delightful. I want the skills of the guys who put it together because, even if you don't like how it functions, it is slick.

I think I'm in the minority in kind of enjoying the giant images. I mean, it's vidja games. I wanna look at them! I think people are kind of overstating the issue of scrolling past them. Yeah, it's kinda annoying, but let's not make like it's overtly strenuous or anything.

I guess the dealbreaker for me is that I just don't know who these dudes are, and am not particularly moved to put forth the effort necessary to find out. Considering I come to GB for entertainment rather than actual criticism--and generally have little interest in reading about video games--a site built around written game-based content is kind of a hard sell. Then again, another video game entertainment site in the vein of GB isn't really what I'm looking for either.

Hope Polygon finds its audience, though. It is indeed a slick website.

I like the design, but i don't think it's super functional. Does look pretty, though.

Seems like bits and pieces of it are taken from Giant Bomb (which might have taken it from other sites, I dont know).. seems like they try to pack everything into one page. The reviews are oddly broken up with HUGE images and then they have images with a part of the review text in the picture.. its a little jarring. I dunno, I guess its ok.. but I wont be visiting it often.

@PillClinton said:

They pressed reset.

They should press "off."

They have some really interesting feature articles. Their design is a little off-putting at times though.

W@Kerned said:

@PillClinton said:

They pressed reset.

They should press "off."

You guy's are vicious and nasty for no good reason. I checked the thread that was made here when the Penny Arcade Report (The PA Report) was launched. People said nasty and horrible things just like what is being said here! Journalism isn't an us vs. them commodity. More quality content means we have better coverage on the medium we love. C'mon guys.

@GiveUpNed: You are making a lot of assumptions about my comment. I don't see it as "us vs. them" at all. I don't like the way their site looks or functions, I don't like a lot of the previous work done by some of their editorial staff, and some of them have very shitty attitudes about their roles as "journalists." My snark regarding Polygon is specifically because of Polygon, not because of some imagined rivalry. I'm sure their site will do just fine with or without me as a reader.

@GiveUpNed said:

People haven't actually said anything useful. Most of the hate stemms from "It's not Giantbomb" and they aren't saying anything worthwhile. The site design is well done, if you don't like it you need to give specifics. The issue I have is the never ending scrolling system. Various catagories, articles and videos pop-up. I'd like a daily timeline and easily accessible categories of content.

Actually, people are giving a lot of valid criticisms, such as the images being far too large and it being unintuitive to navigate. The navigation is somewhat easier once you understand it, but I can see them practically needing a tutorial to explain it for a large majority of casual news-seeking gamers. The faux-magazine style would have worked well for a magazine ('natch), but feels obtrusive towards reading the site on desktop or laptop computers. The aesthetic itself is something that would make a designer drool, but you can't force people to enjoy something because "It's Art!" People don't all share the same values.

Speaking of which, a lot of people are getting really defensive of the site, especially other website designers who claim that it's a masterpiece. I used to work in the music business, and I can tell you how beautiful and intricate freeform jazz is, but that doesn't mean that the uninitiated are necessarily going to enjoy it. In fact, most of them are going to be unable to enjoy it, because they don't know the conventions and base pop theory that is being re-conceptualized to form this seemingly pretentious music. This appears to be a website like jazz, designed for other artists but not for the users.

Oh, and people need to shut up about the mouse scroll wheels. I use that thing all the time on websites, but usually I don't have to spin the damn thing to pass an entire screens worth of images to get back to what I was reading. I imagine others are having a similar frustration.

The articles and reviews themselves are fine, but not quite the revolution it was hyped to be. I can see the site itself doing fine, but it's going to have some growing pains.

Never heard of it before today but after a few minutes poking around I'm not a fan. I don't like reading giant walls of texts on websites and that's all that site seemed to be. Maybe GB has spoiled me, but when you combine reading on a computer being a pain to do beyond a few paragraphs here and there and my personal ability to absorb and enjoy that same content when in video form much better makes that site not for me. I tried hunting around but their lack of a way to just see their video content exclusively makes hunting for that content on the site not worth it.

I can see how some would like it, but reading opinion articles about various topics does not interest me in the least bit. I come to gaming websites to see games and use that as a bases to buy or keep an eye on future releases.

@GiveUpNed said:

W@Kerned said:

@PillClinton said:

They pressed reset.

They should press "off."

You guy's are vicious and nasty for no good reason. I checked the thread that was made here when the Penny Arcade Report (The PA Report) was launched. People said nasty and horrible things just like what is being said here! Journalism isn't an us vs. them commodity. More quality content means we have better coverage on the medium we love. C'mon guys.

Dunno if you were including me in that, but I was just making a dumb joke about that dumb promo video they made. I don't really have a problem with Polygon otherwise.

I listened to there 1st podcast and they complained about the 'graphs' and 'boring turn based strategy' of XCOM. They then shit on the PC as a platform.. First impressions are pretty negative but I'll stick around for a while to see if it improves.

I perceive e the layout as pretty pretentious as well.

I'm interested in their content, but I don't know how they expect people to access it with such a crappy front page. Way too much going on, and a totally awful use of space. It's just an enormous list of stuff you could look at without any clear definition, and just way too much stuff not divided up in a way that makes sense.