What you think about a top row with "editor picks" games and art, and badges to users

[fbgbdk4]

Hi,

This discussion came up in the “Pro forum” thread, but it got lost in the main subject of that thread, so I’m compiling it here and putting a poll (everybody loves polls):

@antenna tree

Throughout all this discussion I’m trying to figure out how to make our forum more appealing to the more advanced users that are actually making top games with Unity. Right now, the people that are actually making great games with Unity are not here on this forum and that’s really unfortunate. How to get them back is what I’m thinking about right now. I want to figure out a way to raise the bar of discourse here so that it’s interesting for people of all skill levels. Right now it’s the LCD that drives it and it frustrates me quite a bit.

One forum that brings on the seriously talented guys is ZBrush Central… maybe we have to promote the good stuff that is happening here more to bring back the more talented users. I’ve been thinking about that “Top Row” element for this forum to promote great work in Unity… what do people think about that?

@antenna tree

Who said a Unity Top Row would purely be about eye candy? We could feature anything that is cool… whatever… Playmaker is cool, Top Row… some clever networking API, Top Row… awesome shader solution for forcefields on mobile that was arrived at 3 pages deep, Top Row… click on the link to read the thread and find out more about it.

And it could be per section (where it made sense). Most of it would probably be games and Asset Store stuff, but it could be more open than that.

@Swearsoft

Top row is awesome.

I’m not sure this will affect the issue we are talking about and i agree with n0mad that in the end the people who are serious issues, go about their business and find a solution anyway, but maybe there is a way to somehow decrease noise. Some sort of rating system maybe, there must be a way.

@n0mad

Actually, in my humble opinion, appealing top talents is pretty simple : promote top stuff, yep.

Each category would need a different type of promotion, though, to keep it clean :

• Graphical : Assets / Screenshot of the week, would be displayed on top row, like you suggested above.
• Code : Technical topic / Most interesting technical discussion of the week. This would encourage people to dig into deeper, higher game logics. It could be displayed under Assets of the week, in successive block lines, containing title and the first few words. You could also put such a row in each subforum.
• Helper : The Helper of the week. People with a high helping activity would be recognizable by some icon under their avatar (just like most forums do).

@ZJP

Indeed, a “Top Row” would be great.
Some project like “Space” deserve this.

@antenna tree

Exactly, I want to see the “Oliver Spike” WIPs flourish… atm they get drowned out by the “Slender: The Copying” threads. I want to highlight stuff like “Oliver Spike” with Top Row status so that our community has something to shoot for in a way and knows what is actually possible.

There was also people recommending badges for the users.

What do you think? Would you like top row for editor picks in art/games/code? Any sort of badges for users?

To know what is a top row, look at these forums:
http://www.cghub.com/
http://www.zbrushcentral.com/forum.php

ps: this subject is not “elitist”, as some said in the other thread. Actually, it is in the first place to help beginners and everybody to learn with each other.

[superpig]

Changed my mind but can’t change my vote: subtract one from “neither” and add it to “badges but not top row.”

[fbgbdk4]

@superpig

Changed my mind but can’t change my vote: subtract one from “neither” and add it to “badges but not top row.”

That’s ok, sometimes this happen.