4 ms·

Video game sites back then were cool, yes. Now do video game fan sites. These have in so many ways been replaced over the years by generic ad-ridden wikis but

by Klonoar 10mo ago

Video game sites back then were cool, yes. Now do video game fan sites. These have in so many ways been replaced over the years by generic ad-ridden wikis but back in the day games often had crazy interesting fan sites for specific video games. So many unique designs and layouts were done for those niche communities and so many of those designers and developers went on to do really cool things in the future. What an era.

tsumnia 10mo ago
Here's one from my old AOL days. We originally just used email, AOL message boards, and a scheduled weekly chatroom, but once the Web took over it merged into Starmen.net [2] Since we're on a "reminsence about legacy Internet" trend right now, here's the opening to [1]: "What most people forget to remember is that it’s not just about the game. It’s about the people, it’s about the newsletters, it’s about the discussions, the trivia, the polls, the websites, and the meetings. Everything that was a part of the club was a part of the community, and there was so much involved that it was almost too much to handle. Who had the time to be a member of some 15 Online clubs? I can distinctly remember sending out invitations to join Moonside and receiving replies along the lines of “Sorry, I’m already in like 5 of these things.” Now, I wish there were more clubs and to any of you who have one: I will readily join. The only last great, recently active club I can think of now is the EarthBound Gang, arguably the greatest Online EarthBound Club ever. In early 1999, a lot of the clubs started dying out. I know that mine began to slow down, only to be restarted in the fall of 99’, and again in the summer of 00’. But as a whole, the EB clubs were never restarted, which is a shame, because some of them were downright fun." [1] https://www.angelfire.com/ga3/ebhistory/intro.html https://www.angelfire.com/ga3/ebhistory/intro.html [2] https://starmen.net/ https://starmen.net/
- psunavy03 10mo ago
  The problem is "fandoms" as a whole have now become such toxic hellscapes I'd rather just enjoy the game/movie/TV series myself and completely ignore what anyone else's opinion of it is. I don't need things that bring me joy to be ruined by the most obsessive weirdos in the world.
  - crims0n 10mo ago
    Sites back then had benevolent dictators that curated an experience for fans. I think in many ways it worked better than the democratized communities we have today.
    - roywiggins 10mo ago
      All fun and games until the one person running the site crashes out and rage quits, taking the site down with it.
      - bombcar 10mo ago
        The thing was you had so many sites that losing one or two was sad, but not hugely destructive.
    - Klonoar 10mo ago
      It wasn’t so much “benevolent dictator” as it was “you’re in my house, so quit being a dick”. Toxic fans certainly existed but this approach usually led to them splintering off to create their own thing that’d inevitably wither away. (You can perhaps substitute “wasn’t so much” for some form of “in addition to”)
  - andrepd 10mo ago
    Honestly that's just another thing that's down to algorithmic social media. Echo chambers + rewarding ragebait is an explosive combination.
    - tsumnia 10mo ago
      While I agree with current "Top-Level Internet" as I call it, the blurb is referring to the '99-'00s era when we were still very much disconnected. Those clubs had a forum on AOL and that was it. I think Discord is where the "New Internet" is forming, because that's where this generation of kids are hanging out. We were in the Nintendo chat rooms, and they're in the modern day equivalents. We just think they are on Twitch and Kick because that's where the grown ups are playing games, but remember there's a reason Roblox is popular. Kids don't want to hang out with grown ups.
ronsor 10mo ago
> generic ad-ridden wikis This is the fault of Wikia (now "Fandom") which jam-packs every wiki full of ads and auto-playing videos they'll helpfully reopen for you if you accidentally close them.
- bombcar 10mo ago
  You can fight back against Fandom by being willing to use https://miraheze.org https://miraheze.org
  - Tanoc 10mo ago
    Along with Breezewiki, which was specifically designed to combat Fandom/Wikia. An another note it's always struck me as extremely presumptuous that the company thinks it can just call itself "Fandom" like the word hasn't existed in generic form for nearly a century and a half before they ever did. The lack of willingness to fend off what should be unenforceable trademarks and copyrights is creating a snowball that's going to get too big to stop in the next decade.
amatecha 10mo ago
Right, there have been some really good ones, for example http://myth.bungie.org/ http://myth.bungie.org/ or https://halo.bungie.org/ https://halo.bungie.org/ , two that I frequented a lot back in the day!
- darknavi 10mo ago
  I love that HBO still carries on even if Halo is a limping franchise.
- Dachande663 10mo ago
  HBO was where I cut my teeth learning to write via fan fiction. Such a shame to see it languishing now.
  - amatecha 10mo ago
    Oh, on the other hand I'm actually totally surprised there was a new post on the homepage as recently as Dec 14th! Huge kudos to everyone still keeping the awesomeness alive.
mitthrowaway2 10mo ago
The Metroid database has always been my favourite! https://metroiddatabase.com/old_site/m1/ https://metroiddatabase.com/old_site/m1/ It's still running now with a new design, but they went through several different styles over the years, each of them clearly made with love and care.
sylens 10mo ago
Making a video game fan site was my gateway into tech. I’m sure I’m not alone in that
robrtsql 10mo ago
The generic, ad-ridden wikis are everywhere, unfortunately, because the terrible service they provide is free. However, there are also lots of passionate people who pay to host their own MediaWiki servers, and then communities that populate it with accurate information! I think they deserve special applause for providing a really cool service that we mostly take for granted. Some examples: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page (Pokemon) https://minecraft.wiki/ https://minecraft.wiki/ (Minecraft) https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/ https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/ (Old School Runescape) ..only after I started putting together the list, did I realize that a lot of them are hosted by the same individual or community (https://meta.runescape.wiki/w/Weird_Gloop https://meta.runescape.wiki/w/Weird_Gloop). Interesting!
- ewoodrich 10mo ago
  And for the Elder Scrolls games: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page
- morjom 10mo ago
  Weird Gloop does indeed run the wikis for some of the biggest games out there. I was very happy to see Warframe joining them back in 2024 https://weirdgloop.org/ https://weirdgloop.org/ Another one I still actively use that isnt a fandom mess (besides Warframe) is the wiki for Guild Wars, which is still hosted by the developer. https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page
nickjj 10mo ago
Yep, I remember https://www.esreality.com/ https://www.esreality.com/ from the Quake 3 era. It's really cool to see it's still up and looks about the same. Other Quake related sites that I remember: Still looks how I remember it: https://web.archive.org/web/20010125112300/http://www.quake3world.com/#978545246,88786 https://web.archive.org/web/20010125112300/http://www.quake3..., Such memories haha: https://web.archive.org/web/20050131033734/http://www.shacknews.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20050131033734/http://www.shackn... The archive page has broken and misplaced images from the site's old design mixed into the new one, the real site looked much better when it existed: https://web.archive.org/web/20030212044233/http://rocketarena.org/ https://web.archive.org/web/20030212044233/http://rocketaren...
- 7bit 10mo ago
  I think there was also planetquake. Loved these sites and frankly, they are beautifully designed. It shows the age, but apart from not being accessible and not being able to scale, the UI was really structured and easy to navigate. I miss these communities.
  - nickjj 10mo ago
    Yep, they all had their own look and feel. I still have around 20 PSDs of all of the different Quake clan / gaming ladder sites I put together back in the day. I think that's why these sites all looked unique. The design started with a blank image in Photoshop because you used to slice up the PSDs into images and stitch it together in code afterwards. Today you can easily design a site without ever touching an image editor since it can be all CSS rules.
friedtofu 10mo ago
I can think of at least one. gamefaqs.gamespot.com gamespot itself is definitely different than it used to be but the gamefaqs subdomain has remained nearly identical to how it was in the late 90s early 2000s
Anonyneko 10mo ago
The wiki format has indeed become ubiquitous for fan sites, but many fan wikis are fairly elaborate and ad-free (-ish, at least). Often the case for popular gacha games at least, e.g. https://bluearchive.wiki/ https://bluearchive.wiki/. The problem is that Fand*m makes finding results from the decent wikis unreasonably hard, I end up having to use extensions like https://getindie.wiki/ https://getindie.wiki/. Also, Discord all but killed the concept of a video game fan site...

by Klonoar 10mo ago

tsumnia 10mo ago

Here's one from my old AOL days. We originally just used email, AOL message boards, and a scheduled weekly chatroom, but once the Web took over it merged into Starmen.net [2] Since we're on a "reminsence about legacy Internet" trend right now, here's the opening to [1]: "What most people forget to remember is that it’s not just about the game. It’s about the people, it’s about the newsletters, it’s about the discussions, the trivia, the polls, the websites, and the meetings. Everything that was a part of the club was a part of the community, and there was so much involved that it was almost too much to handle. Who had the time to be a member of some 15 Online clubs? I can distinctly remember sending out invitations to join Moonside and receiving replies along the lines of “Sorry, I’m already in like 5 of these things.” Now, I wish there were more clubs and to any of you who have one: I will readily join. The only last great, recently active club I can think of now is the EarthBound Gang, arguably the greatest Online EarthBound Club ever. In early 1999, a lot of the clubs started dying out. I know that mine began to slow down, only to be restarted in the fall of 99’, and again in the summer of 00’. But as a whole, the EB clubs were never restarted, which is a shame, because some of them were downright fun." [1] https://www.angelfire.com/ga3/ebhistory/intro.html https://www.angelfire.com/ga3/ebhistory/intro.html [2] https://starmen.net/ https://starmen.net/

psunavy03 10mo ago
The problem is "fandoms" as a whole have now become such toxic hellscapes I'd rather just enjoy the game/movie/TV series myself and completely ignore what anyone else's opinion of it is. I don't need things that bring me joy to be ruined by the most obsessive weirdos in the world.
- crims0n 10mo ago
  Sites back then had benevolent dictators that curated an experience for fans. I think in many ways it worked better than the democratized communities we have today.
  - roywiggins 10mo ago
    All fun and games until the one person running the site crashes out and rage quits, taking the site down with it.
    - bombcar 10mo ago
      The thing was you had so many sites that losing one or two was sad, but not hugely destructive.
  - Klonoar 10mo ago
    It wasn’t so much “benevolent dictator” as it was “you’re in my house, so quit being a dick”. Toxic fans certainly existed but this approach usually led to them splintering off to create their own thing that’d inevitably wither away. (You can perhaps substitute “wasn’t so much” for some form of “in addition to”)
- andrepd 10mo ago
  Honestly that's just another thing that's down to algorithmic social media. Echo chambers + rewarding ragebait is an explosive combination.
  - tsumnia 10mo ago
    While I agree with current "Top-Level Internet" as I call it, the blurb is referring to the '99-'00s era when we were still very much disconnected. Those clubs had a forum on AOL and that was it. I think Discord is where the "New Internet" is forming, because that's where this generation of kids are hanging out. We were in the Nintendo chat rooms, and they're in the modern day equivalents. We just think they are on Twitch and Kick because that's where the grown ups are playing games, but remember there's a reason Roblox is popular. Kids don't want to hang out with grown ups.

ronsor 10mo ago

> generic ad-ridden wikis This is the fault of Wikia (now "Fandom") which jam-packs every wiki full of ads and auto-playing videos they'll helpfully reopen for you if you accidentally close them.

bombcar 10mo ago
You can fight back against Fandom by being willing to use https://miraheze.org https://miraheze.org
- Tanoc 10mo ago
  Along with Breezewiki, which was specifically designed to combat Fandom/Wikia. An another note it's always struck me as extremely presumptuous that the company thinks it can just call itself "Fandom" like the word hasn't existed in generic form for nearly a century and a half before they ever did. The lack of willingness to fend off what should be unenforceable trademarks and copyrights is creating a snowball that's going to get too big to stop in the next decade.

amatecha 10mo ago

Right, there have been some really good ones, for example http://myth.bungie.org/ http://myth.bungie.org/ or https://halo.bungie.org/ https://halo.bungie.org/ , two that I frequented a lot back in the day!

darknavi 10mo ago
I love that HBO still carries on even if Halo is a limping franchise.
Dachande663 10mo ago
HBO was where I cut my teeth learning to write via fan fiction. Such a shame to see it languishing now.
- amatecha 10mo ago
  Oh, on the other hand I'm actually totally surprised there was a new post on the homepage as recently as Dec 14th! Huge kudos to everyone still keeping the awesomeness alive.

mitthrowaway2 10mo ago

The Metroid database has always been my favourite! https://metroiddatabase.com/old_site/m1/ https://metroiddatabase.com/old_site/m1/ It's still running now with a new design, but they went through several different styles over the years, each of them clearly made with love and care.

sylens 10mo ago

Making a video game fan site was my gateway into tech. I’m sure I’m not alone in that

robrtsql 10mo ago

The generic, ad-ridden wikis are everywhere, unfortunately, because the terrible service they provide is free. However, there are also lots of passionate people who pay to host their own MediaWiki servers, and then communities that populate it with accurate information! I think they deserve special applause for providing a really cool service that we mostly take for granted. Some examples: https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page https://bulbapedia.bulbagarden.net/wiki/Main_Page (Pokemon) https://minecraft.wiki/ https://minecraft.wiki/ (Minecraft) https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/ https://oldschool.runescape.wiki/ (Old School Runescape) ..only after I started putting together the list, did I realize that a lot of them are hosted by the same individual or community (https://meta.runescape.wiki/w/Weird_Gloop https://meta.runescape.wiki/w/Weird_Gloop). Interesting!

ewoodrich 10mo ago
And for the Elder Scrolls games: https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page https://en.uesp.net/wiki/Main_Page
morjom 10mo ago
Weird Gloop does indeed run the wikis for some of the biggest games out there. I was very happy to see Warframe joining them back in 2024 https://weirdgloop.org/ https://weirdgloop.org/ Another one I still actively use that isnt a fandom mess (besides Warframe) is the wiki for Guild Wars, which is still hosted by the developer. https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page https://wiki.guildwars.com/wiki/Main_Page

nickjj 10mo ago

Yep, I remember https://www.esreality.com/ https://www.esreality.com/ from the Quake 3 era. It's really cool to see it's still up and looks about the same. Other Quake related sites that I remember: Still looks how I remember it: https://web.archive.org/web/20010125112300/http://www.quake3world.com/#978545246,88786 https://web.archive.org/web/20010125112300/http://www.quake3..., Such memories haha: https://web.archive.org/web/20050131033734/http://www.shacknews.com/ https://web.archive.org/web/20050131033734/http://www.shackn... The archive page has broken and misplaced images from the site's old design mixed into the new one, the real site looked much better when it existed: https://web.archive.org/web/20030212044233/http://rocketarena.org/ https://web.archive.org/web/20030212044233/http://rocketaren...

7bit 10mo ago
I think there was also planetquake. Loved these sites and frankly, they are beautifully designed. It shows the age, but apart from not being accessible and not being able to scale, the UI was really structured and easy to navigate. I miss these communities.
- nickjj 10mo ago
  Yep, they all had their own look and feel. I still have around 20 PSDs of all of the different Quake clan / gaming ladder sites I put together back in the day. I think that's why these sites all looked unique. The design started with a blank image in Photoshop because you used to slice up the PSDs into images and stitch it together in code afterwards. Today you can easily design a site without ever touching an image editor since it can be all CSS rules.

friedtofu 10mo ago

I can think of at least one. gamefaqs.gamespot.com gamespot itself is definitely different than it used to be but the gamefaqs subdomain has remained nearly identical to how it was in the late 90s early 2000s

Anonyneko 10mo ago

The wiki format has indeed become ubiquitous for fan sites, but many fan wikis are fairly elaborate and ad-free (-ish, at least). Often the case for popular gacha games at least, e.g. https://bluearchive.wiki/ https://bluearchive.wiki/. The problem is that Fand*m makes finding results from the decent wikis unreasonably hard, I end up having to use extensions like https://getindie.wiki/ https://getindie.wiki/. Also, Discord all but killed the concept of a video game fan site...