Room 34 Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Hey all... I am looking at ways of generating enough freelance business that I can go strictly freelance and still eat, pay the rent, and of course buy classic games! Some people have commented positively on my classic gaming site, Scott's Vintage Video Game Revival. It occurred to me, maybe I could sell my services to build sites like this for other collectors, too! I would do the initial site design, and I would set you up on a system whereby you can easily manage your own content, including writing articles, uploading photos, and of course managing a database of your collection, all through a web-based interface. I've got parts of this content management system (CMS) built already, and I've done custom jobs like it for past employers, so I'm sure that once I take a week or two to just sit down and finish it off, it'll be ready for use. So, my questions to all of you: Would you be interested in having a classic gaming website of your own, designed by me and easily managed using my CMS? ...and... How much might you be willing to pay for such a service? (There would be an initial design/set-up fee, which would depend on how much custom design you want, and then there'd be a small flat monthly fee for hosting.) Thanks! (I do other sites too... hopefully this is not coming off as blatant solicitation, but if you've got any other projects in mind, check out Room 34 Creative Services and contact me if you think I can help!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEMoz Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 Dunno. Maybe there would be, there are a lot of people interested in retro games and emulation. I'm doing my own, but mine sprang up out of a wish to do something creative with my computer, so I bought a book on HTML and the result of that is the beginning of my first ever website. I would imagine that having a template might be handy for people, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maibock Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 hey Paul, How's your site coming along? I've been checking it out periodically.. Still working on content? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nintendo Penguin Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 By "Market, if you mean will it get traffic, then the answer is Yes. But if you are wondering if it will make any money... I can't speak for AA, but VG has never yeilded a dime. Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tyranthraxus Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 I don't imagine there could be much of a market for such sites. But your sites design is quite awesome and worthy of being the format for one of the big sites. Digital Press could use an overhaul pitch them! Apart from the cool opening graphic I find their site to be very bland. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulEMoz Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 hey Paul, How's your site coming along? I've been checking it out periodically.. Still working on content? Ooh, thanks for checking it out! Yes, I'm working on content. I'm getting bits of reviews in at different times, so I'm formatting them as I get them. I'm hoping to have a few complete reviews up very soon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AtariDude Posted June 6, 2003 Share Posted June 6, 2003 There is certainly a market for webpage design if it is done professionally and according to your client's wishes. Classgaming is essentially a niche market and only of interest to a select group of people. I would think that you would do better to market yourself as a web page designer than as a classic game web page designer. However you will need to keep learning about the latest developments in web design and various pieces of software that are used in the field. Best of luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanic Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 I'd have to agree with everyone else that there probably isn't a market. I've had http://www.consoleculture.com for a while now and haven't really gotten much traffic and no sales.(it's a small pet project during my senior year of college, and thus gets worked on very infrequently). I also think that a lot of people who collect also know at leat a little html, or are willing to learn so again, slightly out of luck. Your design is good though, I like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy-sixer Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 I loved your site design! I just sent you a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Historian Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 My real job is as a web developer/designer w/ programming thrown in to boot. I too have a "classics" site that so far I've not promoted beyond my signature here and it gets very little traffic. Of course that is my fault for not getting the word out. I'd say that offering your skills as a web designer in general, rather than to a specific market will get you more work. That said the market is flooded with tons of "web designers" who know very little graphic design and HTML. Though you hcertainly have the graphic skills. Just be aware that it is a hard market to break in to and it will require a lot of "foot work" to get you off the ground. At first you may want to do a few websites for local Non-profits, free-o-charge to get a portfolio going. Unless you have one already. Then using the goodwill you acquired through them (and hopefully a few leads as well) start looking for paying customers. On a side note I wanted to ask about the cartridge pages you wrote for Scott. Are you using a combination of server side scripting and client side(javascript) to write the lists? Or is it straight javascript? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
future assassin Posted June 7, 2003 Share Posted June 7, 2003 I doubt that there is any market for classic gaming sites. Youre better off making flyers or talking directly to local small businesses. Since were talking about sites heres mine http://www.futureassassin.com/atari Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted June 7, 2003 Author Share Posted June 7, 2003 Thanks for the input everyone. I've actually been working professionally in web design/development for the past 7 years. I'm just sick of working for companies and I'm ready to go out on my own. Mainly at this point I'm just trying to find a few special niches to get started in for freelancing, and based on my past frustrations with my jobs -- that is, working on sites that are about stuff I don't give a crap about -- I'm trying to find a way to do sites for stuff I'm actually into, like video games and music, etc. Anyway... I have in the last 24 hours come up with a rather unique idea for a site that I think could be big in the game collecting community. But I need to keep the details under my hat for a few weeks while I work out the details and feasibility of the project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heavy-sixer Posted June 8, 2003 Share Posted June 8, 2003 Scott -- not only do you design great web sites but you are also a writer. You should consider submitting something to the online classic gaming/retro-electronica literary magazine I'm starting. I posted some stuff in the Atari Publications forum http://www.atariage.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=28135. If I can raise some money, I'll certainly keep you in mind for designing the site. Thanks again, Clentin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Room 34 Posted June 8, 2003 Author Share Posted June 8, 2003 Sounds cool... I definitely want to start doing more writing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ATARI TROLL Posted June 8, 2003 Share Posted June 8, 2003 Althought there is a market for web design, its a dying breed like the true graphic designer. With Computers and animation programs and html tutorials and free scripts out there, there isn't a need to pay someone to put your site together. It maybe great to hit up and older business as far as lack of computer expertise, but webpages can be put together as simple as cutting and pasting! Not to down the idea. It would have been a great business opprotunity say 6 years ago! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Historian Posted June 9, 2003 Share Posted June 9, 2003 Anyway... I have in the last 24 hours come up with a rather unique idea for a site that I think could be big in the game collecting community. But I need to keep the details under my hat for a few weeks while I work out the details and feasibility of the project. If it happens to be a database of a user's existing systems/games and their want lists presented in a way that would allow them to easily share that information.... Well lets just say, we should talk.. heh... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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