Homebrew Heroes - A Special Collectors Edition Magazine

Started by TL, May 11, 2013, 11:20:13 AM

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Greyfox

Unfortunately the systems you mentioned above did not make the cut to the final magazine, I would of loved to included them, but we simply didn't have anyone to reviews homebrew games for them :)

TL

Quote from: "cdoty"
Quote from: "The Laird"Inside you will find the top 10 homebrew games for near enough every retro console...

Did Frog Feast make the list of any console?  :42:

It's there, under the Sega Genesis/Mega Drive category!!  :16:

TrekMD

Very cool and the mention on Retro Gamer is quite the endorsement!

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Rogue Trooper

Quote from: "The Laird"We now have a Facebook page!!!!!

https://www.facebook.com/HomebrewHeroes

And we also got a very nice mention in this month's Retro Gamer magazine:



:-) Probably one of the most factual pieces i'll have seen in an issue of RG for a while.

Greyfox


Rogue Trooper

Quote from: "Greyfox":24: very good....very funny......

And sadly true.This is why i beg, i plead for you guys to do a print run of your magazine.To have a publications in my hands i can read, enjoy and not be going through thinking..what??? when i read an article (NES was'nt huge over here, i know what Mode 7 is, ditto for hardware abilities of both MCD+Lynx, C64 Star Wars by Domark was not a good conversion, C64 not geared up for wireframe etc).

I need my faith restored in magazines.

zapiy

www.homebrewheroes.co.uk is now live.. Nice little splash page for you initially with a sales page once the magazine is finished.

Own: Jaguar, Lynx, Dreamcast, Saturn, MegaDrive, MegaCD, 32X, GameGear, PS3, PS, PSP, Wii, GameCube, N64, DS, GBA, GBC, GBP, GB,  Xbox, 3DO, CDi,  WonderSwan, WonderSwan Colour NGPC

TrekMD


Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Greyfox

oohh very nice mate..will try and get something done for it.

Rogue Trooper

Mentioned this on chatbox the other night and got shot right down for saying it, but i do, personally find the cover a little too cluttered for my personal liking.Just feel there's too much competiting for attention, compared to the lush layout on pages within.

Now it was pointed out that it was too late, cover was done, i had a chance to have my say and i'd already posted in this thread and said nothing about cover, but.....

The 1st time i saw cover in full detail was clicking on link Laird put up in chatbox, the pages i commented on originally in this thread were from within the mag and the RG piece above my post? Guys, i'm usin I.E on 360, mentioned this time and time again, it has 1 degree of zoom and thats it, i cannot view lot of the mag scans put up on here using it, so i could'nt comment earlier as it was just a mess of pixels to my eyes.

I know my comments are far from popular, but as a plan to buy if it gets physical release, person i will give positive and negitive feedback, in a constructive way on this or any future publications you guys put your hands too, as i care about them.It's not to be taken as me having a dig at anyone, let alone the sheer amount of hardwaork that's gone into it.

It's just 1 persons view that as it stands the background image is obscured by the text and mini-screenshot.I did'nt quite expect the reactions i got when i mentioned it in the chatbox, but i'm not going to shy away from being honest on that or anything else.That way hopefully people will realise when i say i love something, i really do love it (not just blowing smoke..) and when i find things are'nt to my taste, they really are'nt and here's why, rather than just:Well that looks shit/awful etc.

If i'm going to say something looks poor or off, i'll at least explain why, folks might not agree (and it'd be hellva dull if we all thought the same), rather than just say that looks shit and leave people wondering why i think it looks shit.

Anyways narky rant over, i honestly do hope somehow this gets a physical print run, as i'd be up for buying good few copies as what i've seen of the content (never judge a book by it's cover) means i know it'll be right up my street.

Just felt i had to make feelings clear on how earlier feedback 'went down' on here, as 'danger' of message coming off similar to how RG/Gamestm will often respond to feedback in their 'Issue.....threads', i.e ask for views, then get hyper defensive when people say, loved content, not keen on cover.

TrekMD

I wasn't on the chat, so I don't know what exactly went down.  In any case, constructive feedback should always be welcome.  That means that we will sometimes hear stuff that we don't like to hear.  There has to be the understanding, however, that it is not possible to please 100% of people whenever any project is being done.  Even those of us working on this drove GF a bit crazy at times as we reviewed stuff and saw things that needed to be changed.  At this stage in the game, though, the only changes being made are just corrections (and I believe those are done as well).

Hopefully RT, despite the fact that you don't like the cover, you'll enjoy reading the magazine once it is out. 

Going to the final frontier, gaming...


Rogue Trooper

Quote from: "TrekMD"I wasn't on the chat, so I don't know what exactly went down.  In any case, constructive feedback should always be welcome.  That means that we will sometimes hear stuff that we don't like to hear.  There has to be the understanding, however, that it is not possible to please 100% of people whenever any project is being done.  Even those of us working on this drove GF a bit crazy at times as we reviewed stuff and saw things that needed to be changed.  At this stage in the game, though, the only changes being made are just corrections (and I believe those are done as well).

Hopefully RT, despite the fact that you don't like the cover, you'll enjoy reading the magazine once it is out.

My view is a (very) selfish one:Simply put, i want the magazine to go down a storm, to have more than enough pre-orders coming in to justify a physical print run, i want people to sit up and take notice of it and to realise that there are people out there who are willing to pool resources and put in bloody hard graft and just deliver something special.

The fact it's a 1-off magazine does'nt matter, the creative pool of talent that's gone into making the magazine i'm sure will have future projects in mind and would i hope be motivated by the response to this to think said future projects would be worthy of doing.

I'm also a realist i know so many people today won't read a review, just skip to the bottom of a page look straight at the score, they won't pick up a game off a shelf they've never heard of to read the blurb on the back as the cover art looks awful, they won't pick a magazine off the shelf to have a flick through because they don't like the cover (Gamestm have said the Okami cover was the worst selling issue ever, Quantum Redshift developers said game fared poorly at retail because MS messed up the cover art).

I'm not a graphics designer, for my sins i've 3 years of C.A.D to my name from previous employment/profession, i like sleek, clinical design, 'purity' of image, hence i still love wire frame 3D, just something too it, so my opinion is bound to be biased.I gues i have minor? OCD, i hate clutter, but i stand by my point, i do feel there's too much going on with the cover, everything seems to be fighting for space, background image is lost, drowned under the rest of the information.

However i'm not so ignorant as to not realise the nightmare facing a designer or team:How do you design a cover that 'appeases' the majority, yet proudly proclaims what it has to offer? (sadly i don't have the answers, just a personal view, which i hoped could be taken onboard and in hindsight used for future projects.Did'nt quite expect the childish responses from an adult forum, but there it is).


If i did'nt give a rats ass about the magazine, i'd quite happily of sunk into your bog standard forum poster these days, lok anywhere, you'll see it: 'That looks (or looked) shit'.That's all, no reasoning why or what person would like to see improved in future or feels could have been done different, just that it's shit.well, way to go, welcome to the internets golden age...not.

See here's my beef with publications in general today:All glossy, claiming to be packed with features etc, you get inside, lot of text, but no-ones saying anything, facts are poorly researched and then we are told, who cares? YOU only make up a tiny % of the readership, your not our target market, the USA loves us, it's like something out of Robocop where ED209 is being talked about, they had contracts in place..deals lined up for years of work...who cares if it works or not?.

Well i care-A publication like Homebrew Heroes even as a 1-off could very well be the publication that i've been looking for these past few years, written and designed by people who know their stuff and then some, who want to inform and entertain the reader, who can provide insights into formats likes of myself thought we knew inside out.

I'm sick and bloody tired of having the established press crow on about being best selling magazines (yet no figures), about how they are the source of all things Retro, yet fill page after page with modern games so loosely tied in with the originals, just because they have a sales target to reach.Sorry professional publications you just are'nt delivering, hence likes of myself cancelling subs, taking to the net to get our 'kicks' and wanting something like Homebrew Heroes' so badly to fill that void, so yes, i'm going to be vocal about it, i want it to make people from all walks of life sit up and realise things don't have to be the way they currently are, there is another way.

Greyfox

As head designer, I missed what went on in the chat box myself, so I don't know what was said and who said it, but to give you a break down on the cover, the background was an image to be represented in a family manner rather than an industry view, computing and creativity on a computer in which all if not most of these homebrew games are made, which I'm sure you get and when shown to the team, all agreed it was a perfect choice for this type of product,  which was extremely important that it kept the old school computer magazine style and have nothing modern about it, I was gonna add worn scratches and paper tears, but left it clean, I understand your point about the amount of stuff going on, again this was the images used, so it's a case of some will like it, others will hate it, and please at no time feel you stepping on people's toes with your pointers, if they are constructive, then they are useful :21:. Another element that doesn't belong, but I like it, is the commando graphic, standing on the box, I know he's not Homebrew but looks great standing there with his cigarette none the less. We also understand that a cover for a product can influence people's perception of a publicised product with either interest or bypass, but I actually think the image I used was the right train of thought regarding this subject, this is not to be confused with what Retro Gamer Magazine does, this is directly about the systems, the games, and the experience and reference and knowledge to people which have either played or never played on these system or games, I for one learned an incredible amount of info on the machine I never had, very interesting stuff, but more truthful because of the reviewers real love for the games and systems shines through, there is no forced reviews or articles, or where you know the person doesn't know what they are talking about or fobbing readers off with dribble. We wanted this to really good and I believe as a designer and a reader, I'd be bringing this straight to the till straight away, and I also think the asking price is actually to little tbh, for what inside is timeless . Plus my Demo Scene and 8-bit gallery articles are the dogs ballocks! Lol

So I hope I've quilled or maybe melt the ice a little , now you know what the ideas behind it where, or you may hate none the less and I appreciated your feedback and respect your honesty on it all, and out of curiosity , what would you'd of liked to see as the front cover?, who knows, you could end up getting a special edition version of it...lol

All the best

Grey

Rogue Trooper

Before i go any further, want to start by thanking both Trek+Grey for taking time to 'listen' and respond.

Right, i actually have no problems with the background image, i actually bloody like it!, i just wish i could have seen more of the damn thing, lol.

Look at it this way:a fav.artist of yours invites you to a public showing of his latest creation, before you even get into the main viewing area, he's put a huge piece of his in main hall to draw people in, your excited, keen to see what's on offer, yet, gahhh, so many people stood in front of this painting, you can only see parts of it, added to the crowds stood in front, lot of 'noise', everyone very excited, talking loudly of what he's got lined up in main viewing area.Once you get in said viewing area and paintings are placed high up, behind roped off areas, you clearly see the splendour.

Basically Grey, 1st 'shots' of H.H i'd seen were the bloody superb pages of the Coleco, Dreamcast, Vectrex etc features inside.My eyes were drawn to them, here at last was something special, something done it's own style, not a we knocked this up on a state of the art design system with no thought or passion, or claiming to be something no-one had tried before, yet at least 2 other publications had done months/years before, here was something that honestly drew you in.The visuals and text seemed to compliment each other.

The front cover whoever, just seems to be a mass brawl with too much fighting it out.So no i would not change the art used for cover, as there's nothing wrong with it, i'd just try and do something with the text, but then i know there's probably far more people than me, myself and i who love it.

Point about standing apart from RG is a good one, something i welcome, hence making the honest comments about being careful not to fall into same trap as RG/Gamestm have, i.e putting up a promo/feedback thread, then having schoolyard replies when someone comments on the cover (tough, your face looks like it's got too much clutter...for fucks sake, etc etc)
.Day any publication starts to treat it's readership, past, present or future like that is a low one.Mentioned it few days ago, but as superb as Official Saturn Magazine was, the responses they often gave to readers letters was no better than those you saw in the lowest unofficial Playstation rag.

TL

I was there in the convo and it was me who replied to you. I didn't shout you down, I merely pointed out at that as the mag was finished it was too late to make changes. I also pointed out the cover had been posted ages ago, not in this thread but the other one. I am sorry you don't like it and we do welcome feedback but after 7-8 months of work on this we really don't want to be doing more!  :111: