- NeoGAF
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NeoGAF 
URL http://www.neogaf.com/ Commercial? Yes Type of site Gaming Registration Free Available language(s) English Owner Tyler Malka[1] Created by Jim Cordeira Launched 2000 Current status Active NeoGAF (formerly named the Gaming Age Forums) is an internet forum that discusses video games, founded as an adjunct to Gaming-Age, a video game news site. Since April 4, 2006, the site has been independently hosted and administered.
The site is well-known for its strict codes of conduct. Many developers and publishers have said the site has a substantial impact on the industry, and many use it to get user feedback on their games.[2] The approval of an account registration usually takes between six months to two years.
Contents
History
The Gaming-Age Forums began as an adjunct to Gaming Age, a video game news and reviews website, running the UBB forum software and hosted on the Gaming Age servers. As Gaming Age outgrew its hosting, IGN took over hosting of Gaming Age's forums. After IGN ceased hosting of GAF in the summer of 2001, GAF moved to ezboards, and the administration of GAF became more estranged from Gaming Age.
As the Gaming Age staff became gradually more divorced from the day-to-day operation of GAF, problems with the new Gamesquad hosting cropped up. As software bugs in vBulletin 2, the version GAF was using at the time, continued to worsen, the Gamesquad hosting became increasingly more impractical, until the forums' database became corrupted, forcing a move to new hosting in order to change software and salvage what was left of the forums' database. In the spring of 2004, a fundraiser was held to move GAF to new hosting. On June 6, 2004, GAF took its current form (known as "NeoGAF" to long-time posters) and moved to new hosting and new software, vBulletin 3.
As of April 4, 2006, the forums were relaunched as "NeoGAF", the former in-moniker, by its administrators. NeoGAF also features its own front page, an upfront admission that the forum's audience had drifted from that of its birthing news site, but yet mandated a single portal to represent the forum's members. Initial plans are to use the front page to highlight the individual accomplishments and biographies of GAF's publicly industry-relevant members, as well as to offer a more visible home to any extraordinary information that would otherwise have to be housed in an ordinary thread of conversation. More details can be gleaned (if sparsely) from this official thread declaring the changeover. In December 2007, the forums held a fundraiser, and ended up raising $5,600 for Get Well Gamers, a California-based charity with the goal of entertaining sick children.[3]
Notable members
Many notable people from the video game industry have posted on NeoGAF, including David Jaffe[4] (creator of the Twisted Metal series and God of War), Cliff Bleszinski (designer on the Unreal franchise and the Gears of War series), Jeremiah Slaczka (co-founder of 5TH Cell and creator of the Drawn to Life franchise and Scribblenauts), Vic Ireland (founder of Working Designs). Andy McNamara (editor-in-chief of Game Informer), Jeff Green (former editor-in-chief of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine and former editor for 1UP), Gary Whitta, former editor-in-chief of PC Gamer and Hollywood screenwriter, Shawn Elliott (former editor of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine and former editor for 1UP) and Greg Kasavin (former editor-in-chief of GameSpot), Ryan Payton (former assistant producer at Kojima Productions, now of Microsoft Game Studios), as well as developers at Bungie, Tim Lewinson (former senior designer at Disney Interactive Studios, Bethesda, Monolith Productions, Relic Entertainment, Krome Studios, Sidhe Interactive, Rare, and Insomniac Games), and James Stevenson (Senior Community Manager of Insomniac Games).[5] Denis Dyack of Silicon Knights has also posted on the forum until he was permanently banned.[6][7]
Cultural impact
In the video game Scribblenauts, if the words "neogaf" or "gaf" are written, the NeoGAF logo will appear in the game. It can be mounted by the player and used similar to a helicopter (except it will not stay aloft in the air). If it is interacted with, the logo will spawn a gamer character.[8]
Forum Projects
NeoGAF is developing a video game, titled Dudebro: My Shit Is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time. The protagonist, Dudebro, is being voiced by Jon St. John.
References
- ^ Malka, Tyler (2006-03-31). "Community Terms of Service". http://www.neogaf.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=15&Itemid=37. Retrieved 2007-07-21.
- ^ http://www.1up.com/do/feature?cId=3167513
- ^ Logan Frederick. "NeoGAF Raises $5,600 for Game Charity". http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/80169-NeoGAF-Raises-5-600-for-Game-Charity.
- ^ James Orry. "Jaffe's new title won't be at Games Convention". http://www.videogamer.com/news/13-08-2008-9082.html.
- ^ http://www.gamepro.com/article/features/214737/the-story-of-neogaf.html
- ^ "NeoGAF Bans 'Too Human' Creator, Denis Dyack". http://www.g4tv.com/thefeed/blog/post/688372/NeoGAF_Bans_Too_Human_Creator_Denis_Dyack.html.
- ^ Peter Molyneux: 'I feel sorry for Denis Dyack'
- ^ "NeoGAF confirmed for Scribblenauts". http://gonintendo.com/viewstory.php?id=89128.
External links
Categories:- Internet forums
- Video game news websites
- Internet properties established in 2000
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