Where do we stand on a database of games?

[LucasWeatherby | 9]

Hi there. New here (but an old guy) and tried to go thru the posts to find an answer. I hope I don’t sound eager or like I am complaining. I am just seeing if their is a status update or if anything is in the works at all.

If there isn’t, is there anything I can do to help the cause? Database work (especially design) is one of my fortes, and I have been laid off for the time being so I have some time on my hands. 

[SilverspoonGaming | 332]

We should have carried it over from NA.  I regularly used the rarity scale.

[LucasWeatherby | 9]

I too used it regularly. I actually go back and forth on whether or not I like the rarity scale. I think it contributed to the inflation of prices. I would actually be willing to say maybe that should be a thing we nix. Anyone else have thoughts?

Edited April 2, 2020 by LucasWeatherby

[Gloves | 11,774]

To be honest I don't see the need for one, personally. That's not to say we'll never have one, necessarily, but there are simply other services out there that already do a fantastic job at crowd-sourcing data on video games. A quick Google search for "video game database" shows a few and they work quite nicely.

What I may be missing in my mind is what the need is. Why exactly do you want a video game database here on VGS? What on earth did you use it for on NA?

I never found it useful at all on NA, especially considering much of the data was outdated or simply incorrect. Rarity for instance was subject to change at a moment's notice if a palette of games was found in a warehouse or something, and to my knowledge stuff like that DID happen, and the site didn't seem to get updated. I could be partially wrong here but I know for a fact that I went searching to try and use the DB on NA a few times and noticed that info was not up to date.

There are other IMO more interesting databases we might make, such as a DB of Homebrew games (something we ARE working on behind the scenes). Would something like that fill the void you're looking to fill? Homebrew games are an example of something I see not existing in an organized manner anywhere right now. There are however many databases for, say, the NES library.

[Tulpa | 3,492]

The original NA database was something like fifteen years in the making. Also, no one could agree on rarity.

[LucasWeatherby | 9]

It seems both of you agree with my comments from before about rarity. 

I agree completely with the homebrew database idea. 

For me personally, I used NA as a one stop shop for managing my database of games. I find it a major inconvenience if I have to go to another site. I thought their database was intuitive, clean, and aesthetically pleasing and helped me get the info I was looking for fast. If we have the technologies, why not build it. And when I say build, I’m talking about the technology to support it. I am not talking about the list. Sure I can google the list, but the intuitive mechanics were one of the best features it offered. The fact that it’s missing seems to be one of the biggest factors in so many people’s anger  

As far as rarity goes, there’s nothing saying that an algorithm can’t be applied to help determine rarity. Sure it would only be based on users on this forum but it could potentially help drive down the ridiculous pricing these days.

[Tulpa | 3,492]

25 minutes ago, LucasWeatherby said:

As far as rarity goes, there’s nothing saying that an algorithm can’t be applied to help determine rarity. Sure it would only be based on users on this forum but it could potentially help drive down the ridiculous pricing these days.

I dunno, it would probably be skewed, as a lot of people here are collectors and intentionally sought out hard to find games.

[B.A. | 1,139]

1 hour ago, SilverspoonGaming said:

We should have carried it over from NA.  I regularly used the rarity scale.

That's pretty much the only thing NA was purchased for (it certainly wasn't to maintain the forum!). So...that wasn't an option.

[fcgamer | 4,722]

This is even more niche, but I've often toyed with the idea of a database preserving all the obscure bootleg stuff I've got

[profholt82 | 60]

I checked the "waybackmachine" under both nintendoage and vintage.nintendoage, and it's all been erased by gocollect and redirects there. I was hoping we'd still have access to the databases, but no such luck. Not sure if it could have been backed up anywhere else that they haven't yet nuked.

[a3quit4s | 4,096]

Hey just reach out to GoCollect Jim or whatever the shit his name was. He was really responsive and will probably just give you a thumb drive with the databases on them!

lol

Edited April 3, 2020 by a3quit4s

[Gloves | 11,774]

22 hours ago, LucasWeatherby said:

It seems both of you agree with my comments from before about rarity. 

I agree completely with the homebrew database idea. 

For me personally, I used NA as a one stop shop for managing my database of games. I find it a major inconvenience if I have to go to another site. I thought their database was intuitive, clean, and aesthetically pleasing and helped me get the info I was looking for fast. If we have the technologies, why not build it. And when I say build, I’m talking about the technology to support it. I am not talking about the list. Sure I can google the list, but the intuitive mechanics were one of the best features it offered. The fact that it’s missing seems to be one of the biggest factors in so many people’s anger  

As far as rarity goes, there’s nothing saying that an algorithm can’t be applied to help determine rarity. Sure it would only be based on users on this forum but it could potentially help drive down the ridiculous pricing these days.

To be honest and this is purely objective, I didn't find the DB to be intuitive at all. I tried multiple times to track collections on it and found it pretty lacking.

I personally track my collection on Backloggery (https://backloggery.com/Gloves_Off).

I just don't think there's much value in us building a tool that other places do better because that's their main focus. There are plenty of collection tracking tools out there, and this is a place for video game discussion, generally speaking. We hang out, plays games together, and provide a forum for people to talk.

That said, I HAVE started my own person project where I'm tinkering with the idea of making my own collection tracker which would be "Doug's perfect tracker for Doug". I don't know that it'll be something I end up giving other people access to though, I have my own personal set of needs and wants, and this tool would very specifically fulfill those - for me and just me. I've made many tools before for myself and shared them publicly and they often become a bit of a pain to maintain cuz suddenly I'm supporting what other people want and I dunno if I wanna go down that road with this.

As for the forum software we're using here for VGS, it doesn't have anything that would support what you're looking for - no real way to have a games database and provide users the ability to say "I own this game" or "here's the list of games that I own". It's a forum, not a collection tracking tool. It COULD be built, but it'd have to be made custom. Either I (or someone else) could technically build it within the platform, and there are actually people you can hire to make stuff custom for your forum on the Invision (forum) software that we're using. 

It may look like something that is relatively simple from outside, but building these sorts of tools isn't THAT straight forward, honestly. It takes time and effort, and a lot of both.

[austin532 | 467]

I never used the database feature as there are other options out there now but I did enjoy the rarity guide (even if it wasn't 100% accurate) and the cart variants.

[NEET.dreams | 49]

I always liked using the collection tracker on NA. They had a lot of homebrew games in there that weren't in other databases.
Although there were some pretty popular famicom imports missing from it too.

[Splain | 2,561]

I agree the DB wasn't THAT easy to use. But I'm not a huge NES guy, which was definitely where most of the attention was going on the NA DB. I did refer to it for a lot of info though, and the rarity guide was useful as a starting point.

As for collection tracking, I'm one of those people who uses a Google spreadsheet to track, which I find to be best, but I'm already a spreadsheet nerd. I'm collecting things that have very unique kinds of variants and properties, that I've never seen in any collection tracker anywhere, so it's nice to be able to separate collections into their own custom sheets, and gather a nice dashboard summary on an Overview sheet. If something's missing, I just add it. And it will never go away, unless Google decides to sell out to GoCollect. It's not as tidy for showing other people though.

[DoctorEncore | 3,691]

1 hour ago, Gloves said:

To be honest and this is purely objective, I didn't find the DB to be intuitive at all. I tried multiple times to track collections on it and found it pretty lacking.

I personally track my collection on Backloggery (https://backloggery.com/Gloves_Off).

I just don't think there's much value in us building a tool that other places do better because that's their main focus. There are plenty of collection tracking tools out there, and this is a place for video game discussion, generally speaking. We hang out, plays games together, and provide a forum for people to talk.

That said, I HAVE started my own person project where I'm tinkering with the idea of making my own collection tracker which would be "Doug's perfect tracker for Doug". I don't know that it'll be something I end up giving other people access to though, I have my own personal set of needs and wants, and this tool would very specifically fulfill those - for me and just me. I've made many tools before for myself and shared them publicly and they often become a bit of a pain to maintain cuz suddenly I'm supporting what other people want and I dunno if I wanna go down that road with this.

As for the forum software we're using here for VGS, it doesn't have anything that would support what you're looking for - no real way to have a games database and provide users the ability to say "I own this game" or "here's the list of games that I own". It's a forum, not a collection tracking tool. It COULD be built, but it'd have to be made custom. Either I (or someone else) could technically build it within the platform, and there are actually people you can hire to make stuff custom for your forum on the Invision (forum) software that we're using. 

It may look like something that is relatively simple from outside, but building these sorts of tools isn't THAT straight forward, honestly. It takes time and effort, and a lot of both.

If this functionality is not explicitly built into the software, then the answer is obvious: No.

It is not worth @Gloves time or the userbase's money. As has been previously mentioned, there are plenty of other options for tracking. Focused projects make a lot more sense for our small community.

[LeatherRebel5150 | 1,056]

I too used the NA one for tracking my collection. @LucasWeatherby is right, it was a lot easier to go to one place for all my gaming needs. I never really cared about the rarity scale but a quick click "My Collections" and click the checkbox and bam, was in my collection. Seemed as easy as it could get, especially when I was out and about and needed to check if I had something already or not. Google Sheets frankly is much more of a hassle (I personally don't have a phone that supports the app, I know that's a me problem.)  That's probably the biggest thing I miss about the old site, that hasn't been replicated here, is the collection tracker.

Edit: Since it doesn't sound like it's something that will happen. What's everyone's recommendations for a collection tracker that can work on an old iphone 5c. 

Edited April 8, 2020 by LeatherRebel5150

[Bubbapauls | 250]

On 4/3/2020 at 5:09 PM, Gloves said:

Either I (or someone else) could technically build it within the platform, and there are actually people you can hire to make stuff custom for your forum on the Invision (forum) software that we're using. 

How much do you think that would cost to have someone build it?

[Gloves | 11,774]

21 minutes ago, Bubbapauls said:

How much do you think that would cost to have someone build it?

I'm not sure to be honest. I'd have to ask around on their marketplace. 

[guitarzombie | 924]

I liked the database as a 'list' of what exists because it seemed official.  It basically had everything, including PAL regions, variants and was easy to categorize.  Id like to see it.  And if we were to do a rarity scale, it would be easier to just do a 1-5 thing and lump them into larger categories, making it easier to sort.  1-Very common 2-Common 3-Uncommon 4-Rare 5-Ultra Rare.  And those rarities should be in relation to their own library (There are more Samsons out there than Sumo Fighters, and there are more Sumo Fighters out there than NEO GEO AES games, etc), whether its an official game, or odd product/accessory.  My two cents.  Else if we don't want a rarity scale, we dont need it.  

I dont think 'tracking' a collection is really important on here though.

[LucasWeatherby | 9]

I actually misspoke with what I was trying to convey. I don’t necessarily care as much about tracking my collection here. I actually just want a quick list of what exists. Like @guitarzombie just said. That was actually the thing I used the most on the old site. Sure I can go somewhere else, or scour through threads to find the official list, but having it right there as a button that’s always on the page... that was my favorite feature. I could sort by publisher or year released. Filter by region. That’s what I meant by intuitive. Just my two cents.

[Link | 2,709]

 

On 4/2/2020 at 5:26 PM, LucasWeatherby said:

Database work (especially design) is one of my fortes, and I have been laid off for the time being so I have some time on my hands. 

So what if you make a framework and semi-populate it with consoles and game lists? @ninjistar and @0xDEAFC0DE and I’m sure others have also expressed interest in working on it. This isn’t the first thread to ask, and the answer is always kind of open-ended, might be nice but we don’t have the resources now. It’s Gloves explaining he doesn’t have the time or interest. But it’s not a no. 

On 4/2/2020 at 6:02 PM, Gloves said:

To be honest I don't see the need for one, personally.

I think a lot of people saw NA as a one-stop shop for all sorts of information. I know that when I got into collecting, it was consistently high in my search results. If this site is a clearinghouse the same way, it could drive traffic here and expand the community.
If OP et al were to put something together, something compatible with the current software, would you, or other staff members, be willing to look it over?

[Gloves | 11,774]

2 minutes ago, Link said:

If OP et al were to put something together, something compatible with the current software, would you, or other staff members, be willing to look it over?

Yeah of course. More than happy to support and help where we can.

[Link | 2,709]

2 hours ago, LucasWeatherby said:

sort by publisher or year released. Filter by region.

These are good ideas. Release date (not just year)(when known) too.

Some other things to consider:
• You don’t want a collection tracker, but a lot of people do. If there is a list of “everything”, it makes sense to include a way for people to check off what they have or want. Another feature I think would be useful there is a notes field, so people can keep track of price paid, where/when they got an item, etc.
• Variants. Many people care about this.
• One thing I saw mentioned in a prior thread was that on NAdb, there was no way to remove duplicates. That was a problem. Especially as this project will work better if it has
• User input.

[LucasWeatherby | 9]

What language is the backend written in? What database?