ArcadeForum.com up and running! :)

[pcproffenno]

I just finished working on ArcadeForum.com this weekend.

This is a forum dedicated to one of my true hobbies: retro/arcade gaming!

So far I have categories covering everything from arcade cabinet building and artwork to emulation and retro consoles/computers. More categories and features will be added when they are needed.

As I wasn't intending on spending too much money on this project to start with, I decided to go with phpBB3 instead of purchasing a vBulletin license. The standard installation lacks a few features compared to vBulletin, but after installing a few mods and tweaks I've got stuff like quick reply, static SEO links, youtube implementation and soon an image gallery. I was intentionally going to have the logo/header designed by a professional, but I decided to do it myself instead to save some cash. Hopefully the forum will grow bigger in the future and then I can go back and have a more professionally designed logo/header.

Also check out the arcade cabinet I built a couple of months back here:

http://arcadeforum.com/forum/glory-d...klog--t24.html

Your feedback is appreciated!

[jdk]

That's a nice arcade cabinet. Great pics too!

[Mazkel]

Nice job!

[pcproffenno]

Originally Posted by jdk

That's a nice arcade cabinet. Great pics too!

Thanks! I will build a bigger 2-player upright cabinet this fall, with light guns and everything.

Originally Posted by Mazkel

Nice job!

Thanks!

[Carter]

Great idea and domain!
Good luck for your project I'm a Street Fighter megafan from day one!

[pcproffenno]

Originally Posted by Carter

Great idea and domain!
Good luck for your project I'm a Street Fighter megafan from day one!

Awesome! Then you should build a real arcade controller for it. Or you could get one from e.g. Hori if you don't want to spend time building your own.

[4u-domains]

Great name....

Perhaps too niche. I see you have other sectors in there but to maximise traffic flow you should at least make sure you spend a lot of time promoting the other areas. General console activity is so huge these days its worth going the extra mile on.

I'd recommend adding a lot more interaction on the website to keep them coming back. Integrated arcade with high scores, more competitions, maybe a ladder/tournament system of some sort (www.eliteladders.com as a base) whereby people from any console, arcade machine can play and send in photo-proof and therefore actually have virtual matches.

There is bound to be a lot of stuff... videos... streaming content from people playing... gamercards! How about an Arcade Toolbar with all the best sites links on it....

[james2002]

I would personally go for vbulletin but your forum looks good with modification.

As the domain is of good quality, vbulletin + vbseo might be good.

I think you may need paid posters to kick off your forum with some RSS feeds.

Good job.

I used to play nintendo, supernintendo a lot when I was in high school. I even got some games from that era as RAMs with Emulators in my PC now to play them when I miss them.

Hope your forum will thrive.

[james2002]

Same post

[pcproffenno]

Thanks for the tips and feedback guys. Appreciate it!

[pcproffenno]

I've worked a lot with the forum the last couple of weeks and I've added lots of features and done some heavy customization. We now have a feedback/reputation system (similar to iTrader), free to play classic arcade games, search engine friendly URLs and lots of other small fixes that doesn't come with phpBB by default (open links in new window, quick reply, youtube implementation etc.).

I'm going to start marketing the forum now. I was thinking of contacting all international arcade part vendors and tell them that they can advertise for free in the appropriate forum section ("Vendor ads"). If the forum gets popular, maybe I can charge them a monthly advertisement fee or make some bucks by referrals.

I'm also going to add a couple of discrete Adsense modules soon, but my main goal with this forum isn't to make money, as arcade gaming is a big hobby of mine and I just want to see the forum grow.

[south]

Absolutely awesome header! Very nicely done.

Another idea - maybe add some old bbs door games going somehow, get some bre / LORD games going.

[pcproffenno]

Originally Posted by south

Absolutely awesome header! Very nicely done.

Another idea - maybe add some old bbs door games going somehow, get some bre / LORD games going.

Hehe LORD would definitely be awesome. Remember playing L.O.R.D. on my board back when I was running PCBoard and iNiQUiTY .. That's like 17 years ago!

I'm glad you like the header! I've done it myself, but I'm currently waiting for someone to design a mascot character for me, which I will add to the logo (replacing the green space invader).

[Bionic]

I second the VB and arcade plugin suggestion, having high scores on your profile is pretty cool. Shame you can't charge 20c a game.

[pcproffenno]

Originally Posted by Bionic

I second the VB and arcade plugin suggestion, having high scores on your profile is pretty cool. Shame you can't charge 20c a game.

Haha. I could, but who would pay to play (rather bad) flash games?

I'll add a PayPal-button later that says "Buy tokens".

[Yum]

Well done.

[Credit]

Hey Stian,

Awesome site!

Make the "O" bug animation in the header smaller, it's covering the "R" and makes the "F" looks a bit like a "P"

Wow, that sounded like some coded spy message.

[pcproffenno]

Originally Posted by Credit

Hey Stian,

Awesome site!

Make the "O" bug animation in the header smaller, it's covering the "R" and makes the "F" looks a bit like a "P"

Wow, that sounded like some coded spy message.

Thanks! I'm aware that it covers too much of the other letters, but I won't spend time changing it now, as I'm switching it out with a mascot character in a couple of days.

[SGBoise]

Nice, a buddy built one similar with two controls. The parts for those are super expensive.