So, what do you think of Gleemax?

[Kzach]

Unless it suddenly morphs drastically into something remotely useful and functional, I give it 0 out of 5.

 

[mhensley]

 

[mhensley]

dupe

 

[smathis]

Why? Is there anything new to add on this issue? Or do you just want to highlight any lack of change?

I'm guessing the latter. That thread was started, what, 6 months ago?

Last time I checked (and that was 30 seconds prior to this post) pretty much everything everyone says about gleemax in this thread is still true.

They even still have "alpha" in their logo.

Considering my current company rebuilt an entire web application from the bottom-up on a completely new platform...

And considering that, in previous positions, I've rebuilt (CSS/ASP/HTML/JS) an entire intranet site (including an overhaul of the design) for a company with offices throughout the US and on every continent on the globe in a third of that time...

kind of begs the question what gleemax is doing? And, further, what was the point of this thread to gather feedback on gleemax?

(They should at least flipped the logo to say "beta" by now, I'd think. I mean, if they aren't going to change anything, they should probably just come out and be bold about it. Is this thing launching with 4e? Maybe it wasn't supposed to and that's the reason it seems to be dragging.)

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

It doesn't lend much confidence to the DI, does it?

I like the idea of Gleemax, but the implementation has been pretty poor up to this point. I'm registered there and I post occasionally, but it just has such a long way to go...

 

[ShadowDenizen]

It doesn't lend much confidence to the DI, does it?

And that's my primary concern.

Given that Wizards is hyping the "Digital Initiative" as a cornerstone of their 4E experience, I'm completely underwhelmed by both Gleemax and the WotC homepage, both in terms of usability and presentation. (And note that I'm neither a WebDesigner nor a Technophile; rather I'm just an interant websurfer.)

Now, that's fine if it's free; I can deal with a little inconvenience. But, if they want me to pay $15+ a month, or more? The ante is upped, and I become a LOT more critical. (Not unreasonably so, but enough to justify paying my hard-earned money when there's a TON of other things competing for that same money!)

Wizards has tons of ground to make up if they hope to thrive in the digital world, and not a lot of success to back it up. (Consider that they didn't put out a workable online character generator for the entirety of 3E [E-tools debacle excluded.], and have only relatively recently jumped on the .pdf bandwagon.)

Their web presence is something they should have been working on since BEFORE the 4E announcement; IIRC, the "LEad IT" position at WotC was only ANNOUNCED approximately 6 months ago!!

 

[keterys]

I suspect that WotC recanted a little on their 'public alpha' stance. Perhaps it was too much effort. Perhaps there wasn't a good enough feedback loop.

I don't know.

For whatever reason, almost all work on Gleemax and associated systems happens behind closed doors. There are significant advances... we just don't have access to them, for now.

On the other hand, staff blogs have been moved off Gleemax entirely until things improve and a statement has been requested as to the schedule/status of things. For now, Gleemax is not intended to showcase anything or be used tons. If you want to hang out, please do. If you have constructive feedback, please give it. I mean, this is totally the best time to easily win free minis or card games.

Other than that, it's all just waiting. Magic Online V3, D&D Insider, D&D Game Table, and the Gleemax Game Portal are all far higher priority than blogs.

 

[GoodKingJayIII]

Thanks keterys, that's nice to know.

Given that Wizards is hyping the "Digital Initiative" as a cornerstone of their 4E experience...

For my money, tabletop play remains the cornerstone of DnD, and 4e. As has been said before, WotC is doing two main things: provide new ways for old players to play, and break into the MMO market somewhat. I don't plan on getting the DI right away, nor do I think it will hinder my play experience.

 

[smathis]

For whatever reason, almost all work on Gleemax and associated systems happens behind closed doors. There are significant advances... we just don't have access to them, for now.

On the other hand, staff blogs have been moved off Gleemax entirely until things improve and a statement has been requested as to the schedule/status of things. For now, Gleemax is not intended to showcase anything or be used tons. If you want to hang out, please do. If you have constructive feedback, please give it. I mean, this is totally the best time to easily win free minis or card games.

Cool. Thanks for the update, keterys. The one problem I can see with development "behind closed doors" is that it often looks to the public like no work is being done. Especially considering that the Alpha is sitting out there, warts and all, to frustrate potential customers.

Maybe you can convince the devteam to do some sort of Beta update? I mean, if significant advances are already completed, why not? Once the product is available (Alpha or not) I think it becomes a priority to get updates to the customers in a timely fashion. This is a webapp after all and not something like Microsoft Office 2007.

Please consider that the Alpha issues are still out there causing significant frustration while the devteam iterates on more and more improvements. The problem then becomes that the users who are already beyond the point of giving Gleemax another chance will likely pass on a revision, despite the changes made.

Alpha or not, this was a public release. Every week that passes loses more potential customers. Please convey that.

That said, my biggest beef with Gleemax is the navigation. It needs a complete and utter overhaul, from the ground up, with an emphasis on usability. Trying to find Johnathan Tweet's blog on Wandering Star via navigation was impossible. I gave up. And I'm a web developer, usability dude by trade.

Using the search returned pages and pages of pointless entries that I then had to go through, one-by-one, until I finally found his blog. IIRC, he wasn't even on the top of the list.

The whole process took 10-15 minutes. To find a blog. And would've been unnecessary had any bookmarks I'd set up to Gleemax worked. I was beyond the point of frustration where I would return to the site for anything (even free). That's not good.

If I want a website that's pretty to look at, I'll google Monica Belucci.

Give me something I can USE.

Thanks.

 

[breschau]

And that's my primary concern.

Given that Wizards is hyping the "Digital Initiative" as a cornerstone of their 4E experience, I'm completely underwhelmed by both Gleemax and the WotC homepage, both in terms of usability and presentation. (And note that I'm neither a WebDesigner nor a Technophile; rather I'm just an interant websurfer.)

Now, that's fine if it's free; I can deal with a little inconvenience. But, if they want me to pay $15+ a month, or more? The ante is upped, and I become a LOT more critical. (Not unreasonably so, but enough to justify paying my hard-earned money when there's a TON of other things competing for that same money!)

Wizards has tons of ground to make up if they hope to thrive in the digital world, and not a lot of success to back it up. (Consider that they didn't put out a workable online character generator for the entirety of 3E [E-tools debacle excluded.], and have only relatively recently jumped on the .pdf bandwagon.)

Their web presence is something they should have been working on since BEFORE the 4E announcement; IIRC, the "LEad IT" position at WotC was only ANNOUNCED approximately 6 months ago!!

This.