Website designer wanted - Free arcade in exchange for your skills!

[Chukka]

Too bad. I would be willing to pay the shipping costs.

[ratzz]

You'll never get exactly what you want for giving stuff away.

I am a pro website designer (recently completed www.zombiearcades.co.uk) and paid jobs are the only way to get pro results.

[HaRuMaN]

You'll never get exactly what you want for giving stuff away.

I am a pro website designer (recently completed www.zombiearcades.co.uk) and paid jobs are the only way to get pro results.

Nice...

[Turnarcades]

You'll never get exactly what you want for giving stuff away.
I am a pro website designer (recently completed www.zombiearcades.co.uk) and paid jobs are the only way to get pro results.

I do like the stuff you do ratzz and I like the work you did on his website, though my sources tell me he hasn't shifted many anyway as he priced himself way out of most people's reach. Shame really as your work does the product justice, but that's a topic for another day.

The situation still stands as is and this is the way I'm going to do it as many members have shown me they are as competent as (or even better than) pro designers and may never get a chance to showcase their skills. I built Turnarcades on the thesis of providing gaming solutions to people just like me and have continued to treat my work as a hobby. I may never break the bank but it's comfortable and that's enough for me. Getting the community involved and bringing out people's skills as I found myself when I started out makes me feel like I'm giving something back by offering terms an enthusiast would appreciate.

It's a fair trade of my skills for theirs and makes it a bit less formal - which is the way this business operates and what most customers/enthusiasts who approach me appreciate over anything else. 

[DeLuSioNal29]

You'll never get exactly what you want for giving stuff away.

I am a pro website designer (recently completed www.zombiearcades.co.uk) and paid jobs are the only way to get pro results.

Every website in this topic works with my iPod but this one.

[ratzz]

You'll never get exactly what you want for giving stuff away.
I am a pro website designer (recently completed www.zombiearcades.co.uk) and paid jobs are the only way to get pro results.

I do like the stuff you do ratzz and I like the work you did on his website, though my sources tell me he hasn't shifted many anyway as he priced himself way out of most people's reach. Shame really as your work does the product justice, but that's a topic for another day.

The situation still stands as is and this is the way I'm going to do it as many members have shown me they are as competent as (or even better than) pro designers and may never get a chance to showcase their skills. I built Turnarcades on the thesis of providing gaming solutions to people just like me and have continued to treat my work as a hobby. I may never break the bank but it's comfortable and that's enough for me. Getting the community involved and bringing out people's skills as I found myself when I started out makes me feel like I'm giving something back by offering terms an enthusiast would appreciate.

It's a fair trade of my skills for theirs and makes it a bit less formal - which is the way this business operates and what most customers/enthusiasts who approach me appreciate over anything else. 

This whole reply is absolute crap.

"competent as (or even better than) pro designers and may never get a chance to showcase their skills" -- if this were true, then why are they getting no chance to showcase their skills?

I tell you what you want to do, you want "to get the community involved" because you are a cheapskate and don't want to pay for a quality product. (remember the quote I did you for last year?) From the look of your work, they are not even a within a mile of the quality of Zombie Arcades.

"my sources tell me he hasn't shifted many anyway" -- tell you what Craig, watch this space for an update as I'm working on an update of his site in the next couple of weeks. But, like me, he's treats his business professionally too.

@DeLuSioNal29

You are delusional if you think that I, or Zombie Arcades are worried about your iPod! PMSL
The "websites" on this thread are also not websites -- they are .jpegs -- bit of a difference.
BTW, your site does not work on my WM5 PDA.

[surface tension]

I have to ask...

Your logo is using trademarked characters. I'm assuming you haven't got permission for this due to your budget? Please don't get on your high horse, this is just an observation that you might get picked up on in the future if spotted. Will there be anyone from Namco at Insert Coin '09?

-------------------------

On the subject of your website, it does feel that you're getting a lot of people to put in time and effort for nothing. I think you should pick a winner before too many other people get involved and this turns into one big shitstorm. (This has happened to one of your threads in the past.) TPB said this a week ago now and he was right then.

I will also say that ratzz is telling the cold hard facts. Yes, there *may* be someone out there yet to be discovered, but you should be paying someone to create the frontline of your business. If you are, as you say "comfortable", then there should be room to invest in a well-designed website.


I'm not trying to wind you up here, just offering my opinion on this as I see it...

[Turnarcades]

This whole reply is absolute crap.

Well if you're not interested then don't attempt to hijack the thread.

Well noticed st about the characters in the existing logo (and the shitstorm!). The logo work is part of the project as I'm aware of this situation. Forum member dk has already submitted a nice design for me (as I did him a favour a while back) and this element will be phased out of the new design.

I will be wrapping this up this week as I'm pretty sure I know what I'm going to go with now. As expected the topic has raised some controversy I won't entertain. Thanks to all who have submitted designs and chipped in with ideas - spacies and fatfingers last year mentioned this offer would be of interest to quite a few people and it has been so thanks to you too.

[ratzz]

This whole reply is absolute crap.

Well if you're not interested then don't attempt to hijack the thread.

I'm not, I'm offering a professional opinion, which I believe I'm allowed to do.

[thatitalian]

I have to say, I like the idea of exchanging services to be honest. If it isn't for you then steer clear but I think it is a bit harsh to ---steaming pile of meadow muffin--- on the idea considering that is how we traded when money didn't exist. Just because we use cash now doesn't mean the concept is dead.

If someone said to me, "I'll build you an arcade for a website" I would definitely think about it. It isn't tight really, there is a cost still, it's just that the cost is shared. Payment is simply in the form of an arcade.

I am not trying to stir things up in anyway, I am not like that, I just think it is a little harsh, you can still get a quality product for less. Why pay is someone will offer it to you for free? Isn't that good business? Do blue chip companies pay more for the same product, it is simply tendering process, weighing up what is on offer and then purchasing that product.

[DeLuSioNal29]

Well said thatitalian

[DeLuSioNal29]

@DeLuSioNal29

You are delusional if you think that I, or Zombie Arcades are worried about your iPod! PMSL
The "websites" on this thread are also not websites -- they are .jpegs -- bit of a difference.
BTW, your site does not work on my WM5 PDA.

"delusional"    good one! (kidding of course, I don't want to pick a fight on this great site where everyone should all get along).

His "website" is on his banner, and when I clicked on it on my iPod, it went to his website, which worked beautifully.  I'm guessing he would like to have it continue to work with his new one.

P.S. - Portable Internet devices are the future and can expand the marketability.

~ DeLuSioNaL

[Guywiththegun]

Flash splash pages are also notoriously awful for internet marketing purposes.

Calling it like it is. Surely you can take what you dish out?

[extendedplayarcade]

Wow sounds like a pretty good job for me.  But I am in the USA.  I doubt you will want to ship it to me.

I still have all my parts to my arcade all over the place with no time to put them all together.  I didn't read all of the other posts so I don't even know if this is still going on.

I have a ton of examples and been doing websites since 1997 and I always feel like it is more of a tool for marketing and the most important thing is to target your audience.  Plus a website should look like a website.  Look how popular this site is and it is not fancy one bit and also look at the top ten sites like ebay.com, youtube, msn.com, facebook.com, google, etc.  It is all about content the target audience is looking for.

Just some food for thought.

Good luck I wish i could of entered 

[extendedplayarcade]

 

[dkubarek]

This has been covered a bit, but I think people can spend all the time they want doing a mockup for Craig because it is their time. Also, there's nothing wrong with the payment being an arcade cab if the original post said "payment will be an arcade cab." Telling people what to do with their time and what they should receive for payment sounds like advice no one here is seeking.

Technically speaking, ANY professional firm would surely provide a prototype of their services. So, asking for a jpeg image from all "bidding on the contract" isn't creating a shitstorm. In fact, it's customary. Perhaps it would be best to start another thread criticizing this one because this one is here because a member is seeking Web design work not input on how he should run his business.

[DIYROMArcade]

Hey guys, 

It’s really interesting to see all the different work and sites people have created. Unfortunately I am in the US so I don’t think the barter world work for me. Although it’s a great idea, I see people doing it on Craigslist all the time, and even more so now in light of the economy.

Just some general thoughts I had reading through the thread.

01. A CMS (Content Management System) would be a great benefit for the site as it would make it easy for you to update. The overall layout would be handled by the CMS with logo work, image work, and CSS changes to give the site the desired custom feel. Joomla is a decent free CMS that is fairly easy to learn, or maybe you could get by with a blog software like WordPress and just be creative with your layout.

02. Decide if you are going for traffic / SEO benefits with your site, or graphic design. Sites that use flash look awesome but tend to have less spiderable text on the HTML side. (Which helps search engines determine what your content is about since the spiders only really look at the code as they cannot view images or movies)

03. Use a standardized navigation / menu system on your site. It makes users less likely to get frustrated while trying to navigate your content. I saw a catering site that had it’s navigation menu wrap around a plate in script font, this was one of the most headache inducing menus I have ever seen. Hehe.

04. Background tiling images can be another aspect of the site that gives people headaches. I notice a lot more sites tend to use gradient color fades or solid backgrounds lately, over the tiling that we used to see on a lot of websites.

Reading all the replies had me thinking about a bunch of stuff. I am by no means an authority on this topic, but these are some of the considerations I have taken into account for many of the sites I work on.

Good luck with the search, and keep up the great work guys! 

[Bender]

Sorry Just had to put my 25 cents in

I think this is in principal is a great opportunity for someone
As a collage art teacher I'm always encouraging my students to look for opportunities like this, create some good work and they'll have a great professional website for there portfolio
but this could be great for anyone who designs websites as a hobby or even some professionals who want an arcade machine

sorry Ratzz, but there are plenty of professional results out there without the exchange of money, some of my kids have come up with sites as good if not better than that Zombie site and there not "pro" yet

As a professional myself I trade occasionally if I feel the barter is fair. This one seems fair to me, but both sides need to be VERY clear as to what is expected of each other, before work begins.


My one concern is getting more than one person involved (getting samples from multiple people gets sketchy cause you my end up using ideas from several different ones and would have to find a way to keep everyone happy)

[bigredsk10]

Technically speaking, ANY professional firm would surely provide a prototype of their services. So, asking for a jpeg image from all "bidding on the contract" isn't creating a shitstorm. In fact, it's customary. Perhaps it would be best to start another thread criticizing this one because this one is here because a member is seeking Web design work not input on how he should run his business.

While bidding for contracts and submitting mockups certainly does happen, it shouldn't be considered customary. A designer should be hired based on their portfolio and word of mouth. Professional designers deserve to be paid for their expertise and time, with a bidding situation, only the designer selected gets paid. Here's a good article I came across that explains it more than I could. http://www.no-spec.com/articles/design-contests/

When it comes to this contest, I don't see a problem with it. I make a living as a designer and I personally wouldn't participate. I need to spend my time on paying projects, so I moved on. But there are clearly people who are willing to put some effort into earning an arcade machine. You probably won't get quite the quality you would from a professional firm. But there are some very talented people here who think what is being offered is a fair trade. Sounds good to me.

Also, what is the reason behind designing the zombie arcades site entirely in flash? There isn't much animation, a few transition effects. The trade off for those transitions is poor compatibility and dealing with loading times. You're locked in this 600x800 or whatever box that, on a larger monitor looks silly. Not to mention it is frustrating to navigate and there is no scroll wheel control.

The logo needs to be featured more prominently on the home page. And I second the notion that the splash page needs to go.

[Chukka]

This has been covered a bit, but I think people can spend all the time they want doing a mockup for Craig because it is their time. Also, there's nothing wrong with the payment being an arcade cab if the original post said "payment will be an arcade cab." Telling people what to do with their time and what they should receive for payment sounds like advice no one here is seeking.

Technically speaking, ANY professional firm would surely provide a prototype of their services. So, asking for a jpeg image from all "bidding on the contract" isn't creating a shitstorm. In fact, it's customary. Perhaps it would be best to start another thread criticizing this one because this one is here because a member is seeking Web design work not input on how he should run his business.

The only problem is that he should have mentioned right from the start that it was only for people in the UK, so some of us wouldn't have wasted our time.

[TPB]

The only problem is that he should have mentioned right from the start that it was only for people in the UK, so some of us wouldn't have wasted our time.

You're still eligible for the consolation prize :

anyone who submits a decent mock-up will receive a £50 discount on any complete cabinet or £20 off a bare wood kit.
 

[Turnarcades]

Just to let anyone know that this offer has now closed as I have made my decision as to who will be developing the new website for me. The member has been notified and I will be working with him on the new website which will be upped during the coming months.

Thank you to all forum members for their input in this thread and big thanks to anyone who submitted a design for consideration. It's good to see the talent we have among the community and I hope your skills can be put to use for other purposes as every submission was great. All members who submitted a design have been noted and will gladly be given 'mates rates' if they ever come to us for anything. 

Craig