One website which I often visit is called Gamefaqs. This website establishes itself as a place to visit in several ways. First it uses a consistent theme and layout throughout the site, making it a cohesive whole. The different areas of the site are divided into logical pieces and placed in the navigation bar at the top of the site. There is a large amount of information stored in the site on almost every video game. In addition, visitors are encouraged to contribute and credited for their work. The large forum system establishes a community for both video game discussion and random talk. The many subject of the forum boards provide rooms for almost anyone to visit. Another site I visit, Wealth Wars, uses a sense of place in a different way. While it also has a consistent layout and color scheme, it provides a competitive game to bind its community. The game is also organized to mimic the real world. You can travel north, south, east or west on a map to visit and attack other players' bases. You also check your base's statistics and are provided with log entries of what happened to your base while you were away. This makes it a place to protect and continue to return to. It has a forum, but that doesn't create as much of a sense of community. The game is competitive, so it works better with player rankings and scores. |