After a decade of working on one of the internet's most popular gaming websites I had the opportunity to redesign GameSpot as my parting final project.
was the single most important page across the site. The primary goal during our concepting phase was to evolve the display of content over the life-cycle of the game. In it's existing form the gamespace merely displayed the latest content in compartmentalized modules. We instead opted to evolve it into a feed sorted by recency while floating the most trafficked content up top (images, videos, review). The core gamespace navigation remained above the fold and the feed content could be emphasized in layout and scale depending on popularity. This concept of visual hierarchy would be thematic throughout the redesign process.
My Score
8.0
The Homepage is the biggest impact marketing opportunity for advertisers. The existing model relied upon full page takeovers and skins. This came at a cost to brand and user experience, leaving the enitre page aesthetic open to advertiser whim. Moving to an integrated ad/content model had a less detrimental effect. If an advertiser required a larger footprint, the hero unit could be leveraged and paired with standard display ads to satistfy their needs optically.
Below the fold is where I wanted to test a dramatic change in content display. Rather than showing content in a singular stacked feed by recency, I was proposing to add dynamic display logic that sorted content by interest and activity. Using a masonry framework that presented content in various tile sizes would allow us to add hierarchy to stories and create a more visual interest.
The homepage and the gamespace were simply the beginning of a huge redesign effort. Video, search, articles, reviews, comments, forums, profile, community, all these pages would need updating. Not only these pages, but admin and tools would also be addressed.
The dynamic content grid was a dramatic departure from our standard chronological, content sorted layout, so as an alternative I provided a design that focused on sorting content in buckets allowing users to digest conent in a more focused view. A more traditional content feed would follow further down the page.
Giant Bomb
I'd love to hear from you whether you need design support, want to leave a comment or maybe just say 'hi'. I'm currently available to work by the hour, on retainer or can offer a fixed project bid for budget flexibility. Hit me up!
