All New Gibbage.co.uk Launches.

[DanMarshall]

Gibbage.co.uk has changed. The best way to find out what I'm up to is to read the blurb up on the front page.

Basically, I'm selling games, T-shirts and 'stuff', the difference between my site and all the others being that all profits I make are going to be put back into the industry.

Ideally, that means handing huge envelopes of cash to struggling indie developers so they can go full-time and make amazing, innovative, funky games.

It'll either work brilliantly or it won't, but what'd be really helpful would be if you'd all chip in somehow. Blog it, stick a permanent link on your websites, that sort of thing.

And of course, if you're going to buy a new game, buy it from Gibbage.co.uk...!



The front page now updates with news and stuff even if I'm not there, so hopefully there's a reason to bookmark it and keep coming back, now. I'll also be adding new articles by new people and more reviews, etc.

Any thoughts/ comments much appreciated. Please bear in mind I'm still working on the actual site, so there's still bits and pieces still being tinkered with behind the scenes...

Many thanks,

Dan

[RinkuHero]

The review links don't work for me.

[Grey Alien]

cakemaniacs ?

[DanMarshall]

The review links don't work for me.

Thanks! That should be sorted now...!

cakemaniacs ?

Everyone's a Cake Maniac these days. Aren't you? I am.

[Addictive 247]

Nice work Dan - a very worthy cause

[lemmy101]

Everyone's a Cake Maniac these days. Aren't you? I am.

I'm a cakemaniac!

[Agent 4125]

Very cool and generous of you. A few random comments:

• The overall site, especially the game mini-banners, is really well designed.
• The larger banner ads. I would try to make it more obvious that those link to gibbage.co.uk, otherwise people tend to have "banner blindness"
• Tabs. Consider making the text larger, with more contrast. My eyesight is pretty good, but I had to get close to the screen to read them.
• You'll want to add title tags to each page.
• The most eye catching links on each page are the sidebar images that lead to other sites, which mostly talk about non-independent games. If your main goal is to sell cool indie games, I would try to downplay these or put them on their own page.
• The name and tagline might not be the best for separating you from all of the other indie sites out there.

handing huge envelopes of cash to struggling indie developers so they can go full-time and make amazing, innovative, funky games.

This seems like it should be the basis of your tagline, at the top of every page so every visitor understands what you're about.

Hope that helps some. Good luck,
Joe

[DanMarshall]

Very cool and generous of you. A few random comments:

* The overall site, especially the game mini-banners, is really well designed.
* The larger banner ads. I would try to make it more obvious that those link to gibbage.co.uk, otherwise people tend to have "banner blindness"
* Tabs. Consider making the text larger, with more contrast. My eyesight is pretty good, but I had to get close to the screen to read them.
* You'll want to add title tags to each page.
* The most eye catching links on each page are the sidebar images that lead to other sites, which mostly talk about non-independent games. If your main goal is to sell cool indie games, I would try to downplay these or put them on their own page.
* The name and tagline might not be the best for separating you from all of the other indie sites out there.


Quote:
handing huge envelopes of cash to struggling indie developers so they can go full-time and make amazing, innovative, funky games.

This seems like it should be the basis of your tagline, at the top of every page so every visitor understands what you're about.

Hope that helps some. Good luck,
Joe

All, frankly, awesome points, and definitely stuff I'll look into doing for the long term... thanks.

D

[alfie]

Dan,I went to your site but could not find a small button logo. These look a lot better than just a text link, and I will put one of these on my site.

[DanMarshall]

alfie--

I'll knock out some Gibbage.co.uk banner ads and buttons asap.

Thanks,

Dan

[VaderSB]

This is very indie! Good luck with such a great beginning! Now you just must to promote it like crazy!

[DanMarshall]

Now you just must to promote it like crazy!

Indeed! Please do all help out if you get a sec by Digging it here.

Many thanks.

[theshadowfan]

Digged it!

[DrWilloughby]

How are you finding the devs to give money to? Is it in exxchange for a percentage of the profits of the game? (essentially are you trying to become an "indie" publisher?)

[bignobody]

How are you finding the devs to give money to?

You're assuming that there will actually be money in the first place

Go Dan Go!

[jessechounard]

Please do all help out if you get a sec by Digging it here.

Dugg!

I love the idea. Once you get a smallish banner/logo, I'll gladly give you a link on my (admittedly low traffic) site as well.

[DanMarshall]

How are you finding the devs to give money to? Is it in exxchange for a percentage of the profits of the game? (essentially are you trying to become an "indie" publisher?)

That all depends how successful the site is. Ideally, I won't be taking a percentage of a funded game's sales, but realistically that's what'll help fund other games, so I may well take a small slice, depending on the size of the initial investment.

Once I've got enough cash, I'll be seeking out games myself and advertising that I've got the cash to stump up. There's a form to fill in (not uploaded yet, don't want to jump the gun!), in which devs explain as much as possible about the game and where's it's at in development, and I'll be funding those titles according to what I find most exciting.

It's also possible that I'll be hiring coders/ devs to work on a design from scratch as a sort of 'Official Gibbage.co.uk Game', and funding development of that game. In which case, the vast majority of the sales profits will be pumped back into the kitty to support future projects.

The important part to remember in all this is that, at present, I've already got a 9-5 job. Unless Gibbage.co.uk takes off in such a way that I need to work on it full-time, money earned isn't paying my rent, it's paying for more new funky amazing games.

d

[DrWilloughby]

Very cool, good luck, will digg!

[DanMarshall]

There's a post up now over at Gibbage.co.uk with banners and buttons and what-have-you to pop on your respective sites.

Feel free to hack around with the images to make them fit your page, etc.

If you're behind this project, please do take 5 minutes today to add a linky or two to your site, as it'll be a massive, massive help.

Many thanks,

Dan

[Nadia]

Good luck, Dan!

[alfie]

Links added .

[jessechounard]

Link added here too.

Good luck!

[Fry Crayola]

One thing about that banner on your site. It says "buy indie games and merchandize".

"Merchandize" is a verb (in Americanaland), not a noun. So unless we can go over there and start selling stuff of all kinds, you might need to get it changed to "merchandise".

[DanMarshall]

Grrr! Thanks for that. I'll get it sorted and/ or mentioned.

;D

Thanks for the links, everyone. Much appreciated.

d

[DanMarshall]

ok, the grammar error has been fixed, now.

Thanks to everyone who has put up a banner of some sort, you're amazing.

D

[Jeff Leigh]

Interesting idea, but it would boost my confidence in the site if there was some way sort of public accountability. A simple 'funds' meter might be a decent place to start. That way, when I donate money, I could see the 'funds' meter increase by the amount I donated, and when a game is funded, the meter is reduced by the amount provided. Future enhancements could include a simple 'donations' page that lists recent donations, perhaps with names (if they donor wants to provide it) as a sort of 'kudos'.

Otherwise, it's hard not to see the site as a potential con. Money goes in, who knows how much, and who knows how much money comes out.

I for one would not be willing to put money into something without some sort of public accountability or reputation. I would recommend you start really small at first too. Save up a hundred dollars or so and donate it to a really small team that can perhaps use it for graphics hardware or a to help purchase a software tool.

EDIT: Another idea, if you take a profit cut, consider directing at least some of that money back into the funds pool.

[RinkuHero]

Yeah, I second that. I'm much more likely to donate to something if I see some type of statistics about how much has been donated to them and who has been getting it.

[ZuluBoy]

Out of curiosity, what are the condition to apply for the Gibbage indie loan ?
And how do you select the beneficiaries?

[DanMarshall]

I 100% fully and whole heartedly would love to put some sort of $$$ meter on the site to see how much is raised. At the moment, it's barely an issue, as funds raised total about £45, £40 of which was a single donation.

Once the site is fully up and running, I'll put something up. For now, it'd just be a banner saying "Look how little money we've raised! Isn't it phenomenal?"

Out of curiosity, what are the condition to apply for the Gibbage indie loan ?
And how do you select the beneficiaries?

Anyone can. There'll be a form that'll go up once I've raised enough cash to warrant it. It's relatively simple, but just explains what your game is, where it's at in development, your situation and your circumstances.

It may be that we'll approach someone who hasn't even heard of Gibbage.co.uk with an offer of cash. Who knows?

I'll do my level-headed best to give cash to people who really deserve it. There may be a public vote, but that's so far off yet it's not worth considering.

[Reinhardius]

Hi Dan,

That all sounds very good and i wish you all the best !!!

I am going to free some space on my soon to launch website for your banners.

Maybe you should change your default paypal donaten currency from Gbp to Eur
or Usd , because it feels a bit strange to donate money in Gbp if you are living outside of the UK.

Anyway , i really appreciate what you are doing and hope that one day it turns out big !

you should have raised 46Gbp in total now