The making of GOBLIN6

:// INTRO

In a previous post, I had mentioned what drove me to create GOBLIN6.

Here, I would like to touch on what was actually used in order to create the site. Here we go.

:// BRANDING

Normally, I like to do a mood board or font exploration when I work on branding.

ZOG Station treatment for Fllad Shehu

But for GOBLIN6, the name and the font came to me the same day.

ORC A Std baby. The GOBLIN6 font.

:// CMS (CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM)

I went with WordPress due to my previous experience with the platform. Overall, the user interface is pretty straight forward. Unfortunately, the latest update decided to go with a much more minimal design, hiding my most used menus hidden either to the top or side. Breaking menus altogether.

:// THEME

Since I have no experience whatsoever with code, I hunted down a theme which fitted my needs. Most of the themes I found were your current, standard 2010 theme. Themes with a huge carousel that fit the width of the screen, usually with a three column layout beneath it.

I was fortunate to find a theme which had the classic centered layout, reminiscent of the early 2000s. The magic really happened when besides finding my theme, it also brought two extra benefits.

The first is that is does not have a mobile layout. Normally, people look at me weird when I mention this. The reason why I like this a lot is because that way it forces users to check the site on a desktop, thus (hopefully) bringing back their attention span. Since unfortunately, everybody has their nose stuck on their cell phones all day.

The second is the color scheme. Which is something that really clicked with me, plus, it would be a great exercise to work within that color set and try to come up with visuals that would match that color base.

:// CONTENT

For the overall web presence, I had decided on a website with game profiles, in-game files, and news. I also wanted a forum, and (possibly) streaming.

After the hurdle of establishing the main site, the first easy task was creating the Twitter profile. Of course, I had to add an underscore to the name, since (somehow) ‘GOBLIN6’ was already taken.

The one thing I HAD to absolutely have under the GOBLIN6 banner was a Forum. Many people suggested me to use something like Discord or just create a Facebook page.

The main allure of the forum is that I could style it to my specific needs and brand it just like the site. Plus, topics are cataloged and available for search within the forum. Services like Discord and Facebook (make me) feel like there is not an archived discussion, just a giant room where everyone is shouting.

:// PHPBB

The two main choices for me were phpBB and VBulletin. After looking into VBulletin and seeing that there was a price attached to it I was like “fuck, well, no thanks”. I had crept many, may forums during my research and, at least, around 80 percent were running phpBB.

Fortunately, my hosting provider featured a ‘1-click-install’ for phpBB.

Unfortunately, phpBB is a major pain in the ass to configure. And I say this in the most loving way because once everything is looking and working as intended, you’re the man.

:// STREAMING

I had never considered streaming before. I had checked a few streams and noticed some good one but nothing that really made me want to do it.

Once each piece of GOBLIN6 started coming together I started thinking about what else could I do in order to grow an audience for the site. Thanks to my buddy Fllad Shehu who recommend I try streaming, I finally got into it and started enjoying it.

Besides getting over the embarrassment of putting yourself out there, once you start streaming for the fun of it is when it finally starts to click. At first, I was obsessed with getting viewers, today, I honestly don’t care what the numbers are. My only goal is that whoever is watching has fun, especially me too, since I am the one doing it.

:// OBS

After a quick Google search, I landed on OBS. This is honestly the only piece of software I have tried, and I am sticking with it. It does exactly what I need and there are a lot of tutorials to get you started.

:// STYLE GUIDE

I did notice however, that my previous layout did not allow for viewer participation. At first, I was strongly against adding a chat box to the stream, thinking it would “degrade” the experience.

After checking a lot of streams as research, I realized that if done correctly, it could add a “special” touch to your stream. Both in terms of making your viewers fully feeling as they are part of the experience, and, not to mention, a chance to extend your branding and web presence.

:// SPECTRE

Another area which also allows you to establish your web presence is a podcast. Again, something which I was too embarrassed to try. But just like streaming, I also found extremely enjoyable.

The main goal is to also have fun. There are many, many podcasts out there, but this one is mine. And with it, I am allowed a space where I can continue to learn three-fold. How to speak, how to engage and how to produce. These principles are also gospel for the GOBLIN6 stream as well.

:// STATUS OF GOBLIN6

As of this writing, the site is finally complete.

Of course, in terms of “pillars” that will allow me to continue to make the site “richer” for users.

The main site is set up where things like inventory, character bios, etc. can finally be added. That in itself, is another ongoing project, cataloguing all of the information and transcribing it to the site.

The Forum has been stylized to match the site, each designated area for discussion has been established. Users have the option to select from a set of Resident Evil avatars which they can use instead of making their own. And, if they are too lazy to do that, they automatically have a default zombie avatar.

SPECTRE is an ongoing weekly show where I can continue to discuss the series and anything pertaining to it. There is space to invite guests and further reach out to the Resident Evil Community.

Streaming is (as of now) on an unpredictable schedule, but, everything is also in place to just keep updating with new games for viewers. The layout does not need to be changed (probably and hopefully never).

My “news acquisition” system is set up and running.

Feedly and Tweetdeck. Weapons of choice.

My “command center” (project management portal) has also been up and running.

Notion baby, stone cold.

The final element I also wanted for GOBLIN6 is a wiki.

Well fortunately, that is also ready to go.

As with the other elements of the site, the design and color scheme is done, I just need to add the content. Maps, puzzles, detailed weapon stats, etc. Yup, that is a scoop, and, as of now, you can only find the link here in this blog post. The link will be up on the main site once the content has been added. I have made the wiki read only, since this is a GOBLIN6-only wiki.

The future for the site is bright after almost 2 years of thinking and re-thinking how to make this work, everything is finally in place. The only thing that needs to be done is to continue to add content, not design.