Screenshots

As the internet grows more and more freeware games are cropping up and the competition for my interest and time grows stronger. One of the factors that makes me choose what game to download and what game to ignore is how it presents its screenshots.

Screenshots are the window into the actual gameplay of the game and make my decision easier to make but only if they are done correctly, there are a couple of issues that i am seeing on an ever-increasing basis:

1. Screenshots are NOT Screenshots.



This is a classic example of a screenshot not being a screenshot. To me screenshots should be actual ingame pictures i should be able to see:

• who the player is
• the GUI
• other people,objects etc.

The above is not a case of this there is no aparent GUI in view i can only see one ship which may not be mine. I have no idea what the actual gameplay is this is a pure graphical screenshot that is, to be put frank, showing off.



This is a proper screenshot as it shows ingame footage and all of the things the other one lacked. This is also from the same game as the first and shows that it can be done.

2. Screenshots are impossible to find.

screenshots should be the easiest thing to find on a website a nice clear "screenshots" hyperlink takes me straight to the place i want to be. On many games, more commonly in MMORPGs, the screenshots link is placed in a flash file which is nested in another catorgory ranging(from experience) in name from:

• Community
• Game guide
• Media
• Features
• Gallery
• and many more...

The point is. If i cannot find them then i will not download it because all that happens is the website with its flashy nature shows off pre-rendered graphics and i download the game to find its actually a waste of my time.


SO ALL COMPANIES OUT THERE PUT A DIRECT LINK ON THE HOMEPAGE OF YOUR SITE!