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blackline_mod ([info]blackline_mod) wrote in [info]rp_tutorials,
@ 2009-03-31 15:44:00

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Entry tags:coding: game navigation, resources: game creation

Site Maps -- How and Why?



These days, communities are becoming more and more complex, which often makes navigation difficult and often overwhelming to new members. Making different entires to hold unique information shortens pages and makes the overall look much more attractive, however this often results in an equally unattractive and intimidating wall o' links.

It is for this reason that I strongly suggest mods consider building a separate Site Map page to allow for the easy access and organization of links. This allows you to put a condensed version of important links on most pages for the basic, commonly used information, but still lets your players find all the finer details about your game. A list of character birthdays, class schedules or even a mod's creed is great information to have access to, but does not necessarily need to be on every page, as it is not information that players will use on a daily or even weekly basis.

I like to divide up the list of links into three sections:
Basics: The basic info that is important to players and interested parties alike. This include the rules, FAQ, taken and wanted characters, etc.
Game Info: Info that is important to the game but not critical. Dorm layouts, maps and points of interest, birthday lits, etc.
For the Players: Information that is important or relevant to players but is not necessarily of in-game importance. This includes contact lists, history about how the game came into being, mod's creeds, preferred coding for the community, etc.

Below is my personal brand of Site Map and the code for how to create an easy to navigate, clean map. Feel free to edit code and color and use at your will. No need to credit, but if you feel the need, just credit [info]rp_tutorials, do leave a comment though, I'd love to see how it's used. :) Hope someone finds this useful!


BasicsGame InfoFor Players
» Rules
» FAQ
» Premise
» Character List
» Wanted List
» Holds
» Apply
» Site Map
» Layout/Map
» Class Schedule/Calendar
» Birthday List
» Other Game Info
» Etc
» Contacts/Friend Adder
» Log Coding
» Activity Check Info
» About the mods
» Additional Info





(Post a new comment)


[info]hammertech
2009-03-31 04:17 pm UTC (link)
Oh, I love you for posting this! And the link division is very nice!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]blackline_mod
2009-03-31 04:23 pm UTC (link)
Hope someone can find it useful. :D I fought with trying to find a nice division for ages, but it seems to work well enough. XP

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]amused
2009-03-31 04:27 pm UTC (link)
This is most excellent!

(Reply to this)


[info]ex_seaqueen892
2009-04-02 02:55 am UTC (link)
I love this! It looks fantastic. ^.^ I'm using it, thanks!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]blackline_mod
2009-04-02 08:26 pm UTC (link)
Looks great, I love the colors!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]peripetymod
2009-04-25 08:17 pm UTC (link)
We swiped the idea and edited over at our game. Thank you very much!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]blackline_mod
2009-04-25 08:30 pm UTC (link)
Love the coding/colors on it! :3

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]midnightmod
2009-05-20 11:04 am UTC (link)
I'll still give the credit where it's due because I obviously took the code, which rocks by the way, but I think my layout isn't pleased with WHATEVER because it made the table look enormous on the front page. I wanted to use it as top navigation on the front page that wouldn't move, instead of a list of links to the side of the layout.

I attempted to fix this in the layout code itself, but nothing I changed worked, so I opted for removing the colors and going for a white background with a small text that is still larger, in comparison, than the rest of the text on the page.

Seen here. Thank you, however, for the code in general. It's such a pleasing product!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]blackline_mod
2009-05-20 12:29 pm UTC (link)
Looks very clean and nice with your edits, very nice work!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]triwizmods
2009-09-19 10:18 am UTC (link)
Hi, we've used your table at [info]triwizmods and just wanted to let you know.

Because we're new and don't have all of the pages you suggested we decided to lop off a column and stick with two. We also played around with the colours. I hope you approve!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]triwizmods
2009-09-19 10:22 am UTC (link)
Somehow a 'thanks' didn't manage to find its way in there, which was the main purpose of the comment.

Thank you!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]xprojectmods
2010-02-19 10:12 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! I nabbed this and used it over on LJ's X-Project to help tidy up our community profiles.

(Reply to this)


[info]forsythia
2010-03-28 01:15 pm UTC (link)
Thanks for sharing! I'm using a version of this on my journal map and my profile right now.

(Reply to this)


[info]pamods
2011-03-31 04:22 pm UTC (link)
Awesome coding! We're starting a game in the future and will be using this!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]pamods
2011-03-31 04:23 pm UTC (link)
Oh, duh, THANK YOU!

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]agrimmtale
2012-08-18 10:21 pm UTC (link)
Oh gosh, thanks for this! :D Totally using it here.

(Reply to this)


[info]vendomods
2012-08-22 02:12 pm UTC (link)
Thanks! Using in this journal.

(Reply to this)


[info]destructionmods
2013-05-04 05:29 am UTC (link)
We use this here with some modifications, thank you!

(Reply to this)


[info]inthewatermods
2014-02-03 11:34 am UTC (link)
Thanks for this! Changed the colors, but using the code at this game.

(Reply to this)



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