Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
not want them to turn away because the layout suggests that you have no
appreciation of the importance of visual impact. That is not to say that you
need to overload your site with lots of graphics, but even a minimalist design
should have a structure to it. A site where the text expands to fill the width
of the screen becomes very difficult to read when the site is viewed full-
screen at high resolutions - this is why newspapers and magazines have text
printed in columns.
If you do not have the graphical or technical skills necessary to create the
web pages yourself, you may have to pay someone to create the site for you,
but it is going to be a wise business investment if the end result is something
that tells the visitor that this writer has a quality site that helps establish your
professional status. An alternative could be to find someone you can trade
skills with. It may be that you know of or could find a graphic designer who
will build your site if you do some writing work in exchange - create some
dynamic copy for another client of theirs, say.
Keywords are an important part of how search engines find your site and
are embedded in the information on each page. If you do not know how this
is done, ensure that the person putting together your website includes all the
key words you can think of that are relevant to you and your work. Words
you could include are: writer, scriptwriter, video game, computer game,'your
name', experienced, etc.
Further internet presence
Having a website is all very well, but you need to draw people to it. While
searching may throw up links to your site, you should also consider other
ways to be more proactive in drawing visitors.
Subscribing to press release sites is an excellent way of not only keeping
abreast of game news announcements, but also of making your own
announcements in the form of press releases. Because many people in the
industry subscribe to these sites, regular press releases are a good way of
keeping your name in the eyes of potential clients, particularly if you are
allowed to make announcements about big projects you have landed.
Another way of marketing yourself is to consider writing articles or
columns for gaming websites. It is rare that you will be paid for such work
and when you do it is more than likely to be a token payment, but you
should never consider it to be a source of income but as a marketing tech-
nique. Ensure that each time you do this the page the article appears on also
carries a brief bio as well as a link to your website. If you do not mind risking
