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[Ajene]

OK well i got a site for my team. We plan to produce our first games in November.

But the one thing i'm having trouble with now is the site actually. I'm trying to find out what a basic layout for a game development team site should look like.

Also we're using Joomla but we don't know how to use it, and i wanted to know would it be wise to bring on an extra member who just works on the site.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

if you're trying to find out what a basic layout for a game dev team site should look like, wouldn't it make sense to see what other game dev teams do/have on their sites?

[Ajene]

yea, I been looking at some sites, I have bookmarked which is mostly Blurst and Assyria game studios.

[ஒழுக்கின்மை (Paul Eres)]

looking at this may help:

http://www.squidoo.com/indie-games

it's moshboy's list of a bunch of indie game devs. you can go through them and look at how the sites generally work and what they contain, and decide on a style you like.

[weasello]

You might want to just put up a placeholder logo, maybe some basic information, a single "About us" page.

Once your first game is out, you can then make it a shrine to that one game.

Once the SECOND game comes out, then you will actually have content to manage, and can start thinking about content management systems.

There's no point wasting a bunch of time on a website when you could be making your first game.

[Fun Infused Games]

If you're just interested in a website to help track the progress of the game for your developers, I've found http://www.xp-dev.com/ offers a number of good features (version control, bug tracking, wiki pages, etc).

[obscure]

if you're trying to find out what a basic layout for a game dev team site should look like, wouldn't it make sense to see what other game dev teams do/have on their sites?

Paul's hit the nail on the head here. Look at other sites, make a note of the various different section they have (and also note the stuff that doesn't work) and use that to create a spec for your site.

Joomla is a very good CMS for large and complex sites but some people believe that makes it more difficult to work with than is necessary for a small site. I would suggest looking at Wordpress (www.wordpress.org). A couple of small indie developers I know are using it.... www.strawdogstudios.com and www.icongames.com

[Brice]

I've always found the more successful projects start a blog.  One of my favorites is the one the Behemoth does.  It's easy to set up a WordPress blog, and then you can post screenshots, info on the design, etc as you develop it.  Building a community around the game before it's even done is a huge plus. 

[hatu]

I'm trying to set up Joomla for myself and it's quite a bit of work. Kinda makes me wish I'd use something simpler. You can find a lot good looking templates/themes online that should fit your style.

[Jason Bakker]

We (well, mostly not me ) quickly knocked up this today. Took a few minutes to set up, then an hour or two of customization and stuff. It's all you really need up until release, unless you want to do some crazy personalized stuff... which IMO is just time better spent on the game!

Speaking of which...

[Aquin]

That's a pretty damn stylish site. 

[Jason Bakker]

Hehe, think it might just be a cool wordpress theme thing the artist found There's a lot of cool free stuff out there

[Ajene]

I changed to see if we could use wordpress, as joomla started to annoy me. the only problem i have with wordpress is i dont know any php. So i'm wondering does anyone know someone that can build me a cheap but good enough site?

[obscure]

Wordpress

Post a "New Job Request" to have a professional work with you http://jobs.wordpress.net/postajob.php,

or consider joining and soliciting professional assistance from the wp-pro mailing list http://lists.automattic.com/mailman/listinfo/wp-pro