NeoGAF
Encyclopedia
NeoGAF is an internet forum
that discusses video game
s, founded as an adjunct to Gaming-Age, a video game news site. Since April 4, 2006, the site has been independently hosted and administered.
The site is well-known for its strict codes of conduct. Many developers and publishers have said the site has a substantial impact on the industry, and many use it to get user feedback on their games. The approval of an account registration usually takes between six months to two years.
forum software and hosted on the Gaming Age servers. As Gaming Age outgrew its hosting, IGN
took over hosting of Gaming Age's forums. After IGN ceased hosting of GAF in the summer of 2001, GAF moved to ezboard
s, and the administration of GAF became more estranged from Gaming Age.
As the Gaming Age staff became gradually more divorced from the day-to-day operation of GAF, problems with the new Gamesquad hosting cropped up. As software bugs in vBulletin
2, the version GAF was using at the time, continued to worsen, the Gamesquad hosting became increasingly more impractical, until the forums' database became corrupted, forcing a move to new hosting in order to change software and salvage what was left of the forums' database. In the spring of 2004, a fundraiser was held to move GAF to new hosting. On June 6, 2004, GAF took its current form (known as "NeoGAF" to long-time posters) and moved to new hosting and new software, vBulletin
3.
As of April 4, 2006, the forums were relaunched as "NeoGAF", the former in-moniker, by its administrators. NeoGAF also features its own front page, an upfront admission that the forum's audience had drifted from that of its birthing news site, but yet mandated a single portal to represent the forum's members. Initial plans are to use the front page to highlight the individual accomplishments and biographies of GAF's publicly industry-relevant members, as well as to offer a more visible home to any extraordinary information that would otherwise have to be housed in an ordinary thread of conversation. More details can be gleaned (if sparsely) from this official thread declaring the changeover. In December 2007, the forums held a fundraiser, and ended up raising $5,600 for Get Well Gamers, a California
-based charity with the goal of entertaining sick children.
(creator of the Twisted Metal
series and God of War), Cliff Bleszinski
(designer on the Unreal franchise and the Gears of War
series), Jeremiah Slaczka
(co-founder of 5TH Cell
and creator of the Drawn to Life
franchise and Scribblenauts
), Vic Ireland (founder of Working Designs
). Andy McNamara
(editor-in-chief of Game Informer
), Jeff Green (former editor-in-chief of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
and former editor for 1UP), Gary Whitta
, former editor-in-chief of PC Gamer and Hollywood screenwriter, Shawn Elliott (former editor of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine and former editor for 1UP) and Greg Kasavin (former editor-in-chief of GameSpot
), Ryan Payton (former assistant producer at Kojima Productions
, now of Microsoft Game Studios
), as well as developers at Bungie
, Tim Lewinson (former senior designer at Disney Interactive Studios, Bethesda
, Monolith Productions
, Relic Entertainment
, Krome Studios
, Sidhe Interactive
, Rare, and Insomniac Games
), and James Stevenson (Senior Community Manager of Insomniac Games
). Denis Dyack
of Silicon Knights
has also posted on the forum until he was permanently banned.
, if the words "neogaf" or "gaf" are written, the NeoGAF logo will appear in the game. It can be mounted by the player and used similar to a helicopter (except it will not stay aloft in the air). If it is interacted with, the logo will spawn a gamer character.
. The protagonist, Dudebro, is being voiced by Jon St. John
.
Internet forum
An Internet forum, or message board, is an online discussion site where people can hold conversations in the form of posted messages. They differ from chat rooms in that messages are at least temporarily archived...
that discusses video game
Computer and video games
A video game is an electronic game that involves human interaction with a user interface to generate visual feedback on a video device. The word video in video game traditionally referred to a raster display device, but following popularization of the term "video game", it now implies any type of...
s, founded as an adjunct to Gaming-Age, a video game news site. Since April 4, 2006, the site has been independently hosted and administered.
The site is well-known for its strict codes of conduct. Many developers and publishers have said the site has a substantial impact on the industry, and many use it to get user feedback on their games. The approval of an account registration usually takes between six months to two years.
History
The Gaming-Age Forums began as an adjunct to Gaming Age, a video game news and reviews website, running the UBBUBB.classic
UBB.classic was an Internet forum software package originally written by Ted O'Neill of Social Strata, Inc. in 1996. It was written in Perl and used a flat file database...
forum software and hosted on the Gaming Age servers. As Gaming Age outgrew its hosting, IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
took over hosting of Gaming Age's forums. After IGN ceased hosting of GAF in the summer of 2001, GAF moved to ezboard
Ezboard
ezboard, Inc., based in San Francisco, California, United States, is a provider of free and paid hosted Internet forums.-Description: was a provider of a free hosted message board for use by webmasters and message board administrators who have little to no experience running a web site...
s, and the administration of GAF became more estranged from Gaming Age.
As the Gaming Age staff became gradually more divorced from the day-to-day operation of GAF, problems with the new Gamesquad hosting cropped up. As software bugs in vBulletin
VBulletin
vBulletin is a proprietary Internet forum software produced by Jelsoft Enterprises and vBulletin Solutions, both subsidiaries of Internet Brands. It is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database server.-History:...
2, the version GAF was using at the time, continued to worsen, the Gamesquad hosting became increasingly more impractical, until the forums' database became corrupted, forcing a move to new hosting in order to change software and salvage what was left of the forums' database. In the spring of 2004, a fundraiser was held to move GAF to new hosting. On June 6, 2004, GAF took its current form (known as "NeoGAF" to long-time posters) and moved to new hosting and new software, vBulletin
VBulletin
vBulletin is a proprietary Internet forum software produced by Jelsoft Enterprises and vBulletin Solutions, both subsidiaries of Internet Brands. It is written in PHP and uses a MySQL database server.-History:...
3.
As of April 4, 2006, the forums were relaunched as "NeoGAF", the former in-moniker, by its administrators. NeoGAF also features its own front page, an upfront admission that the forum's audience had drifted from that of its birthing news site, but yet mandated a single portal to represent the forum's members. Initial plans are to use the front page to highlight the individual accomplishments and biographies of GAF's publicly industry-relevant members, as well as to offer a more visible home to any extraordinary information that would otherwise have to be housed in an ordinary thread of conversation. More details can be gleaned (if sparsely) from this official thread declaring the changeover. In December 2007, the forums held a fundraiser, and ended up raising $5,600 for Get Well Gamers, a California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
-based charity with the goal of entertaining sick children.
Notable members
Many notable people from the video game industry have posted on NeoGAF, including David JaffeDavid Jaffe
David Jaffe is a video game designer originally from Birmingham, Alabama and currently residing in San Diego, California. He is divorced and has two children. Jaffe graduated from Alabama's Mountain Brook High School, located in Mountain Brook, AL, a suburb of Birmingham. Jaffe then attended the...
(creator of the Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal
Twisted Metal is a series of vehicular combat video games published by Sony Computer Entertainment, and developed by various companies during its tenure. The series began on the PlayStation in 1995 and currently features seven games, with an eighth installment currently in production...
series and God of War), Cliff Bleszinski
Cliff Bleszinski
Clifford Michael "Cliff" Bleszinski is the design director for the game development company Epic Games in Cary, North Carolina. He is most famous for his continuing hand in the development of the Unreal franchise, especially 1999's Unreal Tournament, and the Gears of War franchise...
(designer on the Unreal franchise and the Gears of War
Gears of War (series)
Gears of War is a science fiction video game franchise created and owned by Epic Games and published by Microsoft Studios. The three games that currently make up the series take place on the fictional planet Sera and focus on a war between humans and creatures known as Locust...
series), Jeremiah Slaczka
Jeremiah Slaczka
Jeremiah Slaczka, also known by his nickname Miah, is a video game designer/creative director and co-founder of 5TH Cell, a video game developer in Bellevue, Washington...
(co-founder of 5TH Cell
5th Cell
5TH Cell is an independently owned video game developer founded in 2003 as 5TH Cell Media, LLC. by Joseph M. Tringali, Jeremiah Slaczka and Brett Caird and currently develops video games for the Nintendo DS and Wii.-Overview:...
and creator of the Drawn to Life
Drawn to Life
Drawn to Life is an action-adventure/platform game for the Nintendo DS developed by 5th Cell and published by THQ. In the game, players create their own playable characters, level objects and accessories by drawing them using the DS's stylus and touch screen.Drawn to Life requires the player to...
franchise and Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts
Scribblenauts is an emergent puzzle action video game developed by 5th Cell for the Nintendo DS published by WB Games. The game was released September 15, 2009 in North America, September 30, 2009 in Australia, and October 9, 2009 in Europe. Konami released the game in Japan under the name on...
), Vic Ireland (founder of Working Designs
Working Designs
Working Designs was an American video game publisher that specialized in the localization of Japanese console role-playing games, strategy video games and top-down shooters for various video game platforms. Though the company had published many 'cult hits', it was known best to fans as the...
). Andy McNamara
Andy McNamara
Andrew Michael McNamara is an American sportscaster, most known for his work as a soccer play-by-play announcer...
(editor-in-chief of Game Informer
Game Informer
Game Informer is an American-based monthly magazine featuring articles, news, strategy, and reviews of popular video games and associated consoles. It was formed in August 1991, when FuncoLand started publishing a six-page magazine, free in all its retail locations...
), Jeff Green (former editor-in-chief of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine
Games for Windows: The Official Magazine was a monthly computer game magazine published by Ziff Davis Media, licensing the Games for Windows brand from Microsoft Corporation. It was the successor to Computer Gaming World. The first issue was released in November 2006...
and former editor for 1UP), Gary Whitta
Gary Whitta
Gary Whitta is an English screenwriter, author, game designer, and video games journalist. He is known as the former editor-in-chief of both the UK and US editions of PC Gamer magazine and contributor to gaming magazine, ACE....
, former editor-in-chief of PC Gamer and Hollywood screenwriter, Shawn Elliott (former editor of Games for Windows: The Official Magazine and former editor for 1UP) and Greg Kasavin (former editor-in-chief of GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
), Ryan Payton (former assistant producer at Kojima Productions
Kojima Productions
is a Japanese video game development studio under the guidance of game designer Hideo Kojima. The company is a subsidiary of Konami, and is located in Roppongi Hills in Roppongi, Tokyo. The studio had just under 100 employees in 2005 but has since grown to over 200 people for the development of...
, now of Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Game Studios
Microsoft Studios is the video game production wing for Microsoft, responsible for the development and publishing of games for the Xbox, Xbox 360, Games for Windows and Windows Phone platforms. They were established in 2002 as Microsoft Game Studios to coincide with the release of the Xbox, before...
), as well as developers at Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
, Tim Lewinson (former senior designer at Disney Interactive Studios, Bethesda
Bethesda Softworks
Bethesda Softworks, LLC, is an American video game company. A subsidiary of ZeniMax Media, the company was originally based in Bethesda, Maryland and eventually moved to their current location in Rockville, Maryland...
, Monolith Productions
Monolith Productions
Monolith Productions is a Kirkland, Washington-based computer game developer. Monolith is also known for the development of the graphical game engine Lithtech, which has been used for most of their games...
, Relic Entertainment
Relic Entertainment
Relic Entertainment is a Canadian game development company that specializes in 3D real-time strategy games and has released a number of unique PC games. Relic specializes in creative, visually appealing, and combat intense RTS games.-History:...
, Krome Studios
Krome Studios
Krome Studios is an Australian video game company. Its headquarters are in Brisbane and it previously had offices in Adelaide and Melbourne. Krome Studios is best known for their Ty the Tasmanian Tiger games and for revitalising the Spyro the Dragon series...
, Sidhe Interactive
Sidhe Interactive
Sidhe is a game development studio based in Wellington, New Zealand.Sidhe is an officially licensed developer for Microsoft , Sony Computer Entertainment Europe , and Nintendo of America . It is also a co-founding member of the New Zealand Game Developers Association...
, Rare, and Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1994, Insomniac has released titles for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. It created Disruptor, the first three Spyro the Dragon games, and the Ratchet &...
), and James Stevenson (Senior Community Manager of Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games
Insomniac Games, Inc. is an American video game developer headquartered in Burbank, California. Founded in 1994, Insomniac has released titles for the PlayStation, PlayStation 2, and PlayStation 3 video game consoles. It created Disruptor, the first three Spyro the Dragon games, and the Ratchet &...
). Denis Dyack
Denis Dyack
Denis Dyack is the founder and president of Silicon Knights, a video game developer. He founded Silicon Knights in 1992 after publishing Cyber Empires in 1991. He has a Bachelor of Physical Education Degree from Brock University...
of Silicon Knights
Silicon Knights
Silicon Knights is a Canadian video game developer. Founded in 1992 by Denis Dyack, the company is headquartered in St. Catharines, Ontario, Dyack's hometown....
has also posted on the forum until he was permanently banned.
Cultural impact
In the video game ScribblenautsScribblenauts
Scribblenauts is an emergent puzzle action video game developed by 5th Cell for the Nintendo DS published by WB Games. The game was released September 15, 2009 in North America, September 30, 2009 in Australia, and October 9, 2009 in Europe. Konami released the game in Japan under the name on...
, if the words "neogaf" or "gaf" are written, the NeoGAF logo will appear in the game. It can be mounted by the player and used similar to a helicopter (except it will not stay aloft in the air). If it is interacted with, the logo will spawn a gamer character.
Forum Projects
NeoGAF is developing a video game, titled Dudebro: My Shit Is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg TimeDudebro: My Shit Is Fucked Up So I Got to Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time
Dudebro: My Shit is Fucked Up So I Got To Shoot/Slice You II: It's Straight-Up Dawg Time is a top-down, 3rd-person perspective shooting game which is currently being developed by members of the NeoGAF community. The game is set to be released as a PC format game in 2011...
. The protagonist, Dudebro, is being voiced by Jon St. John
Jon St. John
Jon St. John is an American voice actor and singer. He started his career in voice work in 1975, when he was a Top 40 radio DJ in North Carolina. Because of his vocal talent and technical skills, he was hired as a production director for several US radio stations in cities including: Norfolk, New...
.