Hi Slurpers!
As some of you know, we've been thinking about changing GameSlurp for a while, in fact the GameSlurp forums were designed to complement the GameSlurp News front end, but that never got launched for a number of reasons (mainly a lack of time needed to dedicate to writing full editorial).
Anyway... where does this leave GameSlurp? Well to cut a long story short, we are no longer reliant upon off-the-shelf software, and can now do pretty much anything we want... and this is where I think GameSlurp is set to come into its own...
GameSlurp 2.0
Slurp. It has to be something to do with slurping and Slurpers!
I think it's fair to say that we all like to keep up to date with information about games, and lap up news on what's happening, what's new, what's hot, and what our friends are saying about the games we're interested in.
So how about a platform where you can make short posts, follow people and people can follow you? Yes, a bit like Twitter, but with a few key differences, thanks to being tightly focused on the topic of games...
You'd be able to include hashtags in your posts, and our system would keep a record of every game and every post that you tag. That way, you'll be able to see what people are saying about a game from the day they take an interest in it, to the day they complete it! So kind of like a review that's built over time. A stream. E.g. gameslurp.com/smack/uncharted would show you all of Smack's posts about Uncharted. Cool huh?
But it won't stop there. Each game (or platform) will have it's own feed too. So going to something like gameslurp.com/games/god-of-war will show you what people are saying about God of War - who's posted the most about it, the most cross-posted posts related to it (such as news items) and so on. Basically what's hot right now for that game. We'll also be able to track links that may be connected with games, so there'll even be an element of N4G thrown in.
The homepage will also have two sections - your feed (posts from people you follow) and a what's going on section - showing the games being talked about most right now, the most cross-posted posts, etc. You need never miss anything important again!
So true to our name GameSlurp, will slurp up everything, whether it's to do with you and a game, or a game, or a platform - all the latest and hottest stuff when you want it.
What's more, I think game developers will be really keen to see this, as I'm sure they'd be very interested to read what people say from start to finish about their game - rather than sporadic tweets or posts that they may be getting from Social Networks. I'm going to contact a few and hope to get a few on board - maybe to give away exclusive stuff to members who's streams they really like or find helpful
I think this can be a lot more fun and focused than other more generic social networks, and a great fit for the GameSlurp community.
The site will get a fresh lick of paint

and will also be a responsive design, meaning it will work perfectly on mobile phones/iPads etc
What do you think? If there's enough interest in this, it will move higher up my to-do list (I have several projects on the go right now!) but I really like the idea. I think it has the potential to tie in really well with GameSlurp... and it's about time we had something new, fresh and exciting... hopefully in time for the next gen too