How to…?
Contents:
• Introduction
• Basic Blogging
• Advanced Blogging
• Working with Images
• Working with Video
• Embedding a Link
• The Kitchen Sink
• Guide to Submitting Content
• Guide to Creating Great-Looking Articles
• Guide to Posting News
• Guide to Posting User Reviews
The following is a great read if you want to get involved with MidLife Gamer and start blogging.
You will find more details regarding content we are looking for in the About Us section.
Click Create New Blog Post from the Control Panel
This is the blog post editor, begin with a snappy title.
Blog posts can contain a number of images to help drive home the story. The initial image is a must for any post.
This is the Upload / Insert media section
Press Add An Image
We recommend that you upload new image from your local computer by browsing to the desired image.
Once the required image has been uploaded, the above options will become available. Give the image an appropriate title before ensuring it is left-aligned and set to medium size.
Press Insert into Post (See advanced section for image resizing)
Start body of text
As tempting as it might be to type this in Word and paste into the editor, this can cause formatting issues. If this is a preferred method, it is wise to paste into an application like Notepad before copying into the editor.
It is recommended that you save your work on a regular basis. Plus the Preview button gives you a chance to see how your post will look when published.
It is important that you check your blog is correct, once submitted for review the post can no longer be edited. Simple formatting changes and domestics will be carried out by an Administrator, along with feedback to yourself to help any future blog posts.
So what happens next?
Once your post has been moderated by an Administrator you will find this online in the Blogroll. On some occasions your post may even be featured on the front page of the web site.
You can review your posts any at time, this includes posts which are published, pending review or still in draft. An Administrator may contact you regarding a submitted post and set it back to a Draft state, allowing you to make the required amendments before resubmitting.
Your posts can be viewed by clicking the View All Blog Posts button
Here is an example:
Here we can see the following posts and their current status
Post A has been moderated and published. This will be listed in the Blogroll section of the web site
Post B is still in draft and can continue to be edited until it is submitted
Post C has been submitted and is awaiting moderation. This will not currently be visible on the web site
The post submitted in this guide has been published to the blogroll and has also been promoted to the front page of the web site as follows.
There are a number of further advanced techniques that can be applied when creating a blog post.
In the basic blogging guide, we introduced the concept of adding an image. Here we will explore further options and advanced editing.
After previewing your post, you may decide the image is the wrong size. If this is the case, clicking the image will allow you to select the Edit Image button
From here you are able to adjust the size of the image along with its current Alignment. For images further within the blog post, you may wish to add an Image Caption, which shows as follows –
It is important that you do not add a caption to the first image created as this causes formatting issues. Clicking Update will return you to the blog post editor screen after making the appropriate changes to the image.
Selecting an image in the editor will also allow you to delete the image if no longer required.
It is possible to embed video from YouTube if the post demands such content.
To embed video into your posts, paste your YouTube video URL directly into the post and add insert a “v” between the “P” and “:” of the URL.
For example,
<http://www.xxx> should be <httpv://www.xxx>
If you want to embed high quality video, paste your YouTube video URL directly into the post and add insert a “vh” between the “P” and “:” of the URL.
For example
<http://www.xxx> should be <httpvh://www.xxx>
You will be required to Preview the post to see the video in action.
If you want to link to another site from your blog post (which is mandatory when quoting news from another source), highlight the text which you want to become the link and click the Insert/edit Link button
Clicking Insert will create the link from the highlighted work. The other options are not needed.
To get further formatting options available, such as additional colour for text, you can activate the kitchen sink with the following button
This will give you the following additional options
The Midlife Gamer content submitting process couldn’t be simpler, you’re just eight steps away from journalistic stardom! But what are these eight steps I hear you ask? Well…
1. Go to http://www.midlifegamer.net/ or click the large Midlife Gamer banner, where you will be taken to the homepage.
2. Sign in to (or create) your MLG account.
3. Click Create New Blog Post. You can also click ‘View All Blog Posts’ to have access to your work and edit drafts.
4. Write your post. (See here for general hints and tips on creating posts)
5. Click ‘Save Draft’ if you’re not finished but want to save your progress or hit ‘publish’ to have the work sent for moderation by one of MLG’s tireless editors.
6. Wait to be moderated / published. Feel free to let us know you have work ready with a DM on the forums.
7. When your work is online, pimp it out to your friends, family, work colleagues and nearby strangers.
8. Celebrate.
Well that was easy right? Any questions at all, drop them in the box below and we’ll add any relevant information to the post. Remember, Midlife Gamer is keen to promote the best work from the community, consistently excellent posters will be rewarded with super secret opportunities and other great things.
Guide to Creating Great-Looking Articles
First thing’s first, you need to come up with what you want to write. Have a good idea for a piece before you start working, something that you would like to read yourself.
Give your article a name. It doesn’t need to be the final title of the piece, but for our site to save your work it needs a name.
Next, choose a category that your post falls into and make sure to follow the guidelines herein;
Commentary – This is used for opinion and anything based on personal taste that isn’t a flat out, objective review. This can range from your theories about what makes a great game, to your thoughts on gaming as an art form, to highlighting a great series you feel the world has missed out on. Ensure that you use links where appropriate.
News – See our guide on putting together news articles here.
Podcast – If your name is Matt or Daren and you run a community called Midlife Gamer then feel free to use this category to host the latest smut filled episode of the Midlife Gamer Podcast. If you aren’t, there’s nothing to see here.
Reviews – See our guide on putting together User Reviews here.
Write your text – do not change the default font.
Spell check your work, read through to ensure that the work flows correctly.
Add images – make sure you have the right permissions to include the image, if we see an IGN watermark, it’s not going to be included.
Create an Excerpt – a small amount of text that succintly describes your article.
Add links.
Things to remember:
Don’t use Google Chrome, use Firefox when editing and uploading
Don’t use Page breaks or Post Tags
Don’t include your name (this is automatically added)
If there’s anything you don’t feel is covered by this, and you’d like to give us something a bit different, drop us a line on [press at midlifegamer dot net]
Want to tell the world about a hot new gaming scoop? Awesome, we want to hear from you! There are a few basics you need to adhere to though if you’re going to have news published on the good ship MLG, let us show you what they are and what we expect!
Article Title: Your title needs to be snappy and to the point. If you can make us laugh then all the better. Puns are strongly encouraged.
Body: The News article itself. As news itself is so varied, there’s no real cut and paste solution to covering it, but there are a few things you can do to ensure the piece is as useful (and widely read) as possible.
1. Make sure you have your facts straight. Give us as accurate information as you can, so if you have interesting facts and figures, let us have ‘em! Likewise, if a story changes drastically make sure you update your article, leaving the original story but highlighting new information as and when it comes in.
2. Give us your angle. We want to read your spin on the news you’re presenting, so back your hard hitting journalism up with opinion too. Do bear in mind though that the bulk of news should always be just that, news.
3. Quotes and sourcing. If you are reporting on a piece from another site, make sure to note who they are and always link to the original piece. If you include quotes in your article, make sure to reference who they are attributed to. Credit where credit’s due is one of MLG’s mantras after all!
4. Gossip control. Unlike Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, we DO comment on rumour and speculation, but remember to mark your piece accordingly. If you aren’t reporting pure, unadulterated fact nuggets make sure to clearly label your piece as such. On a side note, if you want to submit a rumour yourself (perhaps you work for Capcom have details on that Street Fighter Vs. Rapelay cross over we’ve all been waiting for) then do not post yourself. Email press @ midlifegamer dot net instead and we’ll get back to you ASAP.
Excerpt: This is a very brief summation or eye catching piece of text that encapsulates the news in brief, and may well be used if and when the piece is featured on our front page.
Follow these simple rules and you’ll be creating content in no time. If we see something that we like then we feature it and promote it in all the right places. When we continually see good work from a community member we approach them to help us out on special assignments, give them access to super secret fun stuff and other fringe benefits. Any questions, comments or thoughts? Drop them in the box below.
Want to let us know about the latest game you’ve played? Brilliant, we want to hear from you! There are a few basics you need to adhere to though if you’re going to have reviews published on the good ship MLG, let us show you what they are and what we expect!
Article Title: This should always be the name of the game, followed by the word ‘Review’. Nothing more, nothing less.
Body: Your actual review. You need to cover the key elements that we feel are crucial in game design, presentation (how the game looks and sounds), gameplay (the mechanics of the title, whether they’re engaging), but feel free to include anything else you feel is relevant. Try to present your experience of the game as clearly and as accurately as you can, afer all we want to know what you thought.
Review Score: Any whole number out of ten. We’ve never done anything in half measures and neither should you, so no point 5′s. Our scoring system is quite simple, a zero is a title utterly devoid of worth on any level and ten is a game that is perfect by the standards of the time it is created. Five is middle of the road, mediocre, an average game. For more information on what our scores mean, plus details of our reviews policy, click here.
Platform: The system on which this version has been released.
Release Date: The official PAL release date.
Disclosure: How did you play the game, over what period of time and using which console with what kind of set up? You’ll notice that Official MLG Reviews also state how we obtained the title and any other extenuating circumstances we feel you should know for the sake of transparency. You don’t need to include this for a User Review.
Excerpt: This is a very brief summation or eye catching piece of text that encapsulates the feeling of your article, that may be used if and when the piece is featured on our front page.
You should now have all you need to start writing your critique. If we see something that we like then we feature it and promote it in all the right places. When we continually see good work from a community member we approach them to write official reviews, with all of the benefits that that entails. Any questions, comments or thoughts? Drop them in the box below.