My gosh Google is an ornery old search engine.
For some time now Google didn't seem to want to index our web site at www.towergames.com or give it any significant ranking. We tried beefing up our content and wiggling for the shark but it didn't seem to make any difference. Then in April I discovered Google Web Tools. These told me something was wrong, only our home page was properly indexed! Next step was the Google Webmasters Forum, which you get to from your account page in Google Web Tools.
Lots of people tearing their hair out, a few without a clue pretending like they know whats going on and putting others down for their ignorance. I got lucky. I posted that I was having this trouble and one of the other members actually checked the site out and came back to tell me precicely what was wrong!
The answer? Well Google Web Bot is very pernickety about following the HTML rules, more so than the web browser you are reading this with. I had to run my pages through the W3C QA Tools to identify the bugs and fix them. It took a while.
After putting the changes online I had to wait for Google Bot to scan my pages again. Then in May it tookoff. All those pages about the Tower Games scenarios could be found easily and people started dropping in at long last.
For your interest here are the scenario pages:
Pickett’s Charge
Antietam
Brice’s Crossroads
First Bull Run
Cedar Mountain
Champion Hill
Corinth
Gaines’s Mill
Gettysburg Day 1
Pea Ridge
Shiloh
Tuesday, 8 May 2007
Monday, 2 April 2007
Blog the First
I guess it was inevitable that I would start a blog of my own one day. Its such a tempting thing to find a podium to stump up to and start chatting into the void.
I'm keeping it safe and non-philosophical for the moment by running a blog about my internet game company www.towergames.com. Its something I started a few years ago with my friend Chris as a way of getting the kind of games we actually like to play on the web. I also wanted the chance to play with my Java skills and Chris wanted to play with marketing and web site creation.
Its been bumpy at times but a great deal of fun. My aim was to create a game outlet for other indie game writers but of course they haven't been attracted much because we don't have a zillion customers yet who would give them royalties. Our two games so far, Line of Muskets and Lightning War, were written by Eric (who is a 3rd party outside of Tower Games) and myself respectively. We have had a number of bites but because we can't afford to stump money up front just yet they tend to fail to complete. Ah well.
We have had a lot to learn. Making the games play as java applets has been both good and bad. It means I have had to set up a cross platform lab out of my own pocket to ensure everything works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Chris and I have both had ongoing tussles trying to work out how to get Google to rank our web site properly. Trying to attract players who like more thoughtful and turn based games is, well, fascinating. We have more ideas on the board than we have time to implement so its a slow process.
For example I'm building an online scenario editor for Lightning War which is fine, but that has to come with a whole "plug-in-to-Tower-Games" system to allow 3rd Parties to create online editors for their games and manage the process of scenario authors keeping work files and having their scenarios tested, automatically gathering and evaluating playtester feedback, releasing new scenarios for play, automatic payment of royalties and on and on.
I think its fair to say I like a challenge!
I'm keeping it safe and non-philosophical for the moment by running a blog about my internet game company www.towergames.com. Its something I started a few years ago with my friend Chris as a way of getting the kind of games we actually like to play on the web. I also wanted the chance to play with my Java skills and Chris wanted to play with marketing and web site creation.
Its been bumpy at times but a great deal of fun. My aim was to create a game outlet for other indie game writers but of course they haven't been attracted much because we don't have a zillion customers yet who would give them royalties. Our two games so far, Line of Muskets and Lightning War, were written by Eric (who is a 3rd party outside of Tower Games) and myself respectively. We have had a number of bites but because we can't afford to stump money up front just yet they tend to fail to complete. Ah well.
We have had a lot to learn. Making the games play as java applets has been both good and bad. It means I have had to set up a cross platform lab out of my own pocket to ensure everything works on Windows, Mac OS and Linux. Chris and I have both had ongoing tussles trying to work out how to get Google to rank our web site properly. Trying to attract players who like more thoughtful and turn based games is, well, fascinating. We have more ideas on the board than we have time to implement so its a slow process.
For example I'm building an online scenario editor for Lightning War which is fine, but that has to come with a whole "plug-in-to-Tower-Games" system to allow 3rd Parties to create online editors for their games and manage the process of scenario authors keeping work files and having their scenarios tested, automatically gathering and evaluating playtester feedback, releasing new scenarios for play, automatic payment of royalties and on and on.
I think its fair to say I like a challenge!
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