Submission Guidelines

Here are the submission guidelines for this site. These guidelines are just that--guidelines--so they are not set in stone. However, although I am willing to compromise, I am not going to accept material that is blatantly in conflict with these guidelines. So, here goes.

Reviews
Reviews should be of a decent length (at least 500 words.) They should be thoughtful, and should cover what you feel are the most important aspects of a game. Please keep profanity to a minimum, and do not put spoilers in your review. (This, by the way, is one thing I'm NOT going to compromise on.) Plot is, to me at least, one of the most important aspects of an RPG, and I would hate to read a review only to have the plot of the game spoiled. Therefore, there will be no negotiations on that particular matter.

Some features your review must have:

• Cover all the major aspects of the game (graphics, characters, plot, gameplay, music to name a few)
• Discuss each of the aforementioned aspects in detail (though character and plot analyses should avoid spoilers!) If you say the graphics were good, what makes them good? If you hated the music or the gameplay, what was wrong with it?
• Give the game a score! The scale I use is 1-10, although a scale of 1-100 is acceptable. You *should* score each category you cover individually, but each game must have an overall score. The breakdown is as follows:
  10.0 - Perfect
  9.0 - Really really good. Games this good are rare.
  8.0 - Pretty darn good. A couple minor flaws, but nothing to be concerned about.
  7.0 - Good, but has major flaws that detract from the game.
  6.0 - Ehhh, it's ok. Some pretty major flaws.
  5.0 - This one's more to rent than buy.
  4.0 - I didn't find much good in it.
  3.0 - Sliding seriously toward crappy here.
  2.0 - This game has maybe ONE thing to recommend it.
  1.0 - This game is utterly appalling. Don't bother. Ever.
• Please reread your review to make sure your spelling and grammar are good; I'm really busy and don't have a lot of time to nitpick other people's work.
• Keep the cussing down, the flaming totally out, and the CAPS to a minimum.
• Absolutely NO spoilers. Teasers are good, spoilers are bad.

My take on reviews is that they exist so people can decide whether or not to buy a game. The last time I bought a game without previously reading the reviews on it, I ended up wasting $40 because I hated the game and quit after 6 hours. A review should pick out the major identifying characteristics of a game--the things that make it unique--and discuss whether these things are well done or poorly done. It also needs to be significantly longer than a paragraph--you're here to give information.

If you need hard examples of what I look for in a review, check the reviews written by either myself or Jason Venter--all of which are posted on the site. My main issue here is quality control. The RPG Place is really not a news site or a preview site. I'll leave that to the people who get review copies and have time to search the Net for all the newest news.

Well-written and thoughtful reviews will be accepted. Please try to clean up your spelling and grammar--I know I said this before, but it bears repeating. I will do a quick spell- and grammar-check on your submissions myself. However, if I get a review that has horrific spelling and grammar, I will simply send it back to you telling you to fix it up, and I won't consider it again until it has been cleaned up.

Articles
Articles can be on any subject you like as long as they relate to RPGs. There are a few restrictions:

• Good grammar and spelling are, as always, a must.
• Don't put spoilers! If you have to have them as part of the article, then PUT A WARNING on it.
• Articles are NOT meant to be "OMG FF7 sux0rs hardcore!!" Make a point and support it, as you would an essay.

Fanfics
The key here is well-written. Good grammar and spelling are crucial. I am not going to set minimum or maximum lengths for fanfics. I will go over your fanfic carefully and of course, I will spell and grammar check it. If I feel that the fanfic could use some more polishing, I'll send it back to you with my suggestions. If I think it's inappropriate or poorly written, I'll let you know.

Please do not submit fanfics with graphic sexual content (yaoi, yuri, or other explicit hentai WILL NOT be posted!) Your fanfic should not contain excessive amounts of profanity (except for people who are speaking in-character, like Cid of FF7). If I feel that it does, I'll send it back to you with a recommendation that you clean up your language.

Strategy Guides/Walkthroughs
Okay, this may not seem to be two separate categories to you, but I consider them separate. Here's the difference:
Strategy guides give hints, tips, and tricks, but don't get into the nitty-gritty details.
Walkthroughs are very detailed and can take you through a game with little baby-steps (hence the name walkthrough).
This is just how I classify them, so that's how things will be classified on this site. The guidelines for these submissions are as follows: If your guide/walkthrough contains spoilers, please let me know when you submit it, as it will be posted with a warning. Again, keep the profanity to a minimum. I will be reviewing guides for completeness and clarity. If I feel a guide is scrambled, or if you'll pardon the expression, "half-assed," you will get it back with my recommendations.

I will accept submissions in the following formats:
HTML
MS Word (If you use a Macintosh, please save your file to a Windows-compatible format, or I will not be able to view it. Also, please DON'T use Word 2000 or higher to make an HTML file! I would MUCH rather you format the file in Word and let me do the HTML.)
Text (.txt files. If you want me to post your work as a .txt file, please let me know.)
Zip Files (I recommend using this format for very large/multiple file walkthroughs or fanfics.)

I think that pretty much covers it. If you have questions please email me with them.

Submissions must be sent via email. Please send them to rina@rpgplace.net. Thank you very much!