The "Downfall" of GFX Sites

Discussion in 'General Discussion' started by Colinsky, Mar 20, 2017.

  1. Colinsky

    Colinsky Well-Known Member

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    Hello everyone, not trying to be rude with the thread title, seeing as I consider GameRenders as a GFX site, lol. Upon visiting this site (glad it's still up) and others (which are now dead), I can't help but ponder what caused graphics sites to dwindle in popularity. It makes me upset because it was sites like GameRenders, NationalSigLeague, Tagmonkey, RKS-GX, PlanetRenders, ChaosGFX, that got me to create signatures with Photoshop.

    I think the number one reason is the failure to adapt. I literally just looked up "GameRenders" on Facebook, and I don't see an official Facebook page. The closest thing I got was people just mentioning it, but barely. Most companies are always plugging in their social media platforms, non-stop. They're always putting out news, updates, and highlights. The term, "out of sight, out of mind" comes to my head.

    Graphics have evolved to the point where a lot of work that required some effort 10 years ago can be done with an easy filter by mobile applications like Instagram. It's crazy. You can blur, set gradient maps, and alter color schemes with the click of a button. That is just a taste of what mobile applications can do - I am sure I am missing a lot more. As I write this, there's even an Adobe Photoshop Express on the Google Play store. That is probably going to advance further in the next few years.

    I didn't make this thread to disparage GameRenders - I was wondering what might have been if some rebranding was done, as someone mentioned in an earlier thread. What if GameRenders had been been the driving force to develop some mobile apps that added a filter to a "selfie"? What if it had moved on to Facebook, Twitter, and/or Instagram for updates? What if the render gallery had not only been video game characters, but of beauty models?

    This is just my two cents on the matter. It would be cool if everyone else shared their thoughts.
     
  2. madmav

    madmav Well-Known Member

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    Totally see where you're coming from, and it's a damn shame that they have died out a lot, but I don't know if forums mix well with social media, there's a bit of anonymity to message boards that gives them a certain charm.
     
  3. xlink

    xlink GR's Tech Enthusiast

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    If memory serves me correctly, there IS a facebook page, or at the very least some sort of group.

    I do think that reddit + facebook cannibalized a lot of forums and with that... there's a lot less demand for sigs.

    With that said, demand for graphic design is as high as ever... so if anything this should just be an exercise in branding.
     
  4. madmav

    madmav Well-Known Member

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  5. 5413D

    5413D Member

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    feeling nostalgic as ****
     
  6. Majin

    Majin Senior Member

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  7. kovan

    kovan Senior Member

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    **** man, coming back here really shows how fast time goes.
    I wish it was still active like back then.
     
  8. madmav

    madmav Well-Known Member

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    If we could turn back time eh.
     
  9. kovan

    kovan Senior Member

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    yeah, that'd be something
     
  10. Striker

    Striker Well-Known Member

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    Majin acted questionably in the past and should have spoken with greater care

    Edited by xlink for age appropriateness
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Apr 8, 2018
  11. madmav

    madmav Well-Known Member

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    I feel like there's a lot of pent up anger in there over the past 12 years
     
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  12. xlink

    xlink GR's Tech Enthusiast

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    Sometimes puberty never ends

    Don't worry, I abused my mod powers to fix this.
     
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  13. Majin

    Majin Senior Member

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    You're adorable striker.
     
  14. Shaggy

    Shaggy Administrator Staff Member

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    Hello!
     
  15. nanSTA

    nanSTA Senior Member

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