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The JRPG Club is a website for Japanese learners that also enjoy gaming. It was founded on the idea that immersion is key to becoming fluent in a foreign language, so we encourage people to stop waiting for localizations and play their favorite games in Japanese.

We write reviews that approach games from a unique perspective; we evaluate their ability to help you learn Japanese. In addition, we have made vocabulary lists, story summaries and gameplay guides to help you get more out of your "study" time.

We have also set up community forums for talking about about games, Japan and studying. In particular, we hope that those interested in learning Japanese will "join" The JRPG Club and share in our book club-style discussions about games. It's not easy to game in Japanese, but together we can help each other through even the most convoluted Final Fantasy storylines!

We're looking forward to discussing JRPGs with you! よろしく！

We've made major progress since I first posted this thread in April.

• Content on the main site, including reviews and vocabulary lists, has doubled since launch.
  
• We have new logos!
  
• I've started a giveaway contest, in which active members can request and receive free game-related items found only in Japan.
  
• Much of the main site has been redesigned for better readability.
  
• I also started a Facebook page to promote the community.

I know we are a very small niche (gamers and Japanese learners that are trying to play their games in Japanese) so we are still a very slow forum, but I am confident that our reviews and other resources will draw in more and more readers/members in time. And I hope that if our mission appeals to you, you'll check it out.

In addition, I'd really, really love some feedback. This is my first non-Maxpages/Angelfire website and the first forum community I've ever started, so I'm looking at my webmaster sempai for advice. If you have a minute to take a look, I'd appreciate it very much. Thanks in advance.

I admire someone going for a somewhat unique niche, but your forum is so unattractive and unappealing. You have done the right thing by having few forums - that's a rarity around here it seems. But your theme is really bad. Not only is it one of the most popular free themes here (deeming it "not unique"), it's really ugly. It's dark, unattractive and a strain on the eyes. It definitely does not encourage me to sign up and contribute content to your forum. You need to get a nice custom theme made to fit your niche, or purchase a cheap premium theme and customise it yourself.

The way you handle yourself is great for a forum owner, your grammar and professionalism seem flawless, though I've only read these two posts above of course. Keep the content flowing daily even if no one is replying - content will eventually equal success.

The domain I think is too open, it doesn't give you any natural advantage for search engine traffic. Have you considered changing to a more keyword dominant domain for your niche? This is probably the best time to change whilst it's not too active.

I'm a member, I think it's a great site. It's friendly, yet professional.

My one dislike about the website is the dark theme. It's a strain on the eyes; the text boxes also stick out a lot, seeing as they're very light, and the rest of the theme is dark.

Thanks for your thoughtful feedback and kind words, guys. I have some responses and questions, so here it goes.

(2012-05-26, 03:50 PM)Anxiety Wrote: [ -> ]I admire someone going for a somewhat unique niche, but your forum is so unattractive and unappealing. You have done the right thing by having few forums - that's a rarity around here it seems. But your theme is really bad. Not only is it one of the most popular free themes here (deeming it "not unique"), it's really ugly. It's dark, unattractive and a strain on the eyes. It definitely does not encourage me to sign up and contribute content to your forum. You need to get a nice custom theme made to fit your niche, or purchase a cheap premium theme and customise it yourself.

(2012-05-26, 08:06 PM)Odin of Aesir Wrote: [ -> ]My one dislike about the website is the dark theme. It's a strain on the eyes; the text boxes also stick out a lot, seeing as they're very light, and the rest of the theme is dark.

I am totally up for changing my theme. In fact, that's been the plan all along. My question is, because you both seem to be against it (and with good reason) can a dark color scheme work at all? Or is it just this one that is bad? Originally, I went with dark colors for readability (as opposed to making visitors stare at a lightbulb). Additionally, I am slowly giving the site an 8bit makeover, and for that NES look a dark background is an important base.

If dark is universally bad, though, perhaps I can look into reworking the main page and forums. If possible, however, I'd like to stick with it - but not necessarily this theme!

(2012-05-26, 03:50 PM)Anxiety Wrote: [ -> ]The domain I think is too open, it doesn't give you any natural advantage for search engine traffic. Have you considered changing to a more keyword dominant domain for your niche? This is probably the best time to change whilst it's not too active.

I never thought about my domain name working against me (or at least not working for me). However, I'm not really inclined to change it, even if that's the case; being a "JRPG Club" is the essence of the website.

It started because my friend and I are both trying to pass the last (impossibly difficult) Japanese language proficiency exam. In the fall I proposed that we start up a study group to prepare for it, to which his counter-idea was, "How about a book club?" I responded, "How about a JRPG club?" and the idea took off from there. After that, we invited more friends to join us in playing Ni no Kuni in Japanese (a Studio Ghibli RPG). The next step was a JRPG Club thread on another forum to host our discussions, but eventually I realized that it could be something even bigger and better, and we started our own website.

I tell you this because I don't want you to think I am shirking your good criticism. I'm just too in love with the idea of "JRPG Club" to change that core attribute. On the other hand, I would love to have the domain "jrpg.com" but it's currently owned by a small business in Utah or somewhere out West. I think they must know it's worth something because they are sitting on it.

(2012-05-26, 03:50 PM)Anxiety Wrote: [ -> ]The way you handle yourself is great for a forum owner, your grammar and professionalism seem flawless, though I've only read these two posts above of course. Keep the content flowing daily even if no one is replying - content will eventually equal success.

(2012-05-26, 08:06 PM)Odin of Aesir Wrote: [ -> ]I'm a member, I think it's a great site. It's friendly, yet professional.

Thank you. I believe that good grammar, a friendly attitude and professionalism will attract members who possess the same. In addition, I want the main site to be seen as an academic resource, because we are writing for learners. To whatever extent possible, that should carry over into the forums as well. Thanks for noticing.

Sorry for writing a novella.

(2012-05-26, 11:35 PM)cappazushi Wrote: [ -> ]I am totally up for changing my theme. In fact, that's been the plan all along. My question is, because you both seem to be against it (and with good reason) can a dark color scheme work at all? Or is it just this one that is bad? Originally, I went with dark colors for readability (as opposed to making visitors stare at a lightbulb). Additionally, I am slowly giving the site an 8bit makeover, and for that NES look a dark background is an important base.

If dark is universally bad, though, perhaps I can look into reworking the main page and forums. If possible, however, I'd like to stick with it - but not necessarily this theme!

The theme i use is dark. In my opinion, it's easier to have a darker style theme which is amazing than it is to have an amazing light theme. It's just some people go overboard with darkness and it becomes horrible. I'm glad you're open to changing it though - do you have the funds to perhaps purchase a custom theme?

Quote:I never thought about my domain name working against me (or at least not working for me). However, I'm not really inclined to change it, even if that's the case; being a "JRPG Club" is the essence of the website.

That's fine. It's never a necessity, it can just help you a lot if you have a keyword friendly domain. It doesn't mean you're destined to failure because yours isn't, plenty of forums have become huge with domain names not related to their niche at all.

Quote:Thank you. I believe that good grammar, a friendly attitude and professionalism will attract members who possess the same. In addition, I want the main site to be seen as an academic resource, because we are writing for learners. To whatever extent possible, that should carry over

Spot on.

(2012-05-27, 01:44 AM)Anxiety Wrote: [ -> ]The theme i use is dark. In my opinion, it's easier to have a darker style theme which is amazing than it is to have an amazing light theme. It's just some people go overboard with darkness and it becomes horrible. I'm glad you're open to changing it though - do you have the funds to perhaps purchase a custom theme?

Yes and no. I could buy a custom theme, because they seem to cost at most $25. However, the look that I am shooting for is very ambitious, and will probably much more expensive than that. We'll see. I shot pixelmonkey a PM to see what he can and do for what price. If you have any other recommended theming sites or developers to recommend, I'd be very grateful. I'm looking for someone who can do Wordpress and myBB theming, however, so that probably narrows the playing field quite a bit.

Custom themes are more than $25 bro. Premium themes are normally $25 or a bit less. Full on custom themes are more expensive. Cheapest is normally around $80. Worth it though in my opinion.

Sorry, that was just bad word choice on my part. I meant premium (hence the price I mentioned). Custom is what may or may not be in my price range right now. We'll see.

I agree with the others, you need to change your theme. Try to make one yourself, something simple and clean would work.

I like your idea. I used to be a Nintendo DS gamer and there were many games only released in Japan that I wanted but couldn't play because I don't know Japanese. Good luck with your project.