The Forge – Video Game

Trailer Website
1. Website Specifications
a) Website Objective and Business Goals
The Forge is to be imagined as a lively online destination that is dedicated to
video game trailers. Its primary goal is to be a one-stop source that allows
gamers and fans of the gaming industry to browse, watch, and share,
different types of game trailers by platform and by genre, and their opinion
and/or insight on the soon to be released game.

Business goals:
-Content Aggregation: To curate the new, popular, and high-quality video
game trailers.

-Community Engagement: Build a social gaming media experience

including comments, likes, ratings, and forums.

-Monetization: Create revenue streams through the placement of ads,

affiliate partnerships with game publishers, merchandise referral links, and
potential ad-free view subscription options.

-Brand Establishment: Establish ‘The Forge’ as a trusted name in gaming

media, ultimately extending into reviews, walkthroughs, and live events.

This user attraction and monetization strategic mix is intended to

build consistent traffic and establish a loyal following.

b) Target Audience: Demographics and Technical

Aptitude
Demographic Profile:
-Age Group: 16–35 years old

-Gender: Predominantly male, although growing more female and

non-binary gamer-friendly.

-Geographic Focus: Primarily focused on North America, Europe, and

emerging economies in Asia (specifically India and Southeast Asia).
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-Income Level: Moderate to high disposable income, typically used
to purchase games, consoles, and digital subscriptions.

Psychographic Insights:

- Strong interest in video games, trailers, eSports, and technology.

-Active on platforms like YouTube, Twitch, Discord, and Reddit.

-Appreciates early access to new content and updates.

Technical Aptitude:
-Familiar with streaming platforms, digital downloads, and browser-based
apps.

-Experienced with navigating mobile and desktop interfaces.

-Heavy broadband internet and high-end hardware users (console gaming

computers, consoles, smartphones)

c. Type of Website or Content

Website Classification:
"The Forge" is a media-focused content website with elements of a video
gallery and blog. It combines static content (articles and reviews) with
dynamic media (trailers, video embeds). The site will also include basic
interactivity like trailer ratings, comments, and newsletter subscriptions.

Content Types:
-Uploaded and embedded trailers

-Descriptions and metadata for games

-Developer and publisher information

-Users' ratings, reviews, and tags

-Launch timers and news about games

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This content will be refreshed regularly and filtered by tags, filters,
and category breakdowns, making it more discoverable and
engaging to users.

2. Information Design & Taxonomy

A clean and intuitive architecture is crucial for user retention. The Forge has
a user-centric taxonomy that balances discoverability and content depth.

Site Map and Architecture

Main Navigation:

Home – Featured and latest trailers featured.

Latest Trailers – Chronological list of newest items.

Categories:

Action

- Role-Playing (RPG)

- Indie

- Strategy

- Sports

- VR/AR

Top Rated – User voting/editor picks.

News – Editorial postings, press releases, gaming news.

About Us – Mission, vision, and team.

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Trailer Website
Contact – Feedback form, support, and inquiries.

Secondary Pages:

Trailer pages for each game

-Genre archives

-Search Results

-Privacy Policy / Terms

Storyboard Flowchart

[Home

```

├── [Latest Trailers]

├── [Categories]

│ ├── [Action]

│ ├── [RPG]

│ ├── [Indie]

│ ├── [Strategy]

│ ├── [Sports]

│ └── [VR/AR]

├── [Top Rated]

├── [News]

├── [About]

└── [Contact

Navigation Features:

* Top Navbar: Persistent with drop-downs

* Footer: Quick links, social media, newsletter signup

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* Breadcrumbs on category/trailer pages

* Search bar with real-time filterin

3. Page Template Design (5 marks)

Wireframes offer a visual map of the site structure. Below are the
design concepts for primary pages:

Homepage Wireframe Features:

Header: Logo on left, navbar, search bar on right

Hero Banner: Auto-playing (muted) featured trailer

Newest Trailers: Grid of 3-4 columns, each having thumbnail, title, and
release date

Genre Section: Horizontal scrolling carousel

Top Rated: Cards with user star ratings

Call-to-Action: Newsletter signup and social media follow

Footer: Contact, terms, privacy, and social links

Trailer Detail Page Layout:

-Main Video Embed(YouTube)

-Metadata: Title, genre, release date, developer, platform

-Rating System: User stars, editor's choice tag

-Comments Section: Logged-in users only

-Connected Trailers: Carousel at the bottom

Responsive Considerations:

* Collapsible menu on mobile

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* Stack-based layout for trailer grid

* Tap-friendly UI elements

Wireframes can be made using Figma, Balsamiq, or Adobe X, and

should be tested with 3-4 user personas to get feedback.

4. Technical Brief

Frontend Stack

HTML5/CSS3: For semantic structure and styling

TailwindCSS: Utility-first CSS framework for responsive and scalable

UI

JavaScript: DOM manipulation and interactivity

React.js: Dynamic page rendering and modular components

Backend :

-Firebase: Authentication, Realtime DB for comments

-Node.js with Express: RESTful API and trailer database

Media & CDN:

-Utilization of YouTube API or Vimeo embeds for video content

-Lazy loading methods for optimization

Dev & Design Tools:

VS Code – Development environment

Git – Version control

Figma/Adobe XD – UI/UX design

Photopea/Canva – Lightweight graphic editing

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Analytics & SEO:

Google Analytics

Yoast SEO or manually embedded schema for metadata

5. Quality Assurance

Browser Compatibility Testing:

Tested on:

-Brave

-Microsoft Edge

-Opera GX

-Google Chrome

Mobile Device Testing:

iPhone 13 Pro

Samsung Galaxy S22

Google Pixel 7

iPad Mini 6

Responsive Tests Carried Out Using:

Chrome DevTools emulation

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BrowserStack or LambdaTest

Manual tests on physical devices

Accessibility Checklist:

* Contrast ratios (tested with Lighthouse)

* Screen reader labels (ARIA tags)

* Keyboard navigation support

Sample Screenshots Include:

-Desktop homepage on Chrome

-Mobile homepage on iPhone

-Trailer page with user comments section

-Top rated page with filtering

6. Publishing & Promotion

Website Hosting via GitHub Pages

Promotion Plan:
SEO Strategies:
-Utilize descriptive metadata and Open Graph tags

-Include structured data for video content (schema.org)

Marketing Channels:
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-Reddit (r/games, r/gaming)

-Discord gaming servers

-Gaming influencers and YouTube collaborations

-Social media campaigns on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter)

Email Campaigns:
-Release newsletter

-Signup form embedded in homepage and blog posts

7. Future Developments &

Recommendations
Short-Term Goals:
1. Add User Profiles – Login system with Firebase Auth to support likes,
bookmarks, and comments.

2. Gamification – Badges for leading commenters or initial trailer views.

3. Trailer Feed Personalized – Following the user's watched genres

and activity.

Long-Term Growth:

1. Mobile Application – Native Android/iOS app for offline trailer

viewing.

2. Indie Developer Portal – Enable indie developers to submit their

trailers.
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3. Live Event Coverage – Live posting of trailers during events like
E3, Gamescom.

4. Game API Integration – Auto-sync trailer updates from stores like

Steam, Xbox, PlayStation.

UX Improvements:

-Dark mode toggle

-AI-powered search and recommendations

-Notifications of new uploads or news site-wide