My review/preview of OTC

Oh god white on a grey background, that is horrendous. I guess at least there isn't obnoxious ads but still, it hurt my eyes too much trying to read this, So I didn't.

Wow. Sorry to hear that, but I appreciate the feedback. I'll look into making the background darker. To me it reads well, but it sure is more important how it reads to others so I'm glad you voiced your opinion.

edit: Or rather, I made the background lighter and the text darker. Hopefuly it reads better now.

Alright, now I can read it I did, it was fine. Nothing I would consider exceptional, but that's probably exceptional in it's own way since it reads as well as a 'professional' piece from for-profit video games journalism sites, if that makes any sense. So good job.

On a completly unrelated note, here are 2 resources to teach you colour theory and website design in regards to using colour:

http://webdesign.tutsplus.com/articles/an-introduction-to-color-theory-for-web-designers--webdesign-1437 Specifically pay attention to the picture of pink text on yellow background. That's what I would classify your original light-grey on white was like.

http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2010/01/color-theory-for-designers-part-1-the-meaning-of-color/ This one is nicer for you trying to build up a brand, think about what you want the user to feel when he looks at your website. Currently from your colour scheme I feel formal, modern and sombre, which may or may not be what your going for. Befor that change I felt pain

I personally am very particular about colours and colour usage is a big thing for me, so don't feel bad or anything that a random person on the internet is calling you out on it, but just be aware

Oh, I don't feel bad at all, I'm happy to recieve input. And yeah, modern and sombre is what I'm going for, so I'm glad to hear that's working out as intended (at least with the tweaked design).

Thank you again for your critique, I would certainly agree that the blog reads better now. I do have some basic knowledge regarding colour theory, but sometimes you have this specific idea in mind that might work well on paper, but then you fail to adapt it to the intended audience. That's why an outside view can be a life-saver, it's so easy to get stuck in one way of thinking.

To answer the other part of your post, Soren has specifically stated that videos are OK and participated and promoted them with several streamers and youtubers such as Quill18, Arumba, Steejo, Bentham.  He's also been very supportive of Zultar (a newer youtuber and streamer who does a lot of OTC).

And I liked your review.

Thank you. Both for the answer to my question, and for the kind words.

I would actually make the background brighter.

I super-skimmed the review and I agree with it.

@Agamemnus Thanks, I'll certainly take your suggestion under consideration. I sort of feel like it might be bright enough as it is, but I'm not sure, so I'm holding off on further design changes for a week or so. I need to let the current design "sink in" before I change it again. But I'm writing down any and all suggestions I'm getting.

Glad you enjoyed the review. Skimming is fine, it's still sort of reading, right?

I now have a Let's Play Video uploaded. Check it out as I fail miserably to show you how the game should be played, and instead just end up with a confused and undeserved win. I may not be good, but at least I'm having fun.

http://panzerlabs.blogspot.se/2015/07/lets-play-offworld-trading-company.html

The second part of my Let's Play series is now rady, check it out if you have the time. I hope you enjoy it, but even if you don't, I am as always thankful for any and all constructive criticism.

http://panzerlabs.blogspot.com/2015/08/lets-play-offworld-trading-company-part.html

Thanks for taking the time to post your reviews! Watched all of the first video and most of the second.

If you want tips/critique on strategy I'd be happy to help!

Glad you watched it! Sure, strategy tips are always welcome, as you may have noticed, I'm not exactly a stellar player. Still, I imagine that I'm not the -only- bad player out there, so I'm hoping the videos are still able to show new players the basic gameplay. But yeah, strategy tips are welcome. I tend to read a lot of tutorials to be honest, but actually remembering all of it while playing is something else entierly, in particular while recording.

Other tips that are welcome, both from you and others, would be feedback on ways to make the playthroughs more entertaining. I mean, I'm mostly doing it for my own entertainment, but if there's anything I should change in order to make it more fun for the viewers, I'd love to hear about it.

Tip#1:

To make it more entertaining for the viewers (as well as a good general strategy tip) make sure to scan to the other headquarters all the time to see what they are producing. It's really important not only to pay attention to what you're making but also what everyone does so you can structure your decisions accordingly.

Let's say you just upgraded and you want to go into either farms or electrolysis reactors. If another player already has reactors down you should be making farms or you'll be competing against him for scarce resource dollars when you go to sell.

Tip#2:

Don't try to be self sufficient. Let's say you have 2 claims. If the price of fuel is $20 and food is $70 then build 2 adjacent food tiles. Pretty straighforward. A lot of newer players might build 1 reactor and 1 food so that they won't lose money. Debt isn't always bad (excessive debt is).

Your videos gave a really good gameplay overview and are good for someone wondering what the game is all about. Thanks again for writing the review.

Strongly recommend watching Zultar's videos on youtube or twitch. He does a good job of explaining what he's doing and why.