No matter how you call them, they are very useful - just like genres - and allow for finding similar games.
The only feature I sometimes visit UVL for (otherwise quite empty).
Here's a MobyGames groups list I had compiled together with Indra.
Since your data model already handles game series, tags should be used for all other uses.
Themes (steampunk), gameplay features (recordable replays), historical periods (Interbellum), locations (Mars), vehicles/weapons (Supermarine Spitfire), technology used (iMUSE).
I beg you, don't use Web2.0 "tag cloud" presentation... "it's trendy!" but not practical.
Use some hierarchy /importance. UVL is a bit messy, throwing in major gameplay-defining ones with trivial technical aspects.
What MobyGames didn't implement was using groups in advanced search. Do this.
But make it better than UVL. How should I know how they call a given theme? Even if you offer a full tag catalog (and some way to see the latest tags), do include autocomplete for tag name when searching.
Even better: tags should have aliases, to help finding them with autocomplete. If the main name is "Airplane", searching for "aeroplane" should lead us to same tag. World War I = Great War = WWI = First World War
Creation of new groups was too slow at MobyGames - begging selected approvers to add them isn't the best way. On the other hand unchecked adding of tags by newbie users will lead to chaos and doubled tags.
Of course veteran users should have more privileges. Also certain types of tags should be accepted right away, say cars, vehicles, planes as in: (player-controlled) aircraft: Messerschmitt Bf 109
Only the "high-concept" ones should be discussed first on the forum.
Maybe - in order to save time - adding a low-level tag (player-controlled) aircraft: AH-64 Apache should auto-add Helicopter and Aircraft.
The only feature I sometimes visit UVL for (otherwise quite empty).
Here's a MobyGames groups list I had compiled together with Indra.
Since your data model already handles game series, tags should be used for all other uses.
Themes (steampunk), gameplay features (recordable replays), historical periods (Interbellum), locations (Mars), vehicles/weapons (Supermarine Spitfire), technology used (iMUSE).
I beg you, don't use Web2.0 "tag cloud" presentation... "it's trendy!" but not practical.
Use some hierarchy /importance. UVL is a bit messy, throwing in major gameplay-defining ones with trivial technical aspects.
What MobyGames didn't implement was using groups in advanced search. Do this.
But make it better than UVL. How should I know how they call a given theme? Even if you offer a full tag catalog (and some way to see the latest tags), do include autocomplete for tag name when searching.
Even better: tags should have aliases, to help finding them with autocomplete. If the main name is "Airplane", searching for "aeroplane" should lead us to same tag. World War I = Great War = WWI = First World War
Creation of new groups was too slow at MobyGames - begging selected approvers to add them isn't the best way. On the other hand unchecked adding of tags by newbie users will lead to chaos and doubled tags.
Of course veteran users should have more privileges. Also certain types of tags should be accepted right away, say cars, vehicles, planes as in: (player-controlled) aircraft: Messerschmitt Bf 109
Only the "high-concept" ones should be discussed first on the forum.
Maybe - in order to save time - adding a low-level tag (player-controlled) aircraft: AH-64 Apache should auto-add Helicopter and Aircraft.