Your Guide to myNZGamer

myNZGamer is your own personal slice of the website. With this set of tools, you can really stamp your own views and personality on NZGamer!

Once you sign up, you'll be able to do all sorts of things, including:

• Write a series of blogs
&bull Publish your own reviews for games
&bull Add games to your own personal collection
&bull Add upcoming games to your wishlist
&bull Add mates to your own friends list
&bull Customise the look and content of your profile.

Are you a member of the NZGamer forums? If so, all you need to do is put your username and password in the myNZGamer login box, as shown here:

If you’re a new user, just follow these easy steps to sign up:

1. Click Not yet registered in the myNZGamer login box:

2. Read the terms and conditions, and fill out all the required fields

3. Press the Submit my registration button and you’re done!

Once you’re logged in, you’ll have access to all the myNZGamer features, which can be accessed by the main box in the top right of the website!

Don’t agree with our review of a game? Want to voice your opinion on anything you’ve been playing recently? Let the whole world know with your own reader review!

Here’s how you go about setting up a review:

1. Log in to your myNZGamer

2. Find the game you want to review, either by using the search bar or clicking on an article about that game

3. Find the User Scores box on the right-hand side of the article or game hub, and click on Write a review:

Things to remember for reader reviews:

• Reviews need to be at least 100 words long – no posting one-sentence reviews!

• If you want your review to be highly rated and read, make sure it’s honest and fair! Back up your opinions, and take a moment to read over and spell check what you’ve written. If it’s entertaining and interesting to read, then people will actually pay attention to what you have to say!

• No profanities or obscenities will be allowed. Writing reviews is a privilege, not a right – if you abuse it, you’ll lose it.

The Collection and the Wishlist both allow you to make lists of games that you either own or intend to own in the future. They’re a great way to show off how many games you have, or let people know what upcoming titles you’re most excited about!

Adding games to either list is quick and easy. Here’s how you do it:

1. Log in to your myNZGamer

2. Find the game you’re after, either by using the search bar or clicking on an article about that game

3. Find the About this Game box, and click on either Add to Collection or Add to Wishlist:

To view your Collection or Wishlist:

1. Click on ‘View myNZGamer’ in your profile box at the top of the website

2. Click on ‘Collection’ or ‘Wishlist’ to view your games:

Have you got mates who also visit NZGamer.com? Want to keep track of someone's blog or reader reviews? We've made the whole process dead easy with the friends list. Once you've added a friend, you can get email alerts every time they make a new post, and keep track of their general activities on the site! Here's how:

1. Log in to your myNZGamer

2. Go to a person’s blog, review or profile page by either searching for them or clicking on one of their blogs or reviews

3. Find the About [USERNAME] box on the right-hand side of the screen, and click Add [USERNAME] to your friends list:

To edit your profile settings, all you need to do is click on Profile Settings, located both in your myNZGamer box at the top of the screen, and as a link in your profile page:

Let your voice be heard!

On NZGamer, you can now post a series of blogs on anything that tickles your fancy – just remember that most people come here to read about games!

With user-made blogs, NZGamer is truly the voice of gaming kiwis. Whether you’re excited about an upcoming game, or take issue with a news topic, or just want to rant about anything at all, you’ll be able to have your say.

Getting a blog up and running is a really simple process. If you follow the steps below, you’ll be ranting with the best of them in no time.

There are a couple of different ways to make a new blog. Here’s how you can do it:

1. On the NZGamer Home Page, scroll down to the blog window and click Post your own blog:

2. At the top of the screen, click on the View myNZGamer link. Scroll down to your myNZGamer title, and click on Post new blog in the Options row:

Is the blog you’re reading a piece of art – or maybe a pile of refuse? Either way, let the whole world know by giving it a rating! Here’s how:

1. Log in to your myNZGamer

2. On the right-hand side of the blog, you’ll see the Blog Tools box. The current rating for the blog is displayed at the top.

3. Underneath you can see the Rate Blog option, with five empty stars. Click on whichever star you feel the blog deserves, and you’re done!

Anyone can post a blog – just look at all those lolcat sites polluting the net. But it’s much harder to post a good blog that people actually care about!

Read on for our top tips to get your blog off the ground – and get other kiwi gamers returning time and time again to hear what you have to say.

1. This ain’t no diary. While blogs might relate what you think about something, it’s not completely about you – it’s important to try thinking outwards beyond yourself to better engage those who are reading. Not many will care that you bought green milk instead of blue at the supermarket yesterday, but if you turn it into a thoughtful piece on milk differences that many can relate to, you’ll be onto something.

2. Learn to write. No one expects a blog to be 100% grammatically perfect. But remember that bad spelling and grammar acts as quite a big barrier for people. If you take a bit of time to run a spell check and tidy things up, you’ll attract more people! Presentation isn’t everything, but it does count.

3. Be fair and honest. Whether you’re being objective about something or putting a rant together about how much you hate chocolate ice cream, your blog will only really work if you back yourself with reasons and evidence. Don’t just say “I hate chocolate ice cream”. Add some facts in there! “I hate chocolate ice cream because they kill cows to make it” is much more engaging – although also check to make sure you’ve got your facts right.

While we encourage all of our visitors to post blogs, there are a few guidelines you will need to observe when posting content onto NZGamer.com. Failure to respect the following rules will result in the deletion of your content and bans where appropriate.

1. Your first five blogs will go through a moderation process, where they will be assessed by management before being approved. After you have made five blogs, any subsequent ones will bypass this procedure.

2. Do not post offensive material. This includes anything from excessive use of foul language, right up to pornography and defamatory text, pictures, and video. Anyone found doing this will be banned from the website and their content removed.

3. Targeting/attacking an individual or group is strictly prohibited. If you are found to be putting someone down, either a myNZGamer user or otherwise, appropriate measures will be taken.

4. No spam or blatant advertising of products is allowed. Continuous posting of meaningless blogs will result in appropriate action being taken.

Every action you take using myNZGamer - whether posting a blog, a review, or even adding a game to your collection - will give you more points. Your points are displayed besides your profile name, along with your overall ranking on NZGamer.

Here's how the points break down:

• Starting a blog - 1000 Points
• Posting a blog entry - 250 Points
• Writing a reader review - 100 Points
• Posting a comment on a blog - 50 Points
• Posting a comment on an article - 25 Points
• Adding a game to your collection or wishlist - 25 Points
• Rating a blog - 25 Points
• Adding a friend to your myNZGamer - 10 Points
• Forum posts - 5 Points

Plus, as an additional incentive to write great blogs, 'Bonus Points' for each blog can be awarded. The higher average rating and number of votes will determine how many bonus points you'll receive!

Want to know who has more points than you? Or perhaps you need to know who's hot on your tail? Check out the myNZGamer Leaderboards for full rankings.