AtGame Rant, the team is constantly writing about and covering new game launches. They want to be able to share the latest and greatest with their readers. But what about the site itself? How does GR keep up with the times and provide visitors with an optimal article browsing experience?
The editorial team behind Game Rant and the Valnet IT team have created a veritable welcome mat of site features for readers over the years. Tooltips, a massive game database, interactive maps and build tools are the most recent features readers can enjoy on Game Rant.
Here’s a detailed look at exactly how they have rolled out the welcome mat!
Tooltips: Easy To Use And Not Distracting
In case you’re unfamiliar with the concept of tooltips, they’re a handy interface of the digital age. Tooltips are (typically) small text bubbles that pop up when you hover your cursor or click on another icon. They are employed on a variety of websites, often to provide additional context or info.
For example, a word might be highlighted and hovering over it with your cursor reveals its definition. In Game Rant’s case, tooltips can give useful information on an item’s stats in a build guide without cluttering up the article or taking up too much time on behalf of the guide’s author.
In 2023,Valnet acquired Hardcore Gamerand began experimenting and investing in tooltips and databases. You can see early examples of tooltips powered by Hardcore Gamer for various games,including Helldivers 2. This year,Valnet acquired FextraLife, and the skills and expertise from prior work developing tooltips on HG were carried over.
Tooltips in Game Rant articles significantly enhance clarity by providing immediate, context-specific information without disrupting the reading flow. These interactive elements eliminate the need to navigate away from the main body of writing. It helps prevent clutter and allows readers to delve deeper into specific aspects of the text at their own pace, which is exactly what the team at GR is aiming for: good writing and a better user experience.
Game Rant DB: We’re Gonna Need A Bigger Database
The Game Rant Database is probably the largest project the site has taken on in its entire history. It’s a massive endeavor, so much so thatan entire article delving into its launch was written.
In essence, the GRBD is video games’ answer to IMDb. It collates every game ever released into a giant, comprehensive database. Within the GRBD, users can easily search for specific titles, stay informed about the latest news and updates related to their favorite games, and readily identify the platforms on which these games are currently available.
Furthermore, the database fosters community engagement by allowing users to contribute their own reviews and perspectives on a vast library of games. Readers with a Game Rant profile can rate and review games and create wishlists of to-play games. And more community features are in the works!
At this point in time, there are over 10,000 games on GR’s database. This monumental project is a true labor of passion, reflecting a deep commitment to creating the most all-encompassing video game database available. The continuous release of new games ensures that the GRBD will remain an up-to-date resource for gamers worldwide.
Maps and Build Tools: Plotting Out Your Own Adventure
Maps
Raise your hand if you’ve ever wished a game’s map were more…useful. If the in-game layout of secrets, quests, and/or collectibles was just not up to snuff, the team at Game Rant knows your pain.
And even when maps are incredibly detailed and you can mark your own waypoints and find locations quickly, sometimes it feels like they’re missing that extra bit of interactivity. This is where the joy of interactive maps comes in.
Interactive maps significantly enhance your gaming experience by providing a hands-on way to navigate game worlds. They often include features like zoom functionality, detailed location markers for quests or collectibles, and the ability to track personal progress with waypoints. This eliminates the frustration of relying on static, low-resolution screenshots or vague descriptions, allowing players to pinpoint exact locations and efficiently plan routes.
Game Rant and otherValnet Gaming siteshave taken on the task of creating and maintaining interactive maps for some of the year’s most popular games in order to give users this boon.
Note: Furthermore, these maps are available alongside other Game Rant articles that offer insights into strategies, character builds, or lore details.
So instead of scrolling through multiple pages of a guide or watching lengthy videos, players can visually identify targets and navigate to them seamlessly. Whether it’s finding Legendary animals in Red Dead Redemption 2 or finding the best spots to farm for resources in Elden Ring, interactive maps turn a daunting task into an organized and engaging experience.
Interactive maps have come with their own set of challenges, though. Valnet Gaming’s General Manager, Brad Fleischman puts it succinctly. “Building them is a collaborative process that begins with our editorial team, who play through each new game in real time. They meticulously document locations, take high-resolution screenshots, and uncover every hidden collectible or side quest marker. From there, our tech and design teams convert that raw gameplay data into polished, intuitive maps that can be embedded across our sites. This workflow requires tight coordination across departments, as well as custom solutions for each game’s engine and map layout—but the result is a highly valuable tool that enhances our coverage and serves our audiences exceptionally well.”
Build Tools
Build tools are a newer initiative on GR. These interactive elements allow the site’s users to notate and experiment with a specific game’s character/class builds, all from the comfort of a Game Rant article.
Brad Fleischman once again describes the purpose of build tools best, saying, “Our primary goal is to empower our community to be leaders in discovering and sharing optimal character builds for new game launches. Build tools will allow users to experiment with gear combinations, stat allocations, skill trees, and other customizable elements without needing to grind through trial and error in-game. The immediacy and accessibility of these tools will help players jump right into competitive or optimized gameplay, and allow content creators to produce timely, expert-level guides.” (Note: you’re able to see a Game Rant article that utilizes build tools inthis Monster Hunter Wilds guide!)
It’s still a bit of work in progress, but our end goal is to make it a practical system that can adapt to different games. “We’re designing a flexible and scalable framework that can be quickly adapted to new titles as they launch,” Brad shares. “This means that whether it’s an MMO with complex talent systems or an action RPG with intricate weapon synergies, our build tools will be ready to support a variety of genres and gameplay mechanics. Over time, we envision these tools becoming go-to resources for players looking to theorycraft, collaborate, and min-max their gameplay experiences across our network of gaming brands.”
The road to workable build tools hasn’t been easy. Having something that works for a game like Diablo IV and Baldur’s Gate III and Elden Ring and countless others means the tool has to mold itself to different progression systems. Brad recognizes this for the challenge it is. “Creating high-quality build tools is a technically intensive process. It requires a deep mathematical understanding of game mechanics, which can vary widely from title to title. Each system—be it skill progression, damage formulas, or equipment synergy—must be reverse-engineered and accurately modeled. Thankfully, our Gaming Tech center brings together technical developers and passionate gamers who excel at both interpreting game data and transforming it into clean, user-friendly interfaces.”
Welcome To Game Rant
So, when you’re looking for new and exciting features while on Game Rant, you’ll immediately see the recently implemented tooltips, comprehensive Game Rant Database, and their interactive maps and build tools. These features provide additional context within articles, facilitate easy access to game information, and allow players to navigate game worlds efficiently. They represent a titanic effort to continuously improve the site and roll out an ever more welcoming virtual mat for Game Rant’s readers.
