Not sure what to classify my suggestions as really, but here's my best attempt.

Suggestion 1: I would really love the search bar to start querying potential search results as you type. For example, you type in "Resident" and see maybe 2 or 3 listings where applicable, with results such as "Resident Evil." If nothing shows as you continue to type, it would prove a quick way to tell that the database is currently lacking said game.

Part 2 of Suggestion 1: I don't know how much administrative control you desire to have over the database, but it could prove helpful... When a search returns no results, possibly offer a suggestion of a similar game name (maybe the search was typoed).

OR if nothing is there, offer a link to an email form (like the beta feedback form on the site) or a database-like form where the user can submit a request to get that game added. The latter form could be used for the user to fill in main points of data about the game they want added (Full title, platform, release year, whatever) and then submit it. This data would not be automatically added to the database, but sent for review. If the info checks out then it could be implemented as is, rather than one guy needing to fill in everything for every single game.

Suggestion 2: When adding a game to collection, filter the system results with the most pertinent at the top. For example, when I went to add a PC-exclusive game to my account today, I was presented with all platform options. PC should have already been selected, or placed at the top of the list in my opinion. You could say remove all other platform choices in that case, but there's too many times where a database entry might have missed an obscure console or something when the game was added.

Edit: Other unrelated ideas.

1. Allow users to pre-define a list of consoles (so only "their" consoles show up by default when adding a game to their collection. That way they don't have to scroll around through the whole list to get where they want. Or/and, an option to type console acronyms into the console dropdown list. For example, I could type "Nintendo e" really fast to get the listbox showing NES. But it'd be far preferable to type "NES" and have the "Nintendo Entertainment System" list item appear.

2. Personally not a fan of the fact that game titles that start with "A" or "The" are filtered in with A and T respectively. Maybe this is just personal preference, but I tend to sort games like "The Adventures of Bayou Billy" by Adventures, not The.

I'm sure moho_00 has plenty to say since this site is his baby, but I'll toss in my two cents regarding what I can until he comes along.

Right now the database is still being worked on regarding adding things like platform information, release dates, genres, and so forth for individual titles. That info was originally imported from giantbomb, but it was so messy and inaccurate, that the admins opted to wipe the slate clean and start working on it ourselves. It's slow going, (especially right now during the holiday season with life + new games to distract us) but progress is being made!

Dhobo: That's interesting! I have seen other sites attempt to harness Giant Bomb's database as well to mixed results. It's really cool to hear that the folks here at Completionator are willing to go at it from a blank slate. The hardest part is getting the database filled in, but once that's the case it should be much easier to simply keep it updated with new releases (well, easier than also having to play catch up).

First off, thanks for the feedback, this is great stuff!!

When you say "search bar", are you referring to the textbox in the header (next to your avatar / name)? I had planned on adding autocomplete to that one at some point, it's just never bubbled up on my task list.

I like your suggestion about providing a link or something to request a game to be added. This is something I've talked about before and I reaaaaally need to build it. I think I'd probably just link to the existing forum thread since it provides an (easy) way for me to report progress when the games have been added. Or handle times when I misspell something, forget one, etc.

For your second suggestion, that feature is already implemented :) The problem is, like @dhobo mentioned, we don't have all of the release data anymore :( Your thinking is spot-on though, when you add a game to your collection, whatever platforms we've associated with the game should bubble up to the top of the list. All platforms are listed below the "official" ones, just in case we miss one or you have some unexpected way of playing the game. This feature isn't implemented EVERYWHERE yet, but it's definitely there when you add a game to your collection.

Being able to set a list of consoles you own is something I considered doing before the aforementioned feature that bubbles up the platforms. Between bubbling up platforms and the "default" platform settings (have you seen those on the My Account page?), I lowered the priority on this one. I still think it's a neat idea, it's just a matter of finding a way to integrate it, given the other options out there.

Oh boy, acronyms :P Having the full console name has been a pain in my side for a while now, ha! Because some of them are really long, like "Super Nintendo Entertainment System", it causes issues when I want to display the name in a small area. This is especially noticeable if you use the shelf view when looking at your collection or on some of the statistics / charts. I had been thinking I would either A) just replace the full names with their widely-accepted acronyms or B) Use acronyms when space is limited and the full name elsewhere. I'm not a huge fan of "B" since I don't like inconsistency throughout the site. Unfortunately, the dropdown plugin I'm using does not let you have multiple ways of searching a single item (at least, not that I'm aware of). I could, however, include the acronym in parentheses, so "Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES)" and that would pick it up during autocomplete. But that just makes the text even longer (at least in the dropdown) :P

So given all of that, I'm thinking maybe we just swap the long ones out for their acronyms. Let me know if anyone disagrees with that and we can try to come up with a nice median solution.

I think you're right on the "A" and "The" games. I know most applications tend to ignore those words if they're at the beginning of a name. I will add this one to my list :)

Thanks for the reply, Moho!

Yes, that is the search bar I am referring to (next to avatar). Oh, a note about that search bar. When you resize the browser, the positioning gets moved down and may cover up information. I personally wouldn't focus on scalable/mobile site design considering adding core features and updates is the main task at hand, but something to keep in mind down the road :). Screenshot: http://i.imgur.com/eLCMKff.jpg

I noticed that the second suggestion was implemented after writing this post, haha. The games I was adding to my account earlier did not have platform associations so I assumed none did. So it's just a matter of getting all those system associations in place, at which point this will work well!

If you cannot tell from my sudden appearance on the forums around here, I am still pretty new to the site (originally joined in 2014, auto-added Steam games, and then went on with my life). I was not aware of the default platform option. With that said, I do not feel that alone is what I'm looking for. For reference, right now I'm going through my game collection list (maintained on Backloggery) and sorting it automatically with no console distinctions. Then I'm here on the "Browse Games" page and quick adding as there are matching titles. With this process, setting a default console wouldn't help since I'm consistently flipping around between systems. Of course, that is just MY problem right now. Folks who are primarily collectors of one system (or only use Steam, for example) this default feature sounds mighty helpful, though.

The only issue I find with acronyms being swapped in over the full names is that some acronyms are not obvious. Sure, NES, SNES, GEN are pretty standard, but others get a little mucky - especially for really obscure systems. Then there's things like the "official" Gamecube acronym being GCN because NGC could also be interpreted as NeoGeo Pocket Color or something. I feel your pain! I design simple GUIs at work and inconsistency bothers me a ton :P.

PS: This site is great! Hopefully my appreciation for it is obvious. If I didn't really enjoy Completionator then I wouldn't be coming here and offering suggestions :D. Thanks to the Completionator team for putting in so much effort to create what (in my opinion) is quickly becoming a top game collection site.