Guild Wars 2 Outfitter - Community Website Design Idea

So, I've had this idea for a fan-created website relating to Guild Wars 2 for awhile now. Basically, I was unsatisfied with just being able to preview items in the clunky PvP Locker interface and wished there were a better solution for putting together outfits and such. I know there are some other sites out there that have static pictures of armor sets on different races/professions, but I still thought the idea could be taken further...

I decided to design an idea mockup of sorts that showed exactly what I had in mind for this site - the result is Guild Wars 2 Outfitter! The following are some of the features that I would like to include on it.

When you first create a new outfit, you would choose your character's race and profession combo (including sex). This would then display a sample model in 3D using your chosen combos. In a perfect world, it would be able to pull in your actual customized character from the game much like World of Warcraft's Armory does.

On the top of the page is a way to instantly filter which results you would like to see when browsing armor/weapons. By default, they will all be selected, but can be toggled on/off with a simple click. The options include: Karma, Gold, Cultural, Crafting, Dungeons, PvP, Gem Store, Hall of Monuments, the three different Orders, and Special Events.

There would be two main views a user gets when creating an outfit, the first of which is appropriately called Outfit Mode. On the left, when Outfit Mode is on, you can select the gear category you would like to view which consists of: Head, Shoulders, Chest, Gloves, Pants, Shoes, and a Weapon (accessories and back slots will probably be added at some point, too). Then, according to the category and other selected filters, all of your results will show up on the right, allowing you to easily choose from any armor/weapon skin in the game and have it applied to your model. Like playing dress up with your character!

Dye Mode works in a similar fashion (excuse the pun!). After you choose some gear, you can enter Dye Mode and be presented with a complete list of all the dyes available in Guild Wars 2. Select a color to instantly apply it to a section of your outfit. You will also be able to filter the dyes here by either Set, Hue, or Material. Outfit Mode and Dye Model will be able to be switched between at any time.

Browsing through a long list of armor skins in Outfit Mode.

You can preview any dye currently in the game using Dye Mode.

When finished, the right panel will also feature the Shopping List - everything you'd need to know about how to acquire your new outfit! It lists the name as well as where and how it is achieved, along with the cost, whether it be in gold, karma, crafting materials, tokens, gems, etc. If there are multiple armors/weapons that share the same skin, it would also be nice to have a 'Show More' option so you could choose exactly how you would like to get that skin. For any Trading Post prices listed, it would pull the latest information using a site like GW2Spidy. This section could also possibly list the total cost of dyes used.

The Shopping List tells you exactly where and how to get your new gear.

Once you are satisfied with your creation, you will be able to save it to your GW2 Outfitter account, giving it a name, description, and allow it to either be public or private. If you enable it as a public outfit, other registered users will be able to rate, favorite, and comment on it! It would also be possible for visitors to browse outfits, seeing the newest, top rated, top commented, top favorited, etc. Other possibilities include being able to browse by race, profession, and color scheme.

Community features like sharing, rating, commenting, and favorites!

One of my main goals would be to make the outfits as easily sharable as possible and to help foster a nice, helpful community. I think this social aspect of the site could be really fun for users and help bring more people together in and out of game. I mean really, who doesn't like looking at other people's awesome looking outfits? And then trying your hand at making a bunch of your own as well? Keep in mind that this doesn't have to just be used for your dream gear at level 80, but it would also be very useful for Role Playing purposes, deciding what to wear while leveling up, or even if you just wanted to try making the silliest looking outfit you could!

What your finished outfit will look like with Guild Wars 2 Outfitter.

For many people, I think this would get them excited to work on getting new gear again or maybe even start going after multiple sets! It can be quite motivating once you have an easy way to see exactly how you want your characters to look and also how to make it happen. I know myself that I usually love the cosmetic aspects of games, but I wasn't feeling as inspired with GW2... and it wasn't because there are not great looking items available to us, but more that I felt like it was a pain trying to look through everything properly and plan out what I would want to wear. The aim of this site is to eliminate that frustration for players!

Guild Wars 2 is a really cosmetic game and there is such an importance placed on upgrading the visual appeal of your character that I think the community really needs a site like this to exist. The only problem is that even though I have the idea and drive to make it, I do not possess the necessary coding experience to take on a project like this. Honestly, I wouldn't even know where to begin trying to learn. I'm posting this in the hopes that someone with more knowledge than me in website development will see it and like to help make this happen! Or at least shed some light on how difficult something like this would be to make.

So if anyone would be interested in working on this project with me, I'd love to hear from you. Please Contact Me directly or leave a comment below. Of course, if you just have other suggestions of some things you'd like to see on Guild Wars 2 Outfitter, that would be great, too. :)

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