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Screenshot Sesame Street (40th Anniversary Edition)
Text can be interesting and still be perfectly readable. The difference in time it'll take to read that, versus a font that's a little less bland is negligible.
But it looks like they threw a title screen together based on what they could do, versus having a final design in mind and finding away to achieve that goal. The former is the normal course of inexperience, whereas, the latter almost invariably results in more interesting and flavorful products. So naturally, it seems best to stray from the first option.
But it looks like they threw a title screen together based on what they could do, versus having a final design in mind and finding away to achieve that goal. The former is the normal course of inexperience, whereas, the latter almost invariably results in more interesting and flavorful products. So naturally, it seems best to stray from the first option.
Screenshot Sesame Street (40th Anniversary Edition)
Gemini- Between the boring text and window skin, the semi-trippy background seems misplaced. I would advise you spice up the fonts- I don't see any reason they should be that boring.
Darken- I like it. I'm impressed that the scenic art doesn't clash with the messages or anything. The only thing that looks awkward is the Day of the Moon window being transparent. It feels like it can't make up it's mind whether it wants to obscure the picture or not. If you want all of it to be visible, I'd say just move something.
I just got RMVX last night, and I had little to no faith in it. Then, today happened-
I'm pretty satisfied.
Darken- I like it. I'm impressed that the scenic art doesn't clash with the messages or anything. The only thing that looks awkward is the Day of the Moon window being transparent. It feels like it can't make up it's mind whether it wants to obscure the picture or not. If you want all of it to be visible, I'd say just move something.
I just got RMVX last night, and I had little to no faith in it. Then, today happened-
I'm pretty satisfied.
Favorite First Impressions
post=111017post=110915The same can be said for a lot of games, period, it seems.
MOST RM games haven't got a selling point, because even though you say 'I have story! I have graphics! I have CMS DBS ZTS PMS ADD!' when you put it up there, ultimately it looks and feels the same as the next game with a supposedly different selling feature.
Inspired by this post in the stalemated Selling Feature topic, I'd like to do a quick field study-
What are your favorite games, and what inspired you to pick them up and try them in the first place? Not what you like about them, having played them through already- unless that happens to be the same thing- but why did it ever catch your eye to begin with?
"Selling Feature" of your game
Arcan- Not necessarily. Naturally, the each player will have a reason that they decided to download the game, and that is the selling point for that particular person.
However, from an advertiser's perspective, which I believe is the central matter in question here, the selling point is determined by the game itself, and what the target audience is.
Even so, it might not be a bad idea for an RM developer to have the beta testers, for instance, list what they think the game's strong points are, and then advertise based on that.
However, from an advertiser's perspective, which I believe is the central matter in question here, the selling point is determined by the game itself, and what the target audience is.
Even so, it might not be a bad idea for an RM developer to have the beta testers, for instance, list what they think the game's strong points are, and then advertise based on that.
At Your Service- The Menu
So what I'm hearing is firstly- speed. I agree.
I haven't had many problems with that in my own experience with games, RM or otherwise, but imagining what it would be like does pain me.
But aside from just the system's responsiveness, the issue of human input speed arises as well.
Indeed, especially in battles, it can be quite annoying to have have to press around 20 buttons to find the skill you want. With the DS's touch screen, that problem is easily negated, but given RM's limitations, how do we get around this?
Following what Shinan said, the first solution might be to assign hot keys. Then the menu is only required to set those up. This is actually a key idea for any menu- That the menu should Customize, not Command
Functionality aside, however, relating back to the design, simplicity in design does need to come first- otherwise the menu is entirely useless.
As for the concept of the menu, we seem to want the menu's design to relate to the game- such as in the phone, or the character using the menu, as opposed to the player.
Presumably, this is because menus break the fourth wall and step out of the game. They murder any intensity or suspension of disbelief for necessary functionality, so it does stand to reason that the line between playing a game, and living the story needs to be blurred.
In the menus listed above, they manage to do this- I feel like The World Ends With You's phone menu is an excellent example.
But, it occurs to me that all of those games are modern/futuristic- making this technologic scene of lists of commands and such a very real item of those settings.
In the case of fantasy RPGs, which are a strong majority, how can we blend such things into those worlds?
I haven't had many problems with that in my own experience with games, RM or otherwise, but imagining what it would be like does pain me.
But aside from just the system's responsiveness, the issue of human input speed arises as well.
Indeed, especially in battles, it can be quite annoying to have have to press around 20 buttons to find the skill you want. With the DS's touch screen, that problem is easily negated, but given RM's limitations, how do we get around this?
Following what Shinan said, the first solution might be to assign hot keys. Then the menu is only required to set those up. This is actually a key idea for any menu- That the menu should Customize, not Command
Functionality aside, however, relating back to the design, simplicity in design does need to come first- otherwise the menu is entirely useless.
As for the concept of the menu, we seem to want the menu's design to relate to the game- such as in the phone, or the character using the menu, as opposed to the player.
Presumably, this is because menus break the fourth wall and step out of the game. They murder any intensity or suspension of disbelief for necessary functionality, so it does stand to reason that the line between playing a game, and living the story needs to be blurred.
In the menus listed above, they manage to do this- I feel like The World Ends With You's phone menu is an excellent example.
But, it occurs to me that all of those games are modern/futuristic- making this technologic scene of lists of commands and such a very real item of those settings.
In the case of fantasy RPGs, which are a strong majority, how can we blend such things into those worlds?
At Your Service- The Menu
Menu Systems are throughly uninspired, by and by. Nearly every RPG falls back to the cookie-cutter border/windows style inspired by the 16-bit RPGs of old. Suppose we wanted to break this paradigm, where does one begin?
At it's core, that's a matter of graphics design, but for anyone wanting to begin to tackle such an issue, the designer must first examine the function of the menu. Well, that's simple enough- In theory, menus are designed to serve the player, cater to their needs, desires and obey their every whim.
But for so long, menus have been limited to boxy backgrounds, a list of commands and maybe a styled pointer. While it gets the job done, as an artist, I am bothered by the lameness of this. At the same time, one is forced to consider the potential chaotic effect an aesthetic revamp could have. So, in such a dilemna, we must find out where the priorites lie.
So:
Which do you prefer, simplicity or style?
Is there anything you find yourself wanting from them, but that menu systems often lack?
What are some innovative alternative system formats that could break away from the norm?
Personally, I find it a bit depressing how unoriginal and over looked menu design is. Menus are your loyal servant, your personal butler, your Microsoft Word Paper Cli- oooh, no- but they certainly shouldn't be so neglected. Let's help them help us. So, how may we be of service?
At it's core, that's a matter of graphics design, but for anyone wanting to begin to tackle such an issue, the designer must first examine the function of the menu. Well, that's simple enough- In theory, menus are designed to serve the player, cater to their needs, desires and obey their every whim.
But for so long, menus have been limited to boxy backgrounds, a list of commands and maybe a styled pointer. While it gets the job done, as an artist, I am bothered by the lameness of this. At the same time, one is forced to consider the potential chaotic effect an aesthetic revamp could have. So, in such a dilemna, we must find out where the priorites lie.
So:
Which do you prefer, simplicity or style?
Is there anything you find yourself wanting from them, but that menu systems often lack?
What are some innovative alternative system formats that could break away from the norm?
Personally, I find it a bit depressing how unoriginal and over looked menu design is. Menus are your loyal servant, your personal butler, your Microsoft Word Paper Cli- oooh, no- but they certainly shouldn't be so neglected. Let's help them help us. So, how may we be of service?
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