RHYME'S PROFILE

rasalhage - Today at 20:20
alright post it
(and put small text implicating me at the top thx)

Should buffs, positive effects, and stat boosts be red/orange? Or should they be green/blue?

This is a complicated and sensitive design choice that dramatically impacts how players approach your game. Setting the mood associated with your increases and decreases affects the overall tone of your menus, battles, and subtly nudges the immersion of your player. But how should you assign colors to the realms of "positive" and "negative?"

Red is often cited as a passionate, zealous color that signifies conflict. It attracts the eye more than any other hue, and is the first thing a player will notice on their interface. But does that mean it's better suited for indicating what a player gains, such as a big attack jump from a new weapon? Or should it be used to bring attention to urgent debilitations that require immediate attention?

Blue is, by contrast, often associated with calm and collected emotions. It encourages the player to carefully consider their options available. But does that mean it should be used to reassure the player that their powerful damage buff is in effect? Or should it be used to remind them that for every point they greedily gain one one stat, another stat must suffer?

Green and Yellow sometimes play into these dynamics, serving as comforting and peaceful colors. They can help the player find solace in increased strength, or they can take the sting of off nasty ailments. Do these have any place in your game, or do you require something more polar?

These colors can adjust the mood of anything in your UI, from damage and healing fly text, to equipment previews, to help text and ability descriptions, to even health and resource bars!

Where SHOULD these colors be used? What's the correct way to use them? And, more importantly, which methods are wrong?

Do you tell the player everything that goes on behind your game?

What determines which game mechanic is to be presented and which to hide?

Due to the nature of the hidden mechanics themselves and partially due to my aversion of trying to include walls of text in the tutorial, they tend to never get noticed and not many players take advantage of it. When they do notice it, sometimes it gets disregarded as a coincidence.
It's always something I've been wondering how to deal with well, without over-introducing all sorts of un-necessary mechanics that may or may not be important but might help the player progress easier if they are aware and can take advantage of.

Stick hints in NPC dialogue and/or examinable objects?
A loading screen/menu screen that pops up random hints ever so often?
Game over screen providing a hint that is relevant to how the player lost?

Oh, and if you feel like sharing, do share what sort of hidden mechanics you have in your games!