Ideas for a GUI (shapeshifter)

[Cerno]

So I'm writing a game where the main character is able to change shapes.
Each shape will have a different set of interaction options so certain puzzles require the player to switch to the correct shape in order to solve the puzzle.

I like the verbcoin interface of the later LucasArts (RIP) games very much so I opted for that GUI to do my object interactions.

Now my question is how to do the character switches. Right now I have Walking on left click, Verb Coin on hold left mouse button on object and Inventory on right click.
So what to do with the character shift GUI?

Here are some ideas I had:

1) Integrate into the Verb Coin:
- Advantage: Can look cool (I have some design ideas ready)
- Disadvantage: You have to interact with an object to switch (very bad), or I could modify the Verb Coin to open if I interact with nothing. Still, doesn't feel quite right and might be confusing

2) Integrate into the Inventory:
- Advantage: Independent from object interactions
- Disadvantage: Not really logical (what does the inventory have to do with the character switch?), also it would take away space from the inventory which is pretty big at the moment

3) Display permanent button on the edge of the screen
- Advantage: Solves all my problems
- Disadvantage: Taking up permanent screen real estate is so 1992

4) Like 3) but only shows up when the mouse is at the edge of the screen.
- Advantage: Really solves all my problems
- Disadvantage: I wanted do the the save/load/etc menu that way (Gobliins 2 style) and don't want to implement two different types of menu in the same style. Also I don't personally like that style too much for something integral to the game controls.

So, my personal favorite would be along the lines of 1) from a design standpoint, but I don't think it will work well that way.

Any other ideas how I could solve this? Which option would you prefer?

[Crimson Wizard]

3) Display permanent button on the edge of the screen
- Disadvantage: Taking up permanent screen real estate is so 1992.

4) Like 3) but only shows up when the mouse is at the edge of the screen.
- Disadvantage: I wanted do the the save/load/etc menu that way (Gobliins 2 style) and don't want to implement two different types of menu in the same style.

I found those two arguments really... strange.

PS. For example, "Resonance" uses 4th option, combining main menu button, inventory and character selection.

[dactylopus]

What about a variant of #1?

You could integrate it into the Verb Coin on the Player.  This way, you would not need to interact with another object, only yourself.

[Tramponline]

What about a variant of #1?

You could integrate it into the Verb Coin on the Player.  This way, you would not need to interact with another object, only yourself.

That could be a solution, though one major disadvantage of an 'interactable' player character is that it's frequently going to block background hotspots.
The player would be forced to move his character 'out of the way' prior to interacting with those hotspot on many occasions throughout the game.


Another possibility would be to cycle through those shapeshifting-modes by using the mouse-wheel. Considering the shapeshifting theme and the correlation of interface
and player control, this could be a pretty smooth solution I'd imagine (i.e. putting the player in direct control of those transformations).
The obvious disadvantage being that not every player has a mouse-wheel in the first place and it'd be fairly restriced by the amount of shapes needed before it becomes cumbersome. 

[cat]

Whispered World does almost exactly what you are going to do - change a character's shape with buttons. Afair the menue is collapsed in the top right corner and expands when you move the mouse there:

[imgzoom]http://i.computer-bild.de/imgs/2/5/1/7/5/7/0/Abenteuerspiel-The-Whispered-World-Spot-745x559-74ac2af217fd1547.jpg[/imgzoom]

[selmiak]

 Or you put the shapeshifting on the right mouse button and have the inventory move in when you move your mouse to a specific corner or borderarea of the screen.

[bush_monkey]

I think option 3 is the best. And as cat says, it could be just a small graphics that expands when you hover your mouse over it.

[Cerno]

3) Display permanent button on the edge of the screen
- Disadvantage: Taking up permanent screen real estate is so 1992.

4) Like 3) but only shows up when the mouse is at the edge of the screen.
- Disadvantage: I wanted do the the save/load/etc menu that way (Gobliins 2 style) and don't want to implement two different types of menu in the same style.

I found those two arguments really... strange.

PS. For example, "Resonance" uses 4th option, combining main menu button, inventory and character selection.

Let me explain myself better.

As a LucasArts fanboy I found the decision of getting rid of a permanent GUI that takes up a lot of the screen an evolutionary step and for my taste a modern adventure game should have as little GUI on the screen as possible. However, I guess getting rid of everything at all costs might be overshooting the goal.

In that vein, cat has a good point: Modern adventure games that are not going for a retro style usually have a high resolution so having a pop out menu like in the Whispered World would not hurt in the least. I think it would even possible to permanently show the complete inventory in a single line at the bottom of the screen (like the skills in Dragon Age). My game is 640x480, so I'll have to check how a permanent button works out. A small icon that expands sounds pretty doable though.

About the other point: I believe that a menu (load/save/quit) is something that should not be part of the game control scheme at all as calling it up disrupts immersion from my view. Therefore I do not want keep the menu separate from the shape shift and inventory menus.

What about a variant of #1?

You could integrate it into the Verb Coin on the Player.  This way, you would not need to interact with another object, only yourself.

The same idea came to my mind just before going to bed and I think it really solves my problems, but as Tramponline correctly pointed out, having a clickable character can be a major annoyance and I don't want to go down that path. I'm stuck in the old conflict of design vs. function though, as from a design standpoint I really like integrating the shifting options into the verb coin. From a functionality standpoint I don't think I can make it work though

Or you put the shapeshifting on the right mouse button and have the inventory move in when you move your mouse to a specific corner or borderarea of the screen.

That's also a nice idea, basically switching around the shapeshifting and inventory menus.

For now, I guess, I'll try out cat's idea first of using a small button that expands on hovering over it to reveal the shapeshift menu.