What do you expect from a good GUI?

Started by Skio, Sat 07/08/2004 21:51:19

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SmootH

Good GUIs are like ninjas. They can execute complex commands in a few key strokes and there's no mucking about. They do the job and then they leave.

the best GUI would be one that you don't even notice is there.

Personally the GUIs in most games take away from the expereince because their either invasive,  counter-intuitive and sloppy.

There is nothing, NOTHING ointment can't cure!

an AGS rookie

I Think a good GUI should reflect the mood and atmosphere of the game. The GUI in MI3 is a good example which had a skull-and cross icon for looking and a parrot head for talking, keeping in touch with the pirate-theme. It should also allow you to try at least a few different commands on each hotspot as it increases the feeling for the player that he/she can do what they want and not simply what the game wants them to do. This also opens for possibilities to let the player try some crazy/inapproriate actions (such as talk to toilet or pick up elephant) and then reward them with a funny comment or animation. (in a game where it,s appropriate to try such actions of course) Of course the GUI must also be easy and fast to handle.

Quote from: Abisso on Fri 15/04/2005 11:14:17
....I can also suggest (if you want to use the standard Sierra interface) to at least  enable mouse_wheel scrolling, adding the possibility to cycle it also backwards (it's a very simple script). This helps a lot.


Actually that very same idea has crossed my mind. It would be a really handy feature i think. 

Quote from: captain Nemo on Tue 11/01/2005 14:33:41
IMHO, good gameplay MUST use keyboard. The great examples of old Legend games and Broken Sword 3 show how comfortable interface could be in absolutely different ways.


Not necesarilly i think but i would probably be a god idea to make keyboard-hotkeys for an adventure-game


And about the statusbar, i think it helps to at least display a name of the hotspot the cursor currently is over. Those names can also sometimes be amusing and even change during the game(for example you use TALK on SALESMAN and find him to be a very annoying person, that hotspot could then change to VERY ANNOYING SALESMAN) which adds yet another little touch. For those players that think a statusbar makes the game to easy they could always be given the possibility to toggle it on/off.

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