Option Dialog style

[Slasher]

Hi,

Which 'options' dialog style would you prefer to be confronted with regarding talking option dialogs?:

A) Dialog text box with options
B) Image Icons as options depicting dialog subjects (ie Broken Sword.)

slasher

[miguel]

Hi Slasher, there's already some debates on the forums about it, but in my opinion I'd go for any of them IF they're well done.
Icons are cool but must be really well designed so that the player doesn't have to check the manual wondering what they mean.

[Slasher]

Hi

Icons are cool but must be really well designed so that the player doesn't have to check the manual wondering what they mean.

The icons would be of familiar images that you have already seen in the game. Like faces, statues, paintings etc etc

[Stupot]

I don't really have a preference, but I do quite like the Broken Sword style of using icons as topic starters.

Slightly off topic: I do like to have something to click on.  I know some people think interactive conversations are a bit of a waste of time because 9 times out of 10 all you're really doing is choosing the order of the topics in the conversation, but they're worth keeping if only for the illusion that you're actually still playing the game.

[Slasher]

Hi,

all you're really doing is choosing the order of the topics in the conversation.

Not at all, if you have not seen a clue in the painting then the dialog about the painting will not appear. If it does appear after you had seen it then it may lead to another clue hence another topic, as in normal text branching dialogs.

I'm sure that coding of such a system would be no more difficult then text dialogs.


Again, the question is: would you prefer text or a row of icons?

[miguel]

The icon sizes should be big enough so that it doesn't look like some colourful pixels. GK3 had icons as well and I enjoyed the game but some icons were very similar or just not intuitive.

[Stupot]

Again, the question is: would you prefer text or a row of icons?

I still don't have a preference, but I would agree with Miguel that icons have to adequately signify the item being discussed. Anything else is just bad design.

[kaput]

Broken sword got it right. No matter how much you piss your pants, they got it right. But like my fellow posters exclaimed - make sure I can see the bloody reference. Good man.

[Limony]

I always prefer some text. I can't stand interfaces where there are icons without text. Doesn't mean you can't have a big icon and a small text label by its side, though.

[Slasher]

Hi,

I can't stand interfaces where there are icons without text.

Icons have to be either fully identifiable or have some text underneath as to what it actually is.

[EliasFrost]

I prefer a combination of icon and text. It's mostly (if done right) more appealing to the eyes and informative at the same time.