Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
a map that lets them click any other site on the gameboard and be transported
there.
FiGuRe 6.14
Most toolbars are oriented across the bottom. It's natural for the player
to focus on the game and then glance down to access different tools.
Most toolbars are
oriented along the
bottom of the visual
screen. however,
they can be placed
anywhere as long
they remain func-
tional and don't
impede play.
Because the inventory of things collected in this game is extensive (it's a
ghost-hunting game in which the goal is to gather as much evidence as possible
and determine whether the observed phenomenon is paranormal), there is a
separate set of menus for those items. As stated earlier, toolbars often contain
inventory items that are needed frequently and quickly, so investigative tools
such as cameras and flashlight are included here. In addition, there is an in-
game help feature in the form of a character named Lucy. Click her icon, and
she will type out a message suggesting good places to hunt. At far right is an
Exit button.
Toolbars, like all the screens discussed so far, are unique elements that
designers create to help the player move around the game. They provide meth-
ods for adjusting gameplay.
