Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
When implementing a shell menu for key reassignment, show all the current
assignments, all the game features not currently assigned to keys, and all the cur-
rently unassigned keys
on the same screen
. Don't force the player to flip from screen
to screen to reassign keys.
Be sure to save the player's customizations between games, so he doesn't have to set
them up every time he plays. If you want to be especially helpful, let players save
different setups in separate, named profiles so that each player can have his own set
of customizations. Include a
restore defaults
option so the player can return his cus-
tomizations to the original factory settings.
Summary
When game reviewers praise a game highly, they cite its user interface more often
than any other aspect of the game as the feature that makes the game great. The
gameplay may be innovative, the artwork breathtaking, and the story moving, but
a smooth and intuitive user interface improves the player's perception of the game
like nothing else.
In this chapter, you learned about interaction models and camera models, two con-
cepts central to game user interfaces. Now, you know some ways to manage the
complexity of an interface, and you are familiar with a number of visual and audio
elements that games use. You also studied input devices and navigation mecha-
nisms in detail.
If you tune and polish your interface to peak perfection, your players will notice it
immediately. Give it that effort, and your work will be well justified.
Design Practice
EXERCISES
Design and draw one icon for each of the following functions in a game:
Build (makes a unit build a certain structure)
Repair (makes a unit repair a certain structure)
Attack (makes a unit attack a certain enemy unit)
Move (moves a unit to a certain position)
Hide (makes a unit hide to be less visible to enemy units)
Briefly explain the design choices you made for each icon. All icons should be for
the same game, so make them consistent to a game genre of your choice.
