The Questions I would like to ask is:
How do you do your research when designing for new game menus on devices?
Me personally I write down all the things I would like on a particular menu screen, and then I go to check what others have done and refine my basic layout/design with what I like and dislike from my trials. However I have choices in which other apps and games I can investigate. Do I check out the most popular games, thinking that being most popular means they must have done the best job... right??? Only.. Well I do not personally believe that in of itself.
Still I also have the option of checking out the games I already own. This is the option I tend to go for. In fact i refine my list even more to the games I have enjoyed myself. This has the benefit that the games I want to check out I don't have to go find and download, it also tends to mean that I already know which games have menus that do something similar to my needs.
Once I have played with several other apps menu pages, I finish out my own and hopefully make them feel not just better than if I had not done the research, but also I hope to improve on the designs I liked most in other games. This gives me a lot of confidence in my New menu designs.
Laters
Da Voodoochief
Thursday, August 23, 2012
Tuesday, August 21, 2012
iPad 2, nice display!
I am going Solar electricity at my house. They will place 13 panels on my flat garage roof in the next month or so, then months later the council and utilities company will allow them to turn it on. As a signing bonus they have given me a nice shiny and new iPad 2.
Now i do not have an ipad of any sort, as the Kindle seems to do anything I need and more. And so have not bothered to obtain one, cos of their hefty price tag. Now it isn't that I don't need one, as developing for this platform means I have to test out my apps on them.Luckily i have several friends who have them, and they very kindly allow me to test on their machines. So as it happens, surprisingly to my mind.. I have never seen '5 Golden Coins' on an iPad. Though I have some specific tests and setup I do for them. In my defense Marmalade makes it real easy to go to this platform, and so makes me a bit lax I reckon. Anyhow...
Now I have an iPad 2, and last night rather late I put on the new version of '5 Golden Coins' and Wow... The display is amazing. Now my graphics are tailored to just under the ipads resolution, so I get a small amount of stretching, though you really cannot tell. Instead what you see is this gorgeous display, so clear and detailed. I am astounded. After using the kindle now for 10 months, I am shocked to see how much better this iPad display looks. I know I shouldn't.. but wowza!
In fact I am so happy with the way it looks, I will be showing off my app on that device in future!
Not sure yet if it will end up being my default development device or not. The kindle is pretty darned handy for that. As well as the fact it fits in my jeans pocket!
Have a good un,
Da Voodoochief
Now i do not have an ipad of any sort, as the Kindle seems to do anything I need and more. And so have not bothered to obtain one, cos of their hefty price tag. Now it isn't that I don't need one, as developing for this platform means I have to test out my apps on them.Luckily i have several friends who have them, and they very kindly allow me to test on their machines. So as it happens, surprisingly to my mind.. I have never seen '5 Golden Coins' on an iPad. Though I have some specific tests and setup I do for them. In my defense Marmalade makes it real easy to go to this platform, and so makes me a bit lax I reckon. Anyhow...
Now I have an iPad 2, and last night rather late I put on the new version of '5 Golden Coins' and Wow... The display is amazing. Now my graphics are tailored to just under the ipads resolution, so I get a small amount of stretching, though you really cannot tell. Instead what you see is this gorgeous display, so clear and detailed. I am astounded. After using the kindle now for 10 months, I am shocked to see how much better this iPad display looks. I know I shouldn't.. but wowza!
In fact I am so happy with the way it looks, I will be showing off my app on that device in future!
Not sure yet if it will end up being my default development device or not. The kindle is pretty darned handy for that. As well as the fact it fits in my jeans pocket!
Have a good un,
Da Voodoochief
Tuesday, August 14, 2012
Improved Buttons for 5GC
I have been working on improving the overall look of the '5 Golden Coins' Book App. One of the improvements on my list was to improve the way the buttons looked. I had some good tuition from one of my workmates (an artist obviously), and on sunday i mae what i envisaged, Woohoo!
Before and After images.
Do ya like my new butons, they match the coloration of the logo now. They are also less boring and staid than the original grey ones i had intially implemented.
Also in the second picture you can just about see the rainbow waterfall effect over the logo and raindbow in the title image.
Finally you can see from this image the new backdrop i am using, and it is a picture of a slightly aged page. This adds more to the fading than anything else though. still a nice subtle improvement.
Once i get this new version setup properly on an ipad (or 4:3 aspect ratio) I will be ready to resubmit.
Laters
Da Voodoochief
Before and After images.
Do ya like my new butons, they match the coloration of the logo now. They are also less boring and staid than the original grey ones i had intially implemented.
Also in the second picture you can just about see the rainbow waterfall effect over the logo and raindbow in the title image.
Finally you can see from this image the new backdrop i am using, and it is a picture of a slightly aged page. This adds more to the fading than anything else though. still a nice subtle improvement.
Once i get this new version setup properly on an ipad (or 4:3 aspect ratio) I will be ready to resubmit.
Laters
Da Voodoochief
Friday, August 10, 2012
Its so Easy
Isn't it amazing how easy some things can be, when you know how to do them
I'd bet that you have said that line to several people already in ya life. They were looking blankly at say the monitor of their desktop and wondering what buton to press first, or maybe what way up the keyboard should go! Still you knew what they wanted to do was Soooo Easy. Then ya showed them and they were astonished at how hard or complicated it still was. Learned knowledge is a powerful thing.
Well I am currently working on trying to understand (in fact my whole team at work) how this GDK that we are working with works. Or how it connects all the data and code and scripts to end up making the game work and show up correctly on screen. I feel this is one of those cases, where, someone who has used this GDK to create a game, could easily just say to us, Oh you want to do 'that'. Well np, Its so easy, ya just gotta do this and that etc.....
However, until we get this mythical person to show us how to use this GDK, we will keep fumbling in the dark. At times it is a frustrating process, yet.. I have hope and a desire to see us gain the knowledge to make this all work. With mine and the teams desire I know we will succeed.
Even if it feels Like i am bamnging my head against this wall of unfathomable code. Strength of will and purpose will see us through.
Laters y'all
Da Voodoochief
I'd bet that you have said that line to several people already in ya life. They were looking blankly at say the monitor of their desktop and wondering what buton to press first, or maybe what way up the keyboard should go! Still you knew what they wanted to do was Soooo Easy. Then ya showed them and they were astonished at how hard or complicated it still was. Learned knowledge is a powerful thing.
Well I am currently working on trying to understand (in fact my whole team at work) how this GDK that we are working with works. Or how it connects all the data and code and scripts to end up making the game work and show up correctly on screen. I feel this is one of those cases, where, someone who has used this GDK to create a game, could easily just say to us, Oh you want to do 'that'. Well np, Its so easy, ya just gotta do this and that etc.....
However, until we get this mythical person to show us how to use this GDK, we will keep fumbling in the dark. At times it is a frustrating process, yet.. I have hope and a desire to see us gain the knowledge to make this all work. With mine and the teams desire I know we will succeed.
Even if it feels Like i am bamnging my head against this wall of unfathomable code. Strength of will and purpose will see us through.
Laters y'all
Da Voodoochief
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
The Value In Perception
I recently applied to get into Marmalade's App program. Something I also did with my previous Hot Chicks the card game title. They didn't want Hot Chicks, which was no real surprise, being that it is controversial to some degree. However I hoped for a lot better with my first in a series of Book Apps. Not that I was breaking any ground in visual effects or 3D or anything else that would show off their wonderful SDK in any way. Still I figured as I am the only person creating this type of interactive book, I stood a chance from an original gameplay perspective.
Well last Friday I was rejected. In a really nice way I might add. The nice fellow who is my interface was very kind and has asked for some enhancements to the App itself, and he would love to see it again. He mentioned he loved the idea, especially if it can be a cross promoting series of Book Apps (which is my aim). He suggested a few simple things that would enhance the game.While I have made a nice list of things that I would like to do and in some cases would NOT like to do, to improve the look of the game.
Notice how above I mentioned LOOK of the game? This is really what I am doing at the moment. I am not necessarily improving my Game/App. In fact all i am doing is dressing it up with more 'Bling' as a friend Andy said yesterday. At first I was a bit frustrated at the thought of altering the most simple UI layout I have ever created (this is for young children after all). Then on reflection and playing the App on my Kindle Fire as objectively as I could. I realise that I went too far. I did not create all that bling for several reasons. But now I feel I should have some. The title page for example has no animation on it, and I HATE dead title pages. So that one was easy to feel good about changing. Now I could list all my current blingification items, but i'll leave that for now.
What matters is the reasons to add in all this bling. Perception is the reason, and first impressions counting. If someone sees my bland title page, they perceive a value for the App. Regardless of the game beneath. Now they will see a much more vibrant title page, making it more inviting imho.
So I am taking a lot of time to add bling to my app not just so it will have another chance at being in the Apps program, but also so peoples first impressions are of a higher value App. I can and will alter peoples perceptions of the 5 Golden Coins app, in a positive way!
Worth the time... You betcha!
Laters
Da Voodoocheif
Well last Friday I was rejected. In a really nice way I might add. The nice fellow who is my interface was very kind and has asked for some enhancements to the App itself, and he would love to see it again. He mentioned he loved the idea, especially if it can be a cross promoting series of Book Apps (which is my aim). He suggested a few simple things that would enhance the game.While I have made a nice list of things that I would like to do and in some cases would NOT like to do, to improve the look of the game.
Notice how above I mentioned LOOK of the game? This is really what I am doing at the moment. I am not necessarily improving my Game/App. In fact all i am doing is dressing it up with more 'Bling' as a friend Andy said yesterday. At first I was a bit frustrated at the thought of altering the most simple UI layout I have ever created (this is for young children after all). Then on reflection and playing the App on my Kindle Fire as objectively as I could. I realise that I went too far. I did not create all that bling for several reasons. But now I feel I should have some. The title page for example has no animation on it, and I HATE dead title pages. So that one was easy to feel good about changing. Now I could list all my current blingification items, but i'll leave that for now.
What matters is the reasons to add in all this bling. Perception is the reason, and first impressions counting. If someone sees my bland title page, they perceive a value for the App. Regardless of the game beneath. Now they will see a much more vibrant title page, making it more inviting imho.
So I am taking a lot of time to add bling to my app not just so it will have another chance at being in the Apps program, but also so peoples first impressions are of a higher value App. I can and will alter peoples perceptions of the 5 Golden Coins app, in a positive way!
Worth the time... You betcha!
Laters
Da Voodoocheif
Monday, August 6, 2012
Midway Sweepstakes Winners!
I have been waiting what seems like a long time to finally announce some of the great news from the Playstation Home
Sony have announced several winners and the prizes they have won. You can view this information inside Playstation Home on the Prize boards in the Hot Zone.
And the green tickets are only $1 for 50 tickets, so it is really cheap to enter as well. So get into Sony Playstation Home (Free and on your Playstation 3) and have a Blast winning a ridiculous amount of Avatar gear and furniture items for your Free personal space (awarded when you enter one of the Midways).
THIS weeks prize is...
Good luck in there,
Da Voodoochief
Note: I work professionally for Mass Media Games and have worked on creating some of this content for Playstation Home.
Midway Ca$h Carnival Sweepstakes!
Winners so far:-
- Medic4you Won a Sony Bravia 55" (with an ARV of $2,699.98)
- BrownReclucio Won a Sony 1000W Blu-ray Home Theater System (ARV $499.98
- mrpayt0n73 Won a Sony Cyber-shot Digital camera (ARV $349.99)
- smurfdropper Won a Sony Tablet S (ARV $499.98)
- IXI_JOE_IXI Won a Sony Blu-ray Player (ARV $199.98)
Da Voodoochief
Wednesday, August 1, 2012
Bit of Side on action
So I was busy last night. I was also quite strict with myself and only did about 15 minutes of programming and I was happy, because I proved to myself that what I wanted to do was gonna be fairly easy and pretty fast. Then in a rare show of mental fortitude I left the coding.. and turned off my PC.
Then I went back to the design, which I also carried on while at El Pollo Loco today at lunch time :)
I know, ya thinking HOW do I do the design work while my PC is turned off, and also ho at lunchtime while out. I'll bet ya even thinking I am using a Laptop, but I am not. In fact... I am using an age old technique I have used for more than 30 years designing games.
A Pen/Pencil and paper.
Shocking isn't it. Of course this does mean that all the stuff I have written so far will need to be typed in at some point. But I have a secret weapon that is my wife, and she types ten to the dozen i can tell ya. So no worries from me on that one. I also use paper as i tend to do a lot of simple drawings to flesh out what I am writing about. Those I sometimes scan in.
well that's all for tonight. I am gonna write something else in the design now. Cos i am too excited to go to bed and sleep (Me and me mate are going Off roading on our off road bikes tomorrow, Yeah Baby!!).
G'night all,
Da Voodoochief
Then I went back to the design, which I also carried on while at El Pollo Loco today at lunch time :)
I know, ya thinking HOW do I do the design work while my PC is turned off, and also ho at lunchtime while out. I'll bet ya even thinking I am using a Laptop, but I am not. In fact... I am using an age old technique I have used for more than 30 years designing games.
A Pen/Pencil and paper.
Shocking isn't it. Of course this does mean that all the stuff I have written so far will need to be typed in at some point. But I have a secret weapon that is my wife, and she types ten to the dozen i can tell ya. So no worries from me on that one. I also use paper as i tend to do a lot of simple drawings to flesh out what I am writing about. Those I sometimes scan in.
This is currently what I have for me code. Once agai using CombatEva and a very odd forward shuffling motion. In this picture I am showing our Hero moving forwards (except i cannot see any movement, cos i have no visual queues at the moment (SCOTT!), that was a shout out to my artist :). He is moving across the screen and the camera is following. Except in reality I will conveyor everthing to him instead of him moving forwards. That ball ya see on the floor is CombatEvas head texture on a ball that Scott made for me. It sort of rolls around at the moment and is boring. Though Eva looks like she is about to drill it with a big footy kick, yeah!
So the game obviously will have a bit of side on action, though it will also have otehr angles to play with.
well that's all for tonight. I am gonna write something else in the design now. Cos i am too excited to go to bed and sleep (Me and me mate are going Off roading on our off road bikes tomorrow, Yeah Baby!!).
G'night all,
Da Voodoochief
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