A user interface is like a joke. If you have to explain it then it's not that good

StormyStudio

Simple quick article on good user interface design. Most of it we should know and should be obvious but I guess it's always good to remind yourself.

http://www.openxcell.com/10-basic-ui-guidelines-apple?utm_source=ZohoCampaigns&utm_campaign=10+Basic+UI+Guidelines+by+Apple_2015-02-24&utm_medium=email

I thought I'd share this... partly because its useful but also because I liked the UI analogy.

Socks

Cheers for sharing.

Quick poll, steering controls on the left or on the right (for a typical game with left +right on one side of the screen and fire of the other) ?

Lovejoy

@Socks said:
Quick poll, steering controls on the left or on the right (for a typical game with left +right on one side of the screen and fire of the other) ?

Is this a real question?

Socks

@Lovejoy said:
Is this a real question?

It's a real question.

Chr0nos

@Socks said:
Cheers for sharing.

Quick poll, steering controls on the left or on the right (for a typical game with left +right on one side of the screen and fire of the other) ?

On the left, every day of the week.

Socks

@Chr0nos said:
On the left, every day of the week.

What is your thinking behind this choice ?

Lovejoy

My right hand feels like it has more of a quick reaction, making a fire/action button ideal on the right side.

My left hand feels like it does better on a broad general movement which makes it ideal for a d pad on the left side.

Maybe its because I'm right handed like the majority of the world.

I would also like to add, I'm sure the gaming giants have done and spent countless time/money researching this exact question. As it stands now, it seems the current control format of directions on the left, action button on the right is what was concluded to be the better of the two.

Chr0nos

@Socks said:
What is your thinking behind this choice ?

Being an avid gamer, I'm used to an Xbox controller in my hand, and on a controller you always walk/move with the left stick, so it feels more natural to have the control on the left, and any fire/action button on the right.

robertkdale

@StormyStudio Thanks for sharing.

Socks

@Lovejoy said:
My right hand feels like it has more of a quick reaction, making a fire/action button ideal on the right side.

I suppose then we need to decide what is primary in a game steering or firing, in a game where you need to blast everything that moves and timing is important then perhaps the fire button should be under the right hand (and the steering/movement on the left), whereas if it were a car racing game the steering should be on the right hand (and the accelerate or brake or whatever should be on the left).

This is of course assuming the right hand is the dominate hand.

@Lovejoy said:
I would also like to add, I'm sure the gaming giants have done and spent countless time/money researching this exact question. As it stands now, it seems the current control format of directions on the left, action button on the right is what was concluded to be the better of the two.

Maybe it's no more than a personal preference, but my instinct is for the directions / steering to be on the right . . . . I suppose ultimately we can offer people the choice to swap controls left to right.

Socks

@Chr0nos said:
Being an avid gamer, I'm used to an Xbox controller in my hand, and on a controller you always walk/move with the left stick, so it feels more natural to have the control on the left, and any fire/action button on the right.

Cheers for the input.

Lovejoy

@Socks said: I suppose ultimately we can offer people the choice to swap controls left to right.

There is no better option than the one you just stated.

beefy_clyro

Thanks for sharing Stormy!

@Socks steering on the left ... Why? Every console, controller I have ever used has opted for controls on left, buttons on right, its what is now engrained and feels natural.

StormyStudio

@Socks

I say put the controls on the right... you have to stand out from the crowd some how.. :-)

Socks

@beefy_clyro said:
Thanks for sharing Stormy!

Socks steering on the left ... Why? Every console, controller I have ever used has opted for controls on left, buttons on right, its what is now engrained and feels natural.

I'd say it was engrained in the minds of every gamer, but the unique thing about the mobile gaming revolution was that it opened up gaming (at least casual gaming) to people who previously would have never picked up a controller, so you see mums sat at the bus stop playing Candy Crush on their phones and businessmen in cafes, waiting around to meet someone, playing on their iPads, even toddlers at the beach playing something on their dad's iPhone . . . . so although I agree that there is history to positioning the directional controls on the left, it might not be universally applicable ?

I might have to do some tests !

Can't find much science / reasoning behind the left / right thing, but this little snippet is from Wiki:

"The Famicom was also the first home system to put the directional control on the left. While many arcade systems had the directional control joystick on the left of the buttons, most home systems of the era used joysticks designed for right-handed operation. The division has continued to this day, with computer joysticks typically being designed for use in the right hand with gamepads and arcade joysticks favoring the left hand."

Socks

@StormyStudio said:
Socks

I say put the controls on the right... you have to stand out from the crowd some how.. :-)

Me too, I go for the right when it comes to directional controls and left for shooting duties (which requires less spatial dexterity) . . . but I'm open to being swayed over to the other side.

DeadlySeriousMedia

You could always let the user decide with a setting menu switch.

Socks

@DeadlySeriousMedia said:
You could always let the user decide with a setting menu switch.

Yeah, but which side would you put the menu on ?

AlchimiaStudios

Put it all in the middle, then no one can complain!

Lovejoy

@StormyStudio said:
Socks

I say put the controls on the right... you have to stand out from the crowd some how.. :-)

Put the back button on the right side while your at it.

Socks

@Lovejoy said:
Put the back button on the right side while your at it.

@AlchimiaStudios said:
Put it all in the middle, then no one can complain!

I've decided that the buttons should be moving at all times, just floating around the scene.

jigglybean

Its a funny thing, game design. I was watching a video the other day about classic games and why they were so good. The one thing that stuck out for me is introducing the player to a new object and/or enemy.

So instead of throwing the player in to a pit of things they may not understand, you introduce say 1 new enemy type somewhere in an earlier level, so the player can understand how difficult this type of enemy is, or what they can/can't do - then unleashing a few of them further down the game.

I've taken this approach with my Catch 100 balls game - showing the player what each object does before throwing them into a level with lots of them.

Lovejoy

@jigglybean said:
Its a funny thing, game design. I was watching a video the other day about classic games and why they were so good. The one thing that stuck out for me is introducing the player to a new object and/or enemy.

So instead of throwing the player in to a pit of things they may not understand, you introduce say 1 new enemy type somewhere in an earlier level, so the player can understand how difficult this type of enemy is, or what they can/can't do - then unleashing a few of them further down the game.

I've taken this approach with my Catch 100 balls game - showing the player what each object does before throwing them into a level with lots of them.

Super Mario Bros. perfect example.

Edit:

jonmulcahy

@jigglybean said:
Its a funny thing, game design. I was watching a video the other day about classic games and why they were so good. The one thing that stuck out for me is introducing the player to a new object and/or enemy.

So instead of throwing the player in to a pit of things they may not understand, you introduce say 1 new enemy type somewhere in an earlier level, so the player can understand how difficult this type of enemy is, or what they can/can't do - then unleashing a few of them further down the game.

I've taken this approach with my Catch 100 balls game - showing the player what each object does before throwing them into a level with lots of them.

I read something like this a few years ago when developing A Long Way Home, I forget exactly what it said, but the gist of it was that when you introduce a new concept to the player, you slightly reduce the difficult so they can become used to it before increasing it again.

So in my game I have 10 stages, and each stage introduces a new concept or hazard. So if at the end of stage 1 the difficulty was a 5, I start stage 2 on difficulty 3 and increase to 8. then stage 3 starts at 5 and goes to 10, stage 4 would be something like 8-12. Stage 10 I bring back all the previous hazards and go crazy with them

always let the player get used to the new concept before making it too difficult for them. allow them to grow with the game.

samui

Looks good