Menu System

Started by winkio, June 09, 2011, 06:31:13 pm

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winkio

June 09, 2011, 06:31:13 pm Last Edit: June 09, 2011, 06:46:12 pm by winkio
I don't like the default menus.  I was thinking about making a CMS in a style that gave more complete information about each character so that the player doesn't have to go through six different screens to do everything.  So I'm going to start writing down my idea.

The home screen of the menu displays an overview of the game, including character info, story info, etc.  This screen would have information on a lot of different things, but not very much detail on any of them.  There would be no text menu, however.  Instead, there would be a cursor over each individual display, for example characters, quests, etc., that would allow you to select an area to go into more detail (it would show the text of each option as you select it, I just mean there is not a column of text that you choose an option from).  The different sub-menus would be as follows (at this point in development, they obviously have room to change later):

Character (1-4 separate options) - each party member would have their own sub menu that shows their status and provides the functionality of equipping weapons, armor, and titanium as well as using skills, magic, and items.

Treasure - shows quest items, usable items, weapons, armors, titanium, gold, etc.

Quests - I think we mentioned a quest log a while back, I still think it's a good idea.

Knowledge - this is one that we haven't talked about yet, but I think we are going to end up needing it.  This will show information as to what magic can be learned with what titanium as the players discover it, as well as include old lore that relates to the storyline which the player learns as the game progresses.  Also, the crafting that AliveDrive has done would fit well into this menu (the items would be crafted in the treasure menu or with an NPC, but recipes or locations of ingredients could be recorded in this section.  Perhaps we could work in weather as well, since we are using CCTS.

File - save, quit, settings, info about play time and gameovers, etc.

In terms of how it looks, I think we can use the same windowskin and cursor the rest of the game uses, and perhaps add some fluid moving transitions between windows.  All menus would fill up the entire game screen.  

EDIT: changed the Items menu to Treasure and switched some functionality between the old item menu and the character menu.

WhiteRose

From what I understand of this concept, I really like it.

Could you maybe provide a quick sketch or mock-up? It's not required, of course, but it would help me visualize things a little better and provide more valuable feedback.

winkio

June 09, 2011, 09:32:05 pm #2 Last Edit: June 09, 2011, 11:17:03 pm by winkio
yeah, I'll make some concept drawings, give me a little bit

EDIT: so I started on a mockup, but it has to be detailed to show my idea, so it will take a day or two.