Components of a Good File Screen
by Peter Robinson · 12/06/2013 (6:02 am) · 3 comments
I recently released a strategy pirate game called Pirate Code and I've been trying to tweak the various aspects of the game to help it do better in the open market. It's definitely been a learning experience for me. For the last two weeks I've been reworking my file screen and I think I've uncovered a few nuggets of wisdom that are worth sharing with the community here.
My file screen consists of four squares which represent game files. When the player clicks on one it takes them to a summary screen where they see a little bit more information and then choose to continue playing or go back. This is similar to about a million other games out there. When I first designed it my focus was on giving two players playing on the same computer the ability to quickly determine which file is theirs. So the original simply had the player's fleet name and location in the world with some other random stats: gold, crew, and ships.
I decided to add a percentage complete to this which really got the wheels turning in my head. The real focus of the file screen should be to motivate the player to complete everything by giving them an instant snapshot of their progress. So with this as the guiding principle I started redesigning it. The new file screen now only has stats that can be measured against a goal so that the player can see progress. I really drove this home by adding progress bars under each stat. So for instance, gold has no limit so it's not a good stat to use to show progress. Instead I now show missions complete in its place. Similarly, I now show ships unlocked instead of owned and the number of island discovered. I even show which captains have joined your team. Together, I think these new elements give a real sense of the progress made with the game file.
If you'd like to read more about these changes I wrote a more in depth post on my company blog which includes a picture of the old and new screens for comparison. You can check it out here. So what do you think the focus of a file screen should be? Is there some crucial aspect I missed?
My file screen consists of four squares which represent game files. When the player clicks on one it takes them to a summary screen where they see a little bit more information and then choose to continue playing or go back. This is similar to about a million other games out there. When I first designed it my focus was on giving two players playing on the same computer the ability to quickly determine which file is theirs. So the original simply had the player's fleet name and location in the world with some other random stats: gold, crew, and ships.
I decided to add a percentage complete to this which really got the wheels turning in my head. The real focus of the file screen should be to motivate the player to complete everything by giving them an instant snapshot of their progress. So with this as the guiding principle I started redesigning it. The new file screen now only has stats that can be measured against a goal so that the player can see progress. I really drove this home by adding progress bars under each stat. So for instance, gold has no limit so it's not a good stat to use to show progress. Instead I now show missions complete in its place. Similarly, I now show ships unlocked instead of owned and the number of island discovered. I even show which captains have joined your team. Together, I think these new elements give a real sense of the progress made with the game file.
If you'd like to read more about these changes I wrote a more in depth post on my company blog which includes a picture of the old and new screens for comparison. You can check it out here. So what do you think the focus of a file screen should be? Is there some crucial aspect I missed?
About the author
A programmer who has been using the Torque2D game engine since the early adopter days. My game is Pirate Code and it can be found at www.circuithive.com. It will be arriving on Steam in 2016.
#2
It is looking miles better, much more professional, have to agree with Nathan if this is the file selection screen as loading an old save game can be annoying and time consuming if you don't straight away spot you sank blackhearts ship then twenty minutes down the line there it is unsunk, I have had similar savegame problems, best just to have a time and date stamp on each clearly visible :-)
12/06/2013 (4:08 pm)
Is this the file loading screen or the file summary screen?It is looking miles better, much more professional, have to agree with Nathan if this is the file selection screen as loading an old save game can be annoying and time consuming if you don't straight away spot you sank blackhearts ship then twenty minutes down the line there it is unsunk, I have had similar savegame problems, best just to have a time and date stamp on each clearly visible :-)
#3
I've also always enjoyed it when a game tells me how long I've played for. Good suggestion.
And thanks for the positive feedback. It just goes to show you that even when a game is done there's always more to do.
12/07/2013 (8:14 am)
Thanks guys! Adding the date is an excellent suggestion. Not sure why I can't come up with these things myself but then again that's what this sort of collaboration is about.I've also always enjoyed it when a game tells me how long I've played for. Good suggestion.
And thanks for the positive feedback. It just goes to show you that even when a game is done there's always more to do.
Torque Owner Nathan Martin
TRON 2001 Network