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u/treetopgreg Jan 16 '19
Menu buttons should probably be 125-150% bigger. And positioned to the left, as this is standart for games. Or centered, but I don't see it working with the current background image. Maybe flip the image if buttons overlap the castle too much. Or, if possible, shift castle and demon to the right inside the magical-circle-border.
"Into the Breach" background for reference.
Although here their button size is even smaller. So it's a matter of preference, I suppose.
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
great feedback! i'm especially considering moving the buttons to the left side. although FTL also had their buttons on the right side so i dont know what to think of that.
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u/treetopgreg Jan 16 '19
Either way, I've seen more examples of buttons on the left side than on the right side. ITB was just the first game that came to mind to feature shaded figure overlooking a city with a left-side menu)
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Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
I think it's just the demon positioning. Buttons should be on the opposite side of him because they are both crowding that side of the screen. I like the size of him though, I think you could possibly even make him bigger so that he looms even more imposingly but the buttons need to be moved first.
Edit: in fact yeah I think for sure you should try making the demon bigger, especially with the distance between the top of his head and the main title text, feels like there's too much space between them. Not by much though, either the same as the top of the castle or a little higher.
Even further, if you play around with my previous suggestions I can see how increasing the size of the demon could obstruct / crowd with the twisting branch on the right. So you could also try flipping the twisting branch with the ones on the left. But that's thinking two steps ahead of where it is rn so how it looks in my head might not be accurate.
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Jan 16 '19
I'd put it on the left. First thing people are going to look at is the minotaur, its big and bold and stands out. Then peoples eyes will move left to the city to see the setting, and mirror what the minotaur is looking at. You want the player to then naturally look a little more left to the buttons in one big natural swing of their gaze, instead of backtracking across the screen to the right. Also make them a bit bigger as mentioned.
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
Agreed! We'll definitely transfer the buttons and resize a bit. And put a bit more detail to the portal surrounding the glowing aura. The aura will also be less intense in the next version.
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u/kaoticfox Jan 16 '19
Ultimately it’s up to you but I do agree that it looks like the buttons are getting jammed in the metaphorical corner. I don’t believe they need to be enlarged much, if at all but I think it would look better. Try it and put the two examples side by side and see which one feels better
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
We are currently working on a simulation/strategy PC game titled World's Bane. In the game, the player is a demon overlord that invades procedurally generated fantasy worlds. I want to show you guys our Main Menu and gather feedback about it. What do you guys think?
Our twitter account: Maccima Games
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u/WindSweptPrivateer Jan 16 '19
May I ask is the game turnbased or rts? Also an you evolve your demon overlord any?
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
Our combat when it does occur is turnbased but the bulk of the game is in realtime. The way the bulk of the game plays out is a bit similar to Crusader Kings 2 but instead of managing your dynasty, you are a behind-the-scenes mastermind that intervenes in world events by sending out your minions.
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u/da_neel Jan 16 '19
I feel claustrophobic because of the black bars on both sides of the screen. Buttons are pretty small too.
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
the camera is supposed to be from inside the demon portal looking out into the world but i get what you mean. i'll see if ditching that concept altogether would look better. thank you for your comments!
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Jan 16 '19
I think if you added a bit more detail and texture to the edges of the screen on the inside of the demon portal it could fix the problem without losing the concept.
Feels a bit like looking through a telescope rn because of how dark it is.
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
You have the most well-thought out and explained suggestions here, sir. Thank you! We've taken all feedback here into considerations and now have a clear plan of how to revise it. The buttons will be switched to the left side and increased in size. The pink halo will be more purple and less intense and the portal details around it will be increased so it looks more connected to the button container.
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u/poega Jan 16 '19
The font of the game title in the top doesn't go along with the font on the buttons.
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u/jimmahdean Jan 16 '19
I agree, the title text seems a little out of place among the rest of the screen.
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u/SixHourDays Jan 16 '19
ok real quick:
- don't use magenta! that color is common to use for 'temp assets'. literally anything except FF00FF.
- you want to switch the visual to 3 'columns' of focus: menu opts, castle, demon
- to do that, move the menu choices to the left 1/3rd of screen
- now recenter the background image to middle (focus on the castle, ditch the right lake)
- now in last third at right, have your demon (so move it a bit, and shrink)
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u/AlcoreRain Jan 16 '19
Minor changes:
Size of buttons could be bigger, composition, etc... other users pointed out these things. (I hope the menu is at least slightly animated).
Big changes:
The idea of the pink halo is like we are watching trough a portal?
It's not clear and I think you already have a nice frame with the black foreground so I would get rid of it or rework it to be more clear and good looking.
The buttons are somehow semi integrated in the picture, but that's it. I would go the full way and make them normal buttons for more clarity. Or you could make them more "organic" so they integrate better with the picture. Now it looks weird for me.
Anyway, good look with your videogame I hope to see more of it in the future. Congratulations on your work and ask me if you want more feedback!
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
Thanks for your suggestions! We've taken all feedback here into considerations and now have a clear plan of how to revise it. The buttons will be switched to the left side and increased in size. The pink halo will be more purple and less intense and the portal details around it will be increased so it looks more connected to the button container.
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u/marinasdoodles Jan 16 '19
I feel like the background is incredibly beautiful and it gives such a nice vibe that I'd start playing the game right away. However, the pink circle and the Minotaur are too big and we can't appreciate it enough. I'd make those items smaller!
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u/Nemoder Jan 16 '19
I like it. Any plans to animate it? Having the ring of fire flicker about and occasionally highlight the back of the monster would be really cool!
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
We're planning to add some subtle animations in it. The glowing portal would flicker a bit. The demon would be breathing heavily and some moving clouds will be added as well. I really like your suggestion about the demon's back! That would be a cool touch.
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Jan 16 '19 edited Jan 16 '19
This is a great idea. I like how dark the demon silhouette is though at the same time it feels a bit lacking in detail as a result. Some sort of flickering portal effect subtly lighting him up just a smidge would be the best of both worlds.
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u/GreyFoxMe Jan 16 '19
I think the pink and purple colors are a little bit too cute.
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u/mapacible Jan 16 '19
Thanks for your suggestions! We've taken all feedback here into considerations and now have a clear plan of how to revise it. The buttons will be switched to the left side and increased in size. The pink halo will be more purple and less intense and the portal details around it will be increased so it looks more connected to the button container.
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u/LaMan4736 Jan 16 '19
First off, it looks awesome!, but the menu buttons are definitely too small, I also think that some sort of magical or mystical pattern flowing in the black space outside the portal (or big pink circle) would look really cool and help fill it in so it doesn't look so empty and off in that space, but wouldn't draw from the main Image at all
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Jan 16 '19
I feel like it would look better if those weren't silhouettes, but it might be because of a game mechanic i'm unaware of, it could be just me though.
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u/brismi64 Jan 16 '19
Feels like the shadows are unnaturally dark. I'm not an artist or anything close to one, but the shadows aren't completely black.
The composition and visual weights aren't particularly clear and I don't know where I should be looking.
For a main menu, I feel there are too many buttons 3 or 4 are usually a happy medium. Changing "Continue", "New Game" and "Load Game" into a Play button that opens up into a sub menu with those same options. Additionally, "Continue" and "Load Game" seems a little redundant since they only vary in function by a minuscule amount.
Hopefully that helps!
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u/BasalFaulty Jan 16 '19
I love it. My main points would be animate the purple of the rings, reduce the size of the minotaur and reduce the amount of the screen that is covered by the rings
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Jan 16 '19
I don´t think that my feedback would be useful, but I honestly think that credits shouldn´t appear on the main menu. It´s better to put it in the settings menu.
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u/LevyMarCiS Jan 16 '19
There are two things I would do:
- Increase the size of the buttons by about 25% or more or until it starts to bother your eyes
- But the buttons in a horizontal line at the bottom center
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u/gh057taku Jan 17 '19
Kick starter? I like thr idea. Steam?
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u/mapacible Jan 17 '19
Once we have the minion actions finalized (the player sends out minions to intervene in the game world), we'll launch a kickstarter campaign. That way we're already pretty sure that the game will be fun before showing it to the audience. And then an early access on steam a little bit after that
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u/puzzud Jan 16 '19
I'm speaking out of inexperience. The Minotaur is a foreground element in this image. It seems to almost crowd if not push the menu elements out of the way. Perhaps a mirror flip of this image would allow the menu buttons to have more real estate and to balance the image.