Hi guys. Im creative director at Studio Powwow currently hard at work on ShipAntics. Was hoping to get some feedback on the UI designs for the game. Please tell us what you think! Simple and playful is what we're going for.
I'm guessing from the squareness of the screen, that this is for the ipad? Those buttons seem huge. The ease and accuracy of the ipad I think you could size it down. I cant tell if this would all come onto the the screen at once, or if this is just every slide out exposed.
@ Iruka Yeah the bottom image is every slide out at once, at this stage its more for the layout, colour and size. The functionality still needs to be worked out, so the arrows on the left are placeholders (eventually they'll be settings, sound, exit etc) . Good point about the accuracy of the iPad though, screen doesn't need to be crowded. We're planning to have little or no UI on the screen during gameplay. Thanks for the help.
First off, I love the charm and the style of pretty much everything. I think the characters are easily recognisable, adorable, and everything feels pretty harmonious.
That said, some things bothered me with the game background, and I think these might be things that could seep into other parts of the game if they go unnoticed. I was surprised no one else pointed them out, so maybe it is just me.
the good:
1. the environment is well-designed, and looks engaging.
2. this bears repeating, but your characters are the strongest part. Really, really solid.
the bad:
I looked through your blog for quite some time before I posted this, so please don't take things the wrong way. I like what is going on here, and I want to help make it as good as it can be. that's all.
1. The blue short on the clothesline is near tangent, the white thing next to the bra looks so much like a cloud I can't tell them apart. You had the same tangents with the poster design, try to work in more overlapping forms. I slid it a bit to the right, and I think it helps the read. I spent like 4 minutes looking at that, thinking it was a hole originally. It is the same colour as the sky, and it just threw me.
2. The lighting is pretty inconsistent, and it hurts the piece. With so much focus on design, and stylisation / abstraction, I can see why lighting and form doesn't take center stage, but I honestly believe it's an area you could see the most improvement in, seeing as you design well, and your colours are pretty great. There's liberties you can take, and there's personal style, but in some places your colours that are receiving light are actually darker than your shadows (the hull, red paint trim, the giant red rudder, i couldn't touch them all.) , and it just shoots out at me. The lighting on that one pole on the dock is also different from the rest of the piece, and that pipe on the boat is lit up from below. There's no real cast shadow on the dock to speak of whatsoever, and this is a sunny day out. If the sun is right overhead, then great, but the light is coming in from an angle on most things.
I tried to multiply things very gently (also: shittily) to show what i mean, but I really think you have room to push these values. The piece is low contrast, and it fits the style, but I fear it might end up looking overly flat, or worse, being inconsistent.
3. Atmospheric fog - it looks like you did lighten up the background tower a bit, but it's so close I can't tell. I pushed it more. You want the focus on the characters, and my eye kept wandering out.
I think if you establish the light source better, and follow through on it, you'll pull a lot more depth from the piece - which I think is important considering it's a game. It's not like any of this is beyond your capabilities anyways, it's just things to think about. Maybe you don't see it that way, and I'm just a rank amateur, but I think lighting is the big thing here.
@ Kevindee - First off, wow thanks. This is all solid gold constructive criticism, everything you mentioned makes sense. Secondly, you dont sound like a "rank amateur" , far from it. . Style and technique can come and go, but that only goes so far. Lighting and composition are core skills you need to apply to everything you do and theres no hiding it when it aint working . This BG was tricky because the washing line was a prop that was done in Flash but it dominates the whole scene and kinda breaks it up in an awkward way. It has to be clear that its an interactive element.
Also I'd be interested to hear your opinion on the wooden textures, do you think they suit the look?
@Daltronica - Thanks! I see what you mean about the washing line, that's rough. If it is interactive, I would play up some contrast vs the hull of the boat or the sky, specifically on the socks and the drawers on the left.
The wooden textures? I think they're pretty great. I wouldn't change em really, they work.
@kevindee - Yeah, we'll need to make then stick out a bit more. Its certainly something we'll have to address, dont want people missing key items in the BG! Remember those old animated shows where you knew something was gonna move because it just stuck out so much?
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EncA Fool with CompassionPronouns: He, Him, HisRegistered Userregular
Hey guys, it's been a long time coming but finally our game is about to release on IOS. The release date is the 24th of July!!!
Check out our trailer and please let us know what you think https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjLIboukLyI
Thanks! We have plans to make a TV show out of it but first we're going to make short webisodes for YouTube and that can be viewed in the game. Kind of like what Angry Birds do. Check out our website if you'd like to see more http://www.shipantics.com/
Posts
Hi guys, heres a still from the game with the finished background. We'd love to know what you think. Any feedback welcomed!
http://www.facebook.com/ShipAntics
what are the arrows on the left for?
That said, some things bothered me with the game background, and I think these might be things that could seep into other parts of the game if they go unnoticed. I was surprised no one else pointed them out, so maybe it is just me.
the good:
1. the environment is well-designed, and looks engaging.
2. this bears repeating, but your characters are the strongest part. Really, really solid.
the bad:
I looked through your blog for quite some time before I posted this, so please don't take things the wrong way. I like what is going on here, and I want to help make it as good as it can be. that's all.
1. The blue short on the clothesline is near tangent, the white thing next to the bra looks so much like a cloud I can't tell them apart. You had the same tangents with the poster design, try to work in more overlapping forms. I slid it a bit to the right, and I think it helps the read. I spent like 4 minutes looking at that, thinking it was a hole originally. It is the same colour as the sky, and it just threw me.
2. The lighting is pretty inconsistent, and it hurts the piece. With so much focus on design, and stylisation / abstraction, I can see why lighting and form doesn't take center stage, but I honestly believe it's an area you could see the most improvement in, seeing as you design well, and your colours are pretty great. There's liberties you can take, and there's personal style, but in some places your colours that are receiving light are actually darker than your shadows (the hull, red paint trim, the giant red rudder, i couldn't touch them all.) , and it just shoots out at me. The lighting on that one pole on the dock is also different from the rest of the piece, and that pipe on the boat is lit up from below. There's no real cast shadow on the dock to speak of whatsoever, and this is a sunny day out. If the sun is right overhead, then great, but the light is coming in from an angle on most things.
I tried to multiply things very gently (also: shittily) to show what i mean, but I really think you have room to push these values. The piece is low contrast, and it fits the style, but I fear it might end up looking overly flat, or worse, being inconsistent.
3. Atmospheric fog - it looks like you did lighten up the background tower a bit, but it's so close I can't tell. I pushed it more. You want the focus on the characters, and my eye kept wandering out.
I think if you establish the light source better, and follow through on it, you'll pull a lot more depth from the piece - which I think is important considering it's a game. It's not like any of this is beyond your capabilities anyways, it's just things to think about. Maybe you don't see it that way, and I'm just a rank amateur, but I think lighting is the big thing here.
Also I'd be interested to hear your opinion on the wooden textures, do you think they suit the look?
The wooden textures? I think they're pretty great. I wouldn't change em really, they work.
Check out our trailer and please let us know what you think
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xjLIboukLyI
http://www.facebook.com/ShipAntics
http://www.facebook.com/ShipAntics