Logan's Game Design Blog: Early Years

UI Elements Spatial    There are two spatial aspects of this picture. The first is the blue diamond indicator telling the character where the quest requires them to be. The second is the animal paw in the bottom left letting the player know where their pet is. The Gamasutra article describes these aspects help to  "prevent them from having to break the experience by jumping to menu screens."(Stonehouse 2014). If this indicator wasn't here I would have to either look at the minimap or open the quest screen. Meta     The meta aspect of this screen is the inventory screen. In-game, your character has an echo device that creates a hologram that allows you to choose what weapons you have equipped and what skills you have. Your character knows what is going on, but doesn't see this exact screen. Diagetic     The diagetic aspect of this screen is the ammo count on the gun. It's part of the game world and part of the UI. T...

UI Intro Project Flow Diagrams    My flow diagram is quite simple, you start on the main menu and you have 3 options. Quit, Start, or Options. Start will begin playing the game, quit will stop the game, and options will bring you to the options screen. From the options screen, you can go back to the start screen. Wireframes    The wireframes I made are the two UI Screens. Each screen has buttons and the options screen has a checkbox. Each of them also has a 3D background relating to the game. Prototype     Honestly, I spent way too much time on my prototype trying to get everything to work somewhat correctly, so I feel that the rest of my project is just OK. My Prototype includes a fully functioning main menu screen. The game is a very basic shooting level. The option's screen back button works, unfortunately, I could never get the sound to toggle on and off or continue playing from level to level. In retrospect, I should...

Redesigning UI for Space Invaders Flow Diagram    In this flow diagram, I add some key functionality to Space Invaders that I believe the game needs. First, The achievements section is brand new and helps the player have some sort of accomplishments while playing the game. Next, are the new options that the user has to choose from. They can change the video, audio, and even difficulty settings. My favorite addition to the options menu is a theme selection. Theme Select Features    The Theme Select screen features a number of options that the user can change to enhance their gameplay experience. These new features will be unlocked as you play the game and unlock certain achievements. Each option will include a drop-down menu where the user can see what options they have unlocked, which they don't have unlocked, and even where to unlock them. On the right side of the screen, there will be a small sample image of what their game will look lik...