Yet Another Menu

General Discussions
#1

So I think I have a serious issue. I am obsessed with making game menu screens it seems. I start a game, work on the rendering methods, demo the rendering to make sure everything it working, build really cool particle systems, start with the menu and well…

Here is a screen of the latest :frowning:

http://s11.postimage.org/kgmrwd2df/untitled.jpg

This is the second one I have really gone into and it is only 17.56% done. It is all in opengl and all art work is done by me. It is currently rather dynamic but will get ever more so as I start adding particle effects and spaceships/drop pods/planetary explosions.

I cannot seem to just put place holder art while I make the game and its engine. Is that a bad thing?

I also read that you should start with making the games menu which I think is very important because it is the first impression. It is also good so you can get all the game states working properly.

Anyone have tips on how to stay on topic? I feel like making a game is a work of art so I make it how I sketch stuff, like a printer.

Oh this latest never-going-to-be-finished-game’s title is “Planet: Exodious”

#2

It looks awesome, I love it, wishing I could create a menu like that lol.

#3

Mother of god…

Good point! But if you have an awesome menu like that my expectations for the game are even higher, so you should start with that aswell eventually :stuck_out_tongue:

#4

Your menus do look very nice, however, staying on topic is very difficult. I have a in-born urge to make nice things within my programming too. Sadly, I realized that it doesn’t get any games complete.

For this case, I work on the logic first. When you work on game logic, it forces you to make placeholders because you need to get your ideas for the game out fast. The more the ideas flow about your game play, the less time you will spend on trying to improve your graphics and menus. When you get a basic game running (or you are tired of working on logic), then you can improve the graphics as you go.

I think for people who are distracted with graphics, building the logic first is much more beneficial. You have a higher chance of getting a game out, instead of just a pretty showcase menu and nothing to back it up. The core skeleton of your game is the logic and control system, everything else is glitter to attract people to play your game.

#5

If your real interest is design and graphics, then no.
If you want to program and finish games, then yes.

Keep a to-do list with priorities.
A great game with a primitive menu is still a great game. A menu without a game, is, well a menu ;D
Do the nice stuff in between when you not feel like programming. Get used to implement without visual feedback, with unit tests e.g.

Btw., that menu looks more than good enough. :wink:

#6

That is indeed an awesome menu! There’s no need for it to have an incredible and dynamic background, even if it would be immensely cool :smiley:

I too get stuck doing the menu, but more specifically the framework for it. As long as you’re working on your menu-framework, I think you’re all right. The extra touch-ups should probably go to the bottom of your to-do list. As 65K said, concentrate on the game, and when that part pisses you off or you just don’t feel like it, go make the menus.

An alternative could be to concentrate on making exceedingly awesome menus, and get a job doing that for some game company. If I had any money to give, I’d pay you to make an awesome menu like that for my game, that’s for sure.

#7

So I started to work on actual game logic and what not and have been thinking of how to manage everything (got an interesting collision idea) but found that I had to have some imagery to work with so here is new stuffs.

I worked a while on UI and still onl 10-15% done. I have no idea how artists can bust this stuff out. I bet you can guess the style of the game now… 8)

#8

That menu is cool. If the menu is cool, it should make people think that the game is good. :smiley: But they will have higher expectations :stuck_out_tongue: