Nameless Voice on 2/2/2017 at 01:38
It's lacking a bit of a coherent theme.
You have the background colour, which looks a little bit like parchment, which the knotwork also suggests, but it has no pattern to it, and the skill buttons look like they're just placed on top of it rather than a part of it.
Maybe if you make the whole thing look more like it's a parchment with the controls written on it?
Something like this, but with less of a "thrown together in a few moments with Photoshop and a random image from textures.com" look:
Inline Image:
http://i.imgur.com/DCOgoFp.jpgWingedKagouti on 2/2/2017 at 12:37
Quote Posted by Pyrian
New:
The skills boxes can be hard to read at a glance due to the color of the text vs background, font choice and the background being busy. It may not be an issue in fullscreen, but as presented here it is to me.
Pyrian on 2/2/2017 at 20:51
Thanks for the great feedback! Awesome image, Nameless Voice. The idea is "wood chips on vellum". The background is badly lacking texture, so I added some this morning, very good observation. It's more work to make it overlay the icons, they're very dynamic (so the blend would have to be done in Unity, not photoshop), and the selectable ones animate. Still, I'm thinking of having the non-selectable ones merge onto the sheet like that - it would help the selectable ones pop out more. Maybe even give them shadows and more edgework to look more like objects. Hmm.
Here's the same thing with background texture:
Inline Image:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/Pyrian/SkillsNewBackground_small_zpsenydqiw0.pngWingedKagouti: Thanks for the feedback, legibility's been a real thorn in my side since I started trying to be more artistic. Here's a cut from something closer to full screen (still a bit smaller 'cause I took this image from the Editor):
Inline Image:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/Pyrian/SkillsNewBackground_part_zpsqvgxbf6l.pngDo you think that's readable?
It's not going to be legible on phones or most tablets. Thinking of doing a small-icon big-description approach if/when I port this. Lot of games seem to do that these days.
Nameless Voice on 2/2/2017 at 21:11
Have you considering making the decorations on each square represent the skill in question?
Ready Two Arrows showing a bow with two arrows, Dress Wound showing a bandage, etc.?
Pyrian on 2/2/2017 at 21:21
Yeah, and that's what I'd have to do if I take out the individual text on the buttons. The primary issue with it is that it's bluntly a ton of work; 52 icons instead of 12.
WingedKagouti on 2/2/2017 at 21:24
Quote Posted by Pyrian
WingedKagouti: Thanks for the feedback, legibility's been a real thorn in my side since I started trying to be more artistic. Here's a cut from something closer to full screen (still a bit smaller 'cause I took this image from the Editor):
Do you think that's readable?
It's better, but still takes some concentration to read. it may be the width of the characters combined with the colour and background.
Pyrian on 2/2/2017 at 21:48
Quote Posted by WingedKagouti
...width of the characters...
Heyyyy, wait a second, when did those characters stop being bold? They're clearly bolded in the original Arial font. It's much more important with this one. Here, this isn't perfect, but it's hands-down better:
Inline Image:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/Pyrian/SkillsWithBold_zpshrdevbfa.pngThanks again for the feedback. :)
WingedKagouti on 2/2/2017 at 22:30
That is far more readable, happy to be of help. :)
Yakoob on 3/2/2017 at 01:05
It still has the "buttons dont quite "sit" on the background" feel, tho I don't know what to do about it lacking artistic skill myself :p
Also, I'd say the VICTORY doesn't fit. Everything is woody/parchment while the Victory is glossy/embossed thing. I'd switch it to a printed gold on parchment maybe?
Pyrian on 7/2/2017 at 22:01
Still banging away at this. Now I've got all the unselectable skills (ones you either already have or cannot yet get) blended into the parchment, while the selectables sit above it. Pops the important ones out a lot better, I think. I also unified the gold treatment of the confirm button and big ol' VICTORY thang. The "VICTORY" header exists across multiple pages so I'm not too fussed about it not fitting into the parchment specifically, so long as it fits into the game in general (and if it doesn't I have a problem, because virtually ALL my buttons are using the same color and style).
Page:
Inline Image:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/Pyrian/SkillsUpdate2Small_zpsaoogzakr.pngZoom:
Inline Image:
http://i32.photobucket.com/albums/d3/Pyrian/SkillsUpdate2Zoom_zpsdlj9sbbt.pngNot entirely satisfactory (it would be better to have unique icons and wood grains for each skill, but that's just not in my time budget), but hopefully I can move on now, lol, still a lot of other things to do...
