The Title Screen

by Dale M.A. Johnson

created 4/21/06

The title screen is generally how most people are introduced to the game for the first time, and it's likely what they'll be looking at for some time to come (supposing they come back for more). For that reason, a title screen needs to be both pleasing to the eye, and functional.

This document is not meant to discuss the custom title pages for individual campaigns. These will be addressed elsewhere.

Layout

Layout is hard to plan out in words, and for the most part, is best left to paper sketches for planning. However, there are some things that need to be remembered when designing the layout:

• It needs to look good. This is pretty self-explainitory. It will be the first thing the user sees when they boot up the engine, and (heaven help us all) they'll be seeing it every time they come back. Even if this is a freeware title, it shouldn't make you want impale yourself every time you see it. Make it exciting, and fit into the overall design.
• It needs to be welcoming. When a new user boots up the engine for the first time, it should be inviting and make them want to jump in and play! It should also be easy for them to tell where to go.
• It needs to be accessible. Everything the engine is capable of should be there at the user's fingertips with only a mouse click or two. Avoid vauge descriptions and clustered submenus just to do something simple.

Main Menu

These are the functions the main meny needs to have. They do not need to be in this order, or have these exact names.

Play a Campaign

This will bring up a window with a list of campaigns that the player can play. Each campaign has some basic information about it that you can view to see what it's about.

Play a Multiplayer Map

By selecting this option, you will get a list of all the maps in the "maps" directory. Like the campaign window, you'll get a preview of the map to help you decide what to play.

Gameplay Tutorial

Boots up a play-as-you-learn tutorial (in the form of a multiplayer map) to get newcomers up and running. It should also have some information on where to begin to start creating their own maps and games.

Open the Editor

Unlike a lot of games, the editor is built in here. You can access it from the main menu, and choose whether you want to edit a multiplayer map, a rule set, or a campaign.

Options

The basic options window, which is also accessible during a map.

Help

Brings up the help guide with information about the game and how to play, as well as help for editing maps and campaigns.

Quite

Returns the user to Windows (or whatever other operating system they are using).