Hello,
I took some time to write out a thoughtful critique from a first time player's perspective of the game after several hours of play. I don't know whats on your "To Do" or what has or hasn't been discussed to death. I'm playing version .45. All of my comments are focused on play-ability, presentation, and GUI.
First thoughts about the user interface after playing a short while.
Inconsistent
Messy
Disjointed
Busy
Clumsy
After several hours of playing.
The game is stuck between a Macro world and a Micro interface. You can have it both ways, you just need a different approach to the menu system and accessing information and management tools.
Suggestions that would (in my opinion of course) make the UI better.
General:
Pick a consistent set of UI elements and stick with them. Example; the “X” button has several different Icons and there are at least 4 distinct styles of “buttons.”
There are a metric fuckton of different Fonts. Font management is a huge part of a unifying look and feel to a game. Its especially important that it be legible, while the cute main-menu-information-panel-text looks cute, it’s harder to read.
The layout of the menus varies wildly. From the main menu 3 panel design with help text at the bottom, to the open map with floating help text, to the “narrative” scenes with a speech panel, to floating panels (like finance) to different styles textures and layouts for the Girls, Brothels and the labyrinth of menus within those menus which are all different from each other. Ah and the Hero menu which looks like no other menu and I almost forgot the options menu, less important but again with nothing in common.
The by-far best looking menu is the “Girls” Menu. It has good design and great functionality. It is one of the few menus with a solid organizational approach. The subtle background and clean layout make it stand out as a great menu. The one and only thing I would change is the “Page” button, move it from the top bar to the bottom of the page.
The Top Bar is also very good looking. Keep it consistent. If you going to put the next/previous page button on it, be consistent and always use that feature. The Bar would be an optimal place to put a “back” or “leave” button instead of “X” for shops and town places. Most importantly the less the bar changes menu to menu the better it will be as an anchor. Your web browser’s bar(s) don’t change with the web page, and neither should this one.
Full words instead of abbreviations would go a long way to usability too, you aren't short for space “Hero” “Save” “Load” wouldn't take much and would look much nicer. Icons could also work, everyone recognizes a Floppy for save or a Wrench/Gear for Options
Bottom “Help” panel (where information about what your hovering over is displayed) is extraordinarily inconsistent. It changes Size, Shape, Color, Position, Font, and Existence with every single menu.
End of Day Menu:
Finance is a critical component of the game, it seems stuffed away and hidden when it should be the first thing you see.
Put Total Earned, Expenses (Upkeep and Wages), Taxes (if not tax day, then the number of days until tax day) and the Net Earn/Loss as the first thing you see. Some 40 clicks later to see if it was tax day is not good. Keep the separate tax page, its still good to have a more detailed breakdown of that. (that explains the income tax etc.)
Bank: 9142$
Today’s Net Total: 200$
Gross: 500$
Whoring: 366$
Guard: 100$
Town Job: 34$
Expenses: 300$
Upkeep: 150$
Wages: 150$
This Week’s Net Total: 450$ (Adds up as the days go and resets after Tax Day)
Taxes: (5 Days)
Income:
Property:
I like the “Next Day” button integration and position into the End of Day menu. However, without the aforementioned change its useless. Right now you can’t tell whether or not you are blundering into financial ruin without clicking to the last events. (even then you need to back out to the main menu to see your gold total) That would be fine if the limit was a single brothel, or just a handful of girls, but the scope that the game is trying to achieve does not allow it to be so.
Also When I was first playing, I hit “Next Day” thinking it would close the summary and start the beginning of the day and close this window. I hit it several times before my search lead me to the artistic “X” button. This Menu could use a more intuitive exit. (Something like an “Accept Report” button to share prominence with the “Next Day”?) To its credit, it IS consistent with the rest of the menus.
Finance:
I was Impressed by the Finance Menu(s). But It shouldn’t be buried in the Brothel or Girl menus. The Finance menu should be its own window with broad finances, that you then use to access specific brothel information or further to girl(s) information (who are in that brothel). Not accessed from the object you wish to examine. (eg find specific girl, click finances, repeat 10-20-...-100 times) This would streamline the Micro management and make it feel like a nicer blend of Macro-Micro. For example, tracking down an under-performing employee is awful when you have many.
This same “Top Down” to finer details approach to more aspects of the game will blend the Macro-micro game that you obviously want to happen. The details are there, stats, inventory, etc… The approach to managing them is way off.
Brothel Management:
Get rid of it as it is. Use the Girl menu layout, Put all of the brothels in (displayed like the girls). Grey-out un-purchased brothels. Functions Identical to Girl menu, click to manage a specific brothel. Give management menus proper menus, not transparent. Bam; two menus merged, usability and macro management increased and consistency increased.
City and Menus:
Actually I like these too, they don’t clash with anything and don’t feel disjointed from the rest of the game. I think a “Leave”, “Back” or “Home” button would be more intuitive than the “X”. When you figure out a consistent help panel I would add that to the scene. It could not only function as help, but also replace the narrative box when needed. (btw what is “MS” stand for?)
Shops are good enough, different “X” that blends in with the border, not a fan. Also it’s one of only 2 scenes that your Top bar disappears, not good.
Other:
The Inventory and Equipment function (for the girls) is much to micromanaged. The need to first transfer the items and then equip them goes too far, and through needless menus. Imagine doing this for ten or twenty girls!? Then remember the scope of your game, you could need to do this for a hundred easily. The most practical solution would be allow the girl access to your inventory when equipping things, then have it transfer automatically when it’s equipped.
If your going to use Wood Texture. You can’t resize wood texture. It doesn’t even match itself if you do. You need a big texture that you cookie-cut the menu out of, not a small one that you stretch the aspect ratio to fit every panel. Find your biggest Panel that uses it, make the texture that size, then don’t stretch to fit in others, instead crop the texture to fit them. Rotate grains of bordering panels perpendicular, parallel or fishboned.
My Biggest Remark
Consistency and Consolidation on their own would go a long way.
The End
I really hope this helps. Criticism (even constructive) of one’s work can really hurt sometimes, (its why we get so defensive) even small ones can create self doubt. I've kinda reamed you guys out in terms of criticism, and I’m sorry about that. Just remember, make what you think it should be, what you would be proud of, I’m just a schmuck who’s too busy fapping to make a game anyway (right?).
