[GD-Design] (GUI) Playfield aspect ratio

[Brian H. <ho...@py...>]

Okay, this is one of the more esoteric observations I'll make,=
 but I 
have to ask since it's been bugging me.

For games with HUD elements, the typical choice you see is to=
 either 
place the elements along the bottom, or possibly along the bottom=
 and 
one side.

To me, placing elements in an L or reverse L makes a lot more=
 sense, 
since you get a playfield area that is much closer to square than=
 a 
typical 4:3 or 16:9.  This is desirable because it gives you an=
 equal 
amount of play room in both directions.

However I've noticed that some games, such as Warcraft 3, put all=
 the 
GUI elements along the top and bottom, and this in turn actually=
 
accentuates the rectangularity of the playfield.  You get an=
 extreme 
letterbox effect, which I would intuitively find undesirable.

The main reasons I can see for preferring this layout are:

1.  Text prefers to be wide, so for chat dialogs, etc. it's=
 better to 
have it along the bottom.

2.  Letterbox is perceived as more "cinematic".

But I still don't think I like it.  Are there other obvious=
 reasons 
I'm missing?

Brian