RE: [GD-Design] (GUI) Playfield aspect ratio

[Tom F. <to...@mu...>]

I thought it was to give a more-square (in physical units) view of the
world. Since these games are usually around 45-degree isometric, one metre
on the ground is twice as many pixels if it's sideways than it is when it's
up and down. So a 2:1 viewport ratio shows you the same amount of landscape
horizontally as it does vertically.


Tom Forsyth - Muckyfoot bloke and Microsoft MVP.

This email is the product of your deranged imagination,
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> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Hook [mailto:ho...@py...]
> Sent: 07 April 2003 03:23
> To: gam...@li...
> Subject: [GD-Design] (GUI) Playfield aspect ratio
> 
> 
> 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
> 
> 
> 
> 
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