Re: [TuxKart-devel] GUI

[Robert K. <rob...@gm...>]

On Wed, 30 Jun 2004 07:23:41 -0500, Steve Baker <sjb...@ai...> wrote:

> Yeah - but we aren't as horribly limited as they are on a GameCube.
> 
> But do you think they'd still do it that way if they had a mouse
> attached to the system?

Yes they would, because players can't use a mouse when they're sitting
on the couch.  A gamepad is a device that fits in your hands and
affords full control of the game without the need for a desk and a
chair.

> We don't regard a joystick as a good GUI device for other applications,
> why would we use if here?

A game doesn't require a GUI of the same density as, say, a word
processor.  You shouldn't look at a simplified GUI as a limitation,
you should see it as a liberation.

> The main things it needs (IMHO) is a pictorial indication of the
> tracks rather than the present list of text names and a pictorial
> (preferable 3D, rotating slowly) image of the kart you have selected.

Exactly.  You don't have to have 100 widget types because you don't
need them.  What you've described here can be implemented with 1 type
of widget, in such a way that is easily controlled with only a D-pad
and a single button, in a style which has already been well
established by hundreds of games.

-- 
Robert Kooima