Goals for semester, tentatively solid.

The WHAT:

Alright, the end goal is easy. Have a fully-functional, aesthetically engaging and user-friendly GUI designed and integrated into ION at the end of the semester.

The HOW:

By 02.01.11, I'll have 3-5 fleshed-out GUI design concepts to work with, each with multiple sketches and preliminary graphics that present each unique concept's aesthetic style and level of functionality. This includes but is not limited to the placement of HUD elements, the presentation of a control scheme, and menu organization.

By 03.01.11, the team will have selected the most appropriate, attractive, and functional design concept, and I will have completed initial iterations of at least half of the menu screens and HUD elements. I'll have consulted with the CS team to determine what, if any, changes must be made to the GUI in order for the CS team to provide the necessary code to implement the GUI into ION.

By 04.01.11, I will have completed initial design of the GUI, and will be hard at work refining the presentation, cleaning up graphics, and testing functionality and usability with the rest of the team.

End of semester, GUI completed as a fully-functional part of ION.

Of course, these goals may need revision, as I've never created a GUI for a game. Nor has anyone else in the class. But I'm sure I can do it, and I'm looking forward to it! I've got plenty of resources to work with.

Below is the basic list of features I'm going to need to implement into the GUI this semester. The list is taken from the ION Game Design doc that Andrew put together, and it's looking like a pretty good indication of the things I'll need to have ready. It's not exhaustive, as there are things I'll likely add, and all of the options we have available to tweak aren't yet determined. But it's a great place to start.

• Main Menu

◦ Start New Game

◦ Options

▪ Basic options built into Unity

◦ Exit

• In Game Menu

◦ Exit to Main Menu

◦ Save

◦ Options

▪ Same options as from main menu

• In Game HUD

◦ Health Bar**

◦ Shields Bar**

◦ Weapon Equipped**

◦ Ammo for current weapon**

◦ Score (Ions collected)**

◦ Time**

◦ Aiming Reticule**

◦ Boost bar**

◦ Damage overlays

• End of Level Score Screen (Needs expanded)

◦ More Robust Score Breakdown

◦ Local Leader Board

• Ship/Weapon Upgrade Screen (Needs expanded)

I've been studying the features and presentation of UIs in videogames for a while, and some of the examples I'm likely to pull some ideas from are Dead Space, Split/Second, World of Goo, Descent, Mario Kart, Borderlands, Mirror's Edge, Half-Life, and quite a few others.

Also, on a side note - I purchased a Wacom Intuos4 last week, and I'm excited to learn how to use it, and use it well!