Advice/Suggestions on UI?

[InnocentLurker]

Does anybody know of a good resource for UI? Links to tutorials or just free asset packs would be appreciated.

I'm relatively confident in drawing characters but interface isn't something I've ever been good at, and since I'm not developing my game with Ren'py or RPGM there aren't any pre-made assets for me to use.

Thus far I've found some on Itch.io, but none of what's on there suits the style I'm trying to go for.

 

[rayminator]

you have to make them yourself just like everyone else does

you can just google for tutorials and (pre-made assets ($$$))

 

[MissFortune]

What are you developing your game in?

 

[InnocentLurker]

What are you developing your game in?

Unity. I have my own scripts made for the text box itself, but it's using ugly programmer assets.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

you have to make them yourself just like everyone else does

you can just google for tutorials and (pre-made assets ($$$))

about right.
The games i had played had a sufficent UI. Don't know if they were bought or made by the game author. Never really looked into Unity.
Personally, i would probably rather buy it. It's just so time consuming. You probably find them on itch.io or Unity store.

 

[Tompte]

I don't know of any free resources but I could answer any questions you might have.

Unity UI has a bit of a learning curve but once you're over the first hump it becomes pretty easy and straight-forward.

 

[InnocentLurker]

I don't know of any free resources but I could answer any questions you might have.

What should the UI workflow even look like? Just a fundamental question.

I'm a painter so vector art just seems way out of my league to be honest.

 

[Tompte]

What should the UI workflow even look like? Just a fundamental question.

I'm a painter so vector art just seems way out of my league to be honest.

In what sense? Do you mean art wise, technically or both?
What kind of game are you making and what part of the UI would you want to do first?

 

[InnocentLurker]

In what sense? Do you mean art wise, technically or both?
What kind of game are you making and what part of the UI would you want to do first?

I'm pretty confident in the technical side of things, just not sure on where to get started with the art.
Right now I'm working on the title screen and the main dialogue box.

 

[Tompte]

I'm not sure if I will be able to help you. Art is just something you have to learn to do, honestly.
Do you have any experience using programs like Photoshop or similar? If not, that's where you should start.

I do have some other advice for you.

I suggest you wait with making the main menu. It's not going to be important for a while and it will probably just get in your way while you're working on the actual game. In my case, I think it was the last screen I added to my game.

When working on UI, I tend to not worry about the art at first. What is more important to me is to just get something on the screen and interacting with it. Layout and user interactivity is much, much more important.

But you asked about workflow, so here's my general workflow when making UI:

• First, I draw it out on paper. Nothing detailed. It's so I can get a more clear picture of what I'm making before I start making it, and maybe catch some problems I didn't think of at first.
• Then I do the layout in Unity. Sometimes with flat colors, sometimes with empty RectTransforms. If you haven't worked with Unity's UI system before, I strongly suggest you do a few tutorials.
• I may put in some placeholder graphics here, if necessary. It makes it easier to work on something if I can see it.
• Next, I will start coding up behaviors and logic. If I know two GameObjects need to talk to each other I'll prepare some scripts to do that.
• Unless the code is art dependent, I will try to finish as much of the functionality as possible. Make it work!
• Once I'm happy with the layout and the functionality, I start making it pretty, because now I know exactly what art I need to make.

I use Photoshop to create pretty much everything art-wise. I sometimes makes things from scratch, but I also use Google and Pinterest to look up pictures of things if I need to make an icon for an item or something. For instance, I wanted a traditional look for the UI of my game, so first thing I looked for wood and paper textures. Then I heavily processed them in Photoshop to fit my needs. If I can't make it work or I'm unhappy with the result, I start over.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

I think i never read in a review "UI is awesome, 5 out of 5".
If i look at RenPy you are getting a functional UI. Kind of what players expect. Anything else is eye candy.

As stated, to make a own UI requires some work. So yes, familiarity with a photo editing software is key. I looked once into a UI (unren) and it isn't hard. Though i only seen and checked RenPy.
Plugins will greatly make it more efficient to create text boxes and buttons. Your imagination is the limit.

There are some how to's on the web. Best is probably to unren the game and learn the code how it's done.
Just my opinion of course.

 

[FromOtherSpace]

I think i never read in a review "UI is awesome, 5 out of 5".

UI is like map, we, players, only talk about when it's bad. That doesn't mean it's useless to put some effort on this part of a game.

 

[coffeeaddicted]

Well, true. Though as for me, the UI isn't really important. As long as i can do what i expect i could do, i can.
Of course this is a field where games sharing the same engine can distinguish themselves from other games but i kind of feel that it isn't necessarily important.

 

[FromOtherSpace]

It depends of game genre. A visual novel almost can't have a bad UI, it could be ugly but not really bad. Unless the dev choose to add a menu you must open before clicking on 'next'.

In a RPG, an UI which doesn't allow you to see all stats of a character on one screen could became a pain in the ass (ex : you need to go in a sub menu to see how your magic stuff are affected by an armor ; armor which are equipped in another submenu) On a technical level it's working, an Ui like this display what a player want. But it's a shitty user experience, which force players to navigate trough submenu for no good reasons.

Tompte is right to begin with (close to) no style but a fonctionnal menu. By focusing on usages and users, you minimize risk of creating something pretty and shitty.