theme COLORFUL bigbox theme

[viking]

Hi all ! 
A different post type today, because it's about concept here. @Jason Carr's last update gave me some ideas for new views.
I'm not happy with all of them, but here we go for discuss.

The main idea is: what to do with that damn TextGamesList which is the same file as the AboutGameView.
In navigation, most of SelectGameView integrates ALL the information, then we go to the GameDetailView which gives us again same information.
It is unnecessary and it gives the impression of wasting time.
My bias would be to only use the SelectGameView for selection. And the TextGameView/Detail only for the details of the selected game.
The only negative point is that we lose the TextGamesList view ...

Here are some loose concept mokup. (No guarantee that all will be developed)

 

PlatformWheel3FiltersView
Here with the (new)wheel always in place.
Not happy with this ... Not very inspired design!  =/

 

HorizontalWheel1GamesView
Not bad. Must test the rendering of the thumbnails in the wheel at this resolution!

 

HorizontalWheel2GamesView
I really like this one. What do you think ?

 

TextGamesView
And finally, after selecting the game, we come to a view like this. (video background)
Very frankly, I'm not happy with this version. Not easy to integrate the video in an aesthetic way!

 

 

Of course, a wall view will also come;)

Give me your feedback, it interests me !!!

Edited April 8, 2021 by viking

[thimolor]

I like how you use color. Looks fresh.

PlatformWheel3FiltersView Great concept. What if you removed the shadow from the right, that is over the platform wheel? Put a thin line there or nothing?

I like the HorizontalWheel2GamesView. Really clean, almost like game boxes on a table. The only thing that concerns me is the game title in a box. What happens when the game title is really long? Maybe put that title above the notes? Align the paltform title with the notes. I think this view could be a winner for those that like box art. For arcade games this won't work though.

TextGamesView This could be tweaked to be a good view. Full screen videos don't work nicely Aspect ratios vary so much, There's going to be black borders almost always. You could use screenshot with uniform to fill. The box art is not always the same size, what happens when you put Snes box or Saturn in there, does it look balanced then?

[zetec-s-joe]

Maybe a wallview like the POC, maybe if you can have left panel clean and color matched like your system view? I can picture it but not describe it as well  

[zetec-s-joe]

This is a nice view, is it possible to see a mock up like thiss but with instead of 3, use 5 or 7 cover, at the risk of it looking cluttered, it may look quite nice

[viking]

16 hours ago, thimolor said:

I like how you use color. Looks fresh.

PlatformWheel3FiltersView Great concept. What if you removed the shadow from the right, that is over the platform wheel? Put a thin line there or nothing?

I like the HorizontalWheel2GamesView. Really clean, almost like game boxes on a table. The only thing that concerns me is the game title in a box. What happens when the game title is really long? Maybe put that title above the notes? Align the paltform title with the notes. I think this view could be a winner for those that like box art. For arcade games this won't work though.

TextGamesView This could be tweaked to be a good view. Full screen videos don't work nicely Aspect ratios vary so much, There's going to be black borders almost always. You could use screenshot with uniform to fill. The box art is not always the same size, what happens when you put Snes box or Saturn in there, does it look balanced then?

For the title in a bubble, I was hoping to code a bubble that adapts to the length ... but no idea how to do it ^^

You're right about BoxArt for the Arcade. The best is to use the 3D Boxes for Arcade. But I don't know how to force them just for the arcade.

TextGamesView : You're right. This is the weakest view. I am lacking inspiration on this point. I will let it rest while waiting to find

14 hours ago, zetec-s-joe said:

Maybe a wallview like the POC, maybe if you can have left panel clean and color matched like your system view? I can picture it but not describe it as well  

Yes, I saw. I'm working on it

14 hours ago, zetec-s-joe said:

This is a nice view, is it possible to see a mock up like thiss but with instead of 3, use 5 or 7 cover, at the risk of it looking cluttered, it may look quite nice

I can give it a try, but I'm not convinced. We'll see that !

[Grila]

2 hours ago, viking said:

For the title in a bubble, I was hoping to code a bubble that adapts to the length ... but no idea how to do it ^^

Viking, I did something similar in my ComixBox theme years ago. Take a look at PlatformWheel3 for the code. Here's the general idea though:

Set a hidden label to the game name and have update on selection...

<!-- AUTOMATIC BORDER SIZER START -->
<Label x:Name="BorderSizer" Grid.Column="1" Content="{Binding ActivePlatform.Name, NotifyOnTargetUpdated=True}" FontFamily="Clementine" FontStyle="Italic" FontSize="46" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" Visibility="Hidden" />

Then set your "bubble" width and height bound to label text...

<Border x:Name="TextFrame" Grid.Column="1" Background="White" Width="{Binding ElementName=BorderSizer, Path=ActualWidth}" Height="{Binding ElementName=BorderSizer, Path=ActualHeight}" HorizontalAlignment="Center" VerticalAlignment="Bottom" BorderBrush="Black" BorderThickness="5" SnapsToDevicePixels="True" Panel.ZIndex="2" />

 

Like I said, take a look at my old ComixBox theme, PlatformWheel3 and you can see whole code and see it in action live in BigBox.

[C-Beats]

Should be able to just stick a Label or TextBox inside of a border and do the same thing without the need for additional event logic. Then can add logic to ensure the bubble doesn't get too big, or potentially put a canvas in the border (and the text inside of that canvas) to simply scale the text to fit the bubble (though long title names could shrink to become unreadable).

[viking]

Thx @Grila and @C-Beats for your help !!  =)

 

OK, BIG design mockup update. 
Give me your opinion ! It's precious to me =)

 

PlatformWheel3FiltersView
The same as yesterday, but without the shadow on the right. I'm still not happy with this view ... Trash probably!

 

PlatformWheel4FiltersView
OK, something different here. The main image is NOT a video. But come from a BANNER set that I'm currently developing. We lose the gameplay video, but we gain the transparent background.
Bonus, this view should be lighter for older systems. What do you think ?

 

HorizontalWheel1GamesView
The same as yesterday, but softly corrected.

or with more wheel item. Less elegant for me.   @zetec-s-joe 
(I'm not sure it works well with wide formats - SNES style)

 

HorizontalWheel2GamesView
The same as yesterday, but with a white frame. To match the PlatfromView01. Not great right?

 

WallGamesView
And it's time for the grid! Hard to beat the POC theme by @faeran here. Without reinventing the wheel, here is my version.
(Here in light, to imagine in Dark)

 

Wall2GamesView
Same, but with a full Platform color un background.

 

Wall3GamesView
Still very inspired by the theme by @faeran, but Colorful way. 
(Here in light, to imagine in Dark)

 

Wall4GamesView
Here too, the same, but with a color background depending on the platform.  (my peronal favourite !)

 

TextGamesView
FINALLY I think I have something cool for the GameDetailView !! What do you think ?

And a test with a wide BoxArt + 16:9 video. To validate  placement.

Technically, I will have to align the video to the left ... from memory, I never succeeded! =/ @Grila ??

 

Comments ? Ideas ? Suggestions? Preferences ?? =)

Edited April 9, 2021 by viking

[thimolor]

I like this: PlatformWheel4FiltersView. It has nice contrast and those platform images are really nice. I'm not sure about the small platform images in the wheel. They might get too small to identify the different systems from each other. Use logos, simpler custom banners or text instead?

HorizontalWheel2GamesView looks now tighter. For me the previous version was better without the borders.

I like your take on the wall views. There is more room to breath and doesn't look cramped. Like paintings on the wall. Easy on the eye and I really like these.

TextGamesView I know the feeling when you can't align that video to left or right Looks promising, for me the gap between box art and video is too tight? Try to add some more space between the elements like in your other views?

All and all looks nice!

Edited April 9, 2021 by thimolor

[kobaturtle]

All views looks nice but my preference goes for PlatformWheel3FiltersView. IMHO, your theme colors really shines with this view! Hoping this one fall beside trash

such an amazing work! Thanks!

 

 

[zetec-s-joe]

6 hours ago, viking said:

PlatformWheel3FiltersView - I actually think this is pretty clean - don't know about the up and down button color though?

HorizontalWheel1GamesView - Looking good! prefer this to the bubble title

or with more wheel item. Less elegant for me.   @zetec-s-joe 
(I'm not sure it works well with wide formats - SNES style) - I agree now 

Wall2GamesView - Love this!

 

Looking foward to you next update  (no rush)

 

[clockw3rk]

I like the proportions of the main image on platform3, but the colors of the side wheel clash with one another. 
 

Platform4 fixes the above problem with the white area, so I think it looks good, and better than 3 overall. 
 

I have the same criticism of the up/down arrows as zetec, even in the current version of the theme. Those arrows seem to stand out from the theme more than they need to.

 

Very nice work overall. I need to look more closely at the game wheels before commenting.

 

Thank you for all of your work! By far the best theme out there..

Edited April 9, 2021 by clockw3rk

[OdinsPlayground]

On 4/8/2021 at 5:12 PM, viking said:

HorizontalWheel2GamesView
I really like this one. What do you think ?

 

This one looks great! Works way better without the white border. Just wondering how video would be implemented with this one? 

[clockw3rk]

This is semi irrelevant, but here’s my current custom build. Feel free to remove this since it isn’t directly to the point of the thread. Only posting because it shows how insanely good this theme looks with a modern, mono-color cabinet around it.

One thing I’ve noticed as a possible design rule is: the fewer borders, the higher contrast with the cabinet around it. 

Edited April 9, 2021 by clockw3rk

[soqueroeu]

Hey all!

The best observations have already been made.
I didn't like the side images on PlatformWheel3FiltersView. Perhaps using logos may be more intuitive, but the layout itself is not bad. If you adopt images there, a selection rectangle may look good or leave unselected items more opaque.
For TextGamesView, I think separating the screen into two parts was very nice idea. It is interesting to think about the disposition of the information in a way that does not get ugly if there is no game box available.
HorizontalWheel2GamesView is very beautiful. Just take care of very big names, as already mentioned
And, please include Xbox / PS4 /Switch button layout for navigation.

[darkaegis]

The mockups are PHENOMENAL! I generally agree with the arrow comments, but I don't mind the contrast of the buttons on the platform wheel view - the theme IS named Colorful, after all.

I agree with your hunch that the white border doesn't look as good as the solid red. Solid red looks really clean when there are no white box elements, I think it looks great.

Can't wait to see these put into practice. So good.

Edited April 11, 2021 by darkaegis

[shadowblind]

On 4/9/2021 at 11:55 AM, thimolor said:

I like this: PlatformWheel4FiltersView. It has nice contrast and those platform images are really nice. I'm not sure about the small platform images in the wheel. They might get too small to identify the different systems from each other. Use logos, simpler custom banners or text instead?

 

Seconding this. Love the look, the concept, and the layout, but unless the platform images are immediately distinguishable from one another on a large screen, I'd choose a different route. That said, everything else looks great! Really digging the game views. Simple, uncluttered. 

I often have (had, pre-pandemic haha) a lot of folks over for gaming that aren't used to tech interfaces or using controllers to navigate them. So layouts where navigation to the next/previous game/platform is simple and clear from a glance are things I'll always root for. Which both Colorful and dirtyOld IMO do best out of all themes.

[viking]

Wow! Thank you for your messages!
Many good comments!

I prepare a new version as soon as possible 

[viking]

OK guys!
Mokup update for next view
It's slowly refined!

 

HorizontalWheel1GamesView
I really like this one. Super simple, elegant, no video or parasitic info. Some micro adjustments for this version.
For feasibility, it remains to check how the "new wheel" handles with high resolution BoxArt!

 

HorizontalWheel2GamesView
Test by off-center the horizontal wheel. From my point of view, there is still too much info displayed on this view. But the graphics balance looks good.
Your opinion? Adjustments must to be made on the buttons I think.
No technical difficulty here... if I can do what I hope with the new wheel.

 

PlatformWheel3FiltersView
I still don't like it, but here a new version of the wheel. What do you think ? It's better, but not very elegant.

 

PlatformWheel4FiltersView
You are right. Hardware alone is not self-explanatory.
I did this test with ClearLogo with square ratio. It's really not great. It's too graphically inconsistent between each logo.
I'm not sure how to do this here ... Maybe just like the PlatformWhel3Filter (?)
(reminder: this is NOT a video on this view, but my next Banner set)
Or ... no visible wheel. I mean, the big picture IS the wheel ??

 

 

 

OK, now: Game Detail View.
As a reminder, I try to limit the information display on GamesSelectionViews. So in this case, GameDetailView is very important!
In BigBox, there can only be one. For me the most difficult view to design. Help me ! 

 

TextGamesView (v1)
Thank you for your advice! So I kept the concept and let it all breathe!

 

TextGamesView (v2)
OK, something different. I dont like at all !  Trach (?)
On the left, the big picture is the video. Below, the BoxArt and 2 Gameplay images.
In the background, a blurred FanArt or GamePlay.

 

TextGamesView (v3)
I like this one !! The video area (bottom right) is in 16: 9 format. If the ratio is different, I use a blurred gameplay image for the background.
There is only this damn text list (Play, rating ...) that I don't know what to do with! Here, the idea would be to keep the button's graphic and scroll in front of the text. Technically, I'm not sure I can do it.
 @Jason Carr @Grila do you know a trick to turn this list into a button? 

And a test with large BoxArt and 16:9 gameplay video:

 

For the grids, I need to mature my designs. Next time !

Your turn !!!!! =)

 

 

Edited April 12, 2021 by viking

[zetec-s-joe]

They are looking good, but I think I prefer this one without the logo on top