theme COLORFUL bigbox theme

[soqueroeu]

41 minutes ago, nicolasonline said:

Salut viking ca va? 

Love all the work you've been doing. Just wanted to chime in with my opinion on the TextGamesView

My vote definitely goes to TextGamesView1 or TextGamesView3. 

I think the decision is difficult because both are really nice obviously but I think for TGV1 (oh le train) it's probably better when one is sitting close to a smaller screen like on your PC monitor, but with TGV3 it looks much better on a TV and those Context Mockups you made on the TV really helps to visualize that. Since I'm gonna be using it mainly on my TV (I don't know if there are numbers on what percentage of BigBox users are TV vs Monitor) but that could help in the decision also. But yeah I'm probably leaning more towards TextGamesView3 because of that reason.

I think the only thing that could be cool to try out with TGV3 would be to find a solution to not having the blurry video to fill that space under the video if it's in 4:3. I know it's difficult because to fill that space with 4:3 is hard. So I tried different solutions, but I think what could potentially be a good candidate would be to actually take a cue from TGV1 and give it some more breathing room and reduce the size of the 16:9 space so that the video actually aligns with the text above on the vertically. Like this the "blurry" 4:3 behind the video would actually not feel so cramped. It could also work great for regular 16:9 videos as I did a quick mockup below. Maybe if all videos were 16:9 then keep it stretched out as it is is good, but yeah this might be a good solution for both, what do you think? My vote in any case goes to TGV3, but if either TGV3 or TGV1 make it, would be amazing!

 

 

Finally about PlatformWheels3 , it seems like it has been voted out/discarded. I may be too late, but just wanted to say I absolutely love it! I know what you mean with it seeming a bit off, and I agree, so I tried to play around with something. I think a huge difference helped when I removed the shadow, as most of all your other stuff don't have shadows. And I reduce the opacity of non-selected platform clear logos as well as their saturation and it could be an idea? If at some point in the future you decide to bring it back. 

 

 

Cannot wait to check out the new features and views once they're out. Thanks again for your amazing work!

All observations are valid totally. I liked so much your ideas, especially the logos grayscale.
@viking, please reconsider!

[thimolor]

TextGamesViews overall look nice, but what happens when the game title is really long? Do you trim the the title or scale down? I have always struggled to preserve space to the longer titles. It look bad with short title, but also I don't personally like when the text sizes vary or the title gets cut. There is also the text scroller, that might solve the problem.

You now have the button (Press A to Play). I'm not fan of this. I use DS4 and that does not have A button. Also you are hiding a lot of the menu items. If you can't remember the correct order then finding a particular menu item would be tedious. How about the gamers that use this view for finding games. In a perfect world there could be a sliding menu somewhere or we could have horizontal menu bar... just dreaming.

I think you are giving up too much space for the box art. It seems to be now 50/50.

 

HorizontalWheel2GamesView, I really like this one. Could you try to switch the alignment? Big boxart to the right? My eyes are drawn to the right, so it feels like I'm not looking what I'm supposed to. Maybe it's just me and my eyes

Edited April 15, 2021 by thimolor

[CriticalCid]

Hi Viking, I really like your new design ideas!

As for the TextViews I’m torn between v1 and v3.

V1 fits more to your overall minimalistic design but on the other hand it has probably too much empty space which could be better used for bigger boxarts and videos.

V3 utilizes the space far better and I really like the idea of those 3 separated zones. The only thing I don’t like about it is, like thimolor already said, the 1 row text list. Especially in the GameDetails screen you have far too many non-alphabetical sorted entries in the list that it could be a real pain to navigate through it.

[viking]

15 hours ago, soqueroeu said:

My vote to avoid all problems is TextGamesView V1

Hey @viking, WheelGamesView and Wheel2GamesView are very similar. What do you think of unifying the few differences and maintaining only one of them?

I think we will have problems with very big names in the "About" area (circled in red). This empty space that seems inevitable (circled in yellow) was also not very aesthetic:

You are right about v2. It does not work well and I prefer the previous one. In all cases, the choice will be made between v1 and v2.

10 hours ago, nicolasonline said:

Salut viking ca va? 

Love all the work you've been doing. Just wanted to chime in with my opinion on the TextGamesView

My vote definitely goes to TextGamesView1 or TextGamesView3. 

I think the decision is difficult because both are really nice obviously but I think for TGV1 (oh le train) it's probably better when one is sitting close to a smaller screen like on your PC monitor, but with TGV3 it looks much better on a TV and those Context Mockups you made on the TV really helps to visualize that. Since I'm gonna be using it mainly on my TV (I don't know if there are numbers on what percentage of BigBox users are TV vs Monitor) but that could help in the decision also. But yeah I'm probably leaning more towards TextGamesView3 because of that reason.

I think the only thing that could be cool to try out with TGV3 would be to find a solution to not having the blurry video to fill that space under the video if it's in 4:3. I know it's difficult because to fill that space with 4:3 is hard. So I tried different solutions, but I think what could potentially be a good candidate would be to actually take a cue from TGV1 and give it some more breathing room and reduce the size of the 16:9 space so that the video actually aligns with the text above on the vertically. Like this the "blurry" 4:3 behind the video would actually not feel so cramped. It could also work great for regular 16:9 videos as I did a quick mockup below. Maybe if all videos were 16:9 then keep it stretched out as it is is good, but yeah this might be a good solution for both, what do you think? My vote in any case goes to TGV3, but if either TGV3 or TGV1 make it, would be amazing!

 

 

Finally about PlatformWheels3 , it seems like it has been voted out/discarded. I may be too late, but just wanted to say I absolutely love it! I know what you mean with it seeming a bit off, and I agree, so I tried to play around with something. I think a huge difference helped when I removed the shadow, as most of all your other stuff don't have shadows. And I reduce the opacity of non-selected platform clear logos as well as their saturation and it could be an idea? If at some point in the future you decide to bring it back. 

 

 

Cannot wait to check out the new features and views once they're out. Thanks again for your amazing work!

What a feedback! Merci à toi !!

Yes, this theme is designed for large TV screens. A more modern interface, far from the 80's cab.
It remains the main design axis, blocked in 16:9. But if someone else uses it on a monitor, that's fine too!

TGV1 is more ventilated, lighter, and allows to keep part of the option list.
TGV2 has a sharper and more spectacular design. I like it a lot too. But on a 4K TV, with an old crapy BoxArt jpg ... I don't know...

Your idea of detaching the video to remove the blurry background is very good! I keep for a last mokup try =)

PlatformWheel3 : Once again, you are right. I spoke above. (ClearLogoSet full black or white) This is a problem, because I keep in mind the technical limits of the XAML format and the limits of my knowledge in code. I do not believe it is possible to desaturate logos on the fly in the code. In any case: I don't know how to do it. (any ideas on this?)
I'll do a code test on this. Without warranty ! (By the way, valid for all views)

1 hour ago, thimolor said:

TextGamesViews overall look nice, but what happens when the game title is really long? Do you trim the the title or scale down? I have always struggled to preserve space to the longer titles. It look bad with short title, but also I don't personally like when the text sizes vary or the title gets cut. There is also the text scroller, that might solve the problem.

You now have the button (Press A to Play). I'm not fan of this. I use DS4 and that does not have A button. Also you are hiding a lot of the menu items. If you can't remember the correct order then finding a particular menu item would be tedious. How about the gamers that use this view for finding games. In a perfect world there could be a sliding menu somewhere or we could have horizontal menu bar... just dreaming.

I think you are giving up too much space for the box art. It seems to be now 50/50.

 

HorizontalWheel2GamesView, I really like this one. Could you try to switch the alignment? Big boxart to the right? My eyes are drawn to the right, so it feels like I'm not looking what I'm supposed to. Maybe it's just me and my eyes

For very long names, I expected them to grow from the top, like the current views.
Again, these are mockups. Once chosen, they will have to be confronted with the reality of the code any games data! (the hard part)

About the "A", it will be in PNG. I can create other PNGs that you can replace, depending on the gamepad used.

Yes, 50/50 for the BoxArt. This is the dramatic side of this view and why I love it!

Speaking of the wheel alignment, you're talking about the HorizontalWheel3GamesView right? Not the "2" ?
It's graphically more consistent on the left. Aligned with the rest of the text. Perhaps by lowering the unselected BoxArt opactie, the attention will be directed more to the left?

 

Thank you all for your constructive feedback.
Today I would like to finish concept TGV1 and 3. And maybe do a quick code test for the HorizontalWheel1GamesView.
To try out @Jason Carr 's new wheel and to validate the "giant wheel" concept. See how the display handles this.

[adu]

Salut Viking ! Tout d'abord bravo pour ton taff sur ce thème (et tes précédents thèmes), ça fait plaisir de voir un Frenchy qui brille autant ici

J'ai pas eu/pris le temps de tout lire, mais avec la version 11.10 sortie, une vue est prévue pour utiliser au mieux la nouvelle WallView ? Je me sers pour le moment du thème "The POC" pour ma borne, mais j'avoue que la classe et le polish de ton thème me donne envie de basculer sur celui-ci, mais pour le moment je le trouve trop orienté pour une utilisation pour une utilisation sur PC/TV que sur une borne

---------

Hello Viking ! First of all, thanks for your awesome work on this theme (and your previous ones), it's delightful to see a Frenchy with so much talent here

I don't have/take time to read previous posts, but with the new 11.10 version of LB/BB, do you plan to use the new WallView ? I'm currently using "The POC" theme on my arcade cabinet, but your theme is so beautiful, eye-candy and polished that I want to use it, but for the moment I think that it is optimized for a PC/TV use than on an arcade cabinet.

[viking]

OK, last makup pass before testing all this in code!     (in the next few weeks, I have to get back to work!)
All about TextGamesView.

Exit the v2. Here come a new challenger : v4 ! 
Just kidding. It's a big modification of v3, integrating your feedback.

 

TextGameView v1 :
The same as yesterday. Just micro adjustments on the list.
The BIG problem with this view is going to be getting the video left aligned ... I never got there until now! If anyone has an idea, I'm interested!

 

TextGameView v3 :
The same as yesterday, except the video breathe. Works best with 16: 9 but here is the result with 4: 3.

 

TextGameView v4 :
And a last version, based on v3, but trying to integrate the list option.

 

Please VOTE and give me your feedback ! 

[thimolor]

If you want to get this done before you have to go back to real work, i'd say go with the TextGameView v4 , It has good balance, has a proven and tested layout and you won't have to deal with the experimental navigations.

BUT, just wanted to say that it's your design. You should make it look like it's made by you. So my final word is: Go with with your gut and choose yourself. There are so many different opinions, so you won't never satisfy them all. Make a theme you would like to use yourself.

Edited April 15, 2021 by thimolor

[nicolasonline]

It's my pleasure @viking! I'm definitely voting TGV3 after your latest mockups! It looks amazing. 

As for the Platform3 mockup below, yeah I didn't even think about the code when I did the mockup haha sorry about that. But I did try and dig up some xaml properties for quite a bit and tried a few things but have come short. Maybe @C-Beats can point us in the right direction? Is there a way to set selected="false" to a Desaturated property? Or reduced opacity on for the non-selected items on the CoverFlow?

 

If it's hard to be done by code or not possible, I think I may have a couple workarounds I may test tonight

For Opacity: create a Rectangle PNG image (578px by 2160px) at the exact size of the white selector area, that is the same color as the off-white background with a gradient transparency at exactly location of the middle selected logo. So having 2 gradient points and 3 photoshop bucket markers. Like this when the logo wheel is turning, the transition from the transparent non-selected version to its selected fully opaque version is very smooth due to the gradient overlay. Check out the file I attached below and gradient points set at 35% vertically and 65% vertically, like this the space between 35 to 65 allows any sized selected logo to fully appear but at the same time creating the faded out non-selected logos.

For saturation I'm gonna try something similar with a couple extra steps in the code, but it may not work at all, I'll report back. 

Merci encore!

 

 

[viking]

Yep, opacity isn't a problem and I thinks it's buidin in new wheel. It's about the saturation ...

Edited April 15, 2021 by viking

[Retro808]

Enjoy seeing all the mock-ups and glad to see some new things coming to a great theme. I typically am not vocal a lot on theme looks, but as a user who prefers Text view show up before I launch a game, I have to say Text Game v4 is my least favorite. Way too much white makes it miss out on that "colorful" feel of the Colorful theme. v3 would be a good choice.

[viking]

On this subject: a little reminder.
TextGamesView is a bit special in BigBox. This is not theme  dependent, but the way of BigBox structure itself was buid.
A single "TextGamesView.xaml" file, a single design, for 2 uses  ====>  SelectGames by text list     /AND/   Game Detail View  

That's why I'm so bothered by this sight.
- With version 1 and 3:  nobody will be able to use it as a Game Selection by text list. Only for Game Detail.
- With version 4 : it's not perfect, but functional for a Game Selection by text list.

Last layer of thought: I'd like to use the design structure of this view as the basis for the Pause and Start theme.
For graphic consistency.

Hard ! I'm not a UI designer and I have to deal with BigBox UX  ^^'

Edited April 15, 2021 by viking

[nicolasonline]

the eternal battle between form and function. It's a tough decision but from what I can tell going through this thread and previous versions, it seems like the majority aren't bothered by the lack of text list view. Though yes it would be nice to have. I guess the real question is over the long term which would be more pleasing/give the most utility. Also I think a huge bonus is the WallGamesView grid, that was such a highly requested feature because it gives a very good zoomed out view of everything, one could argue, philosophically similar to what a text view does (a little bit). My vote is still between TGV1 and 3, but would be happy with anything that comes out even 4! 

[viking]

OK.
I hear that v4 is the most "classic" of the 3. But what if I add more "Colorful Background"? It remains classic in its design, but it seems consistent to me!

[bundangdon]

Yep, the 4.2 version works for me  It's a nice use of the given space, without going overboard either. And great work too with these latest updates by the way!

[clockw3rk]

55 minutes ago, viking said:

OK.
I hear that v4 is the most "classic" of the 3. But what if I add more "Colorful Background"? It remains classic in its design, but it seems consistent to me!

I like 4.2 better than 4. It would probably handle weird box shapes better. Red year is a nice touch.

Edited April 15, 2021 by clockw3rk

[nicolasonline]

Honestly am torn between v4 and v4.2? I love the contrast of v4. Maybe in v4.2 if the red space is increased a little bit along the x axis? As it goes just a tiny bit beyond the midpoint, it might look a bit better closer to 2/3 of the way along the x-axis cause it's all red? (The effect is less visible in v4 cause of the white contrast on the left).

[clockw3rk]

I'm honestly still stuck between v1 and v4.2. V1 is great, but I feel like the elements aren't large enough. If it filled more page space, it might be the best. The concept of the white selection highlight extending from the white area on the right is a great design, and it seems even cleaner/simpler than v4.2

Edited April 15, 2021 by clockw3rk

[Retro808]

Agree. 4.2 much better. Now it has that Colorful feel.

[soqueroeu]

My vote now is v4.2!

[zetec-s-joe]

I don't use the game info screen part, but I'd vote for 4.2 Clean AF