My Control Panel Overlay - Opinions?

[AtomSmasher]

I just made a control panel overlay for my current project.  Its a 3/4 scale Lusid cab for kids with a pac-man theme.  Heres my thread on it: http://forum.arcadecontrols.com/index.php?topic=55720.0

Anyways, I'm posting this here to get a bit more feedback on my CPO.
Here it is:


Heres my control panel layout:


And here they are on top of each other so you can see how the labels and everything line up:


You may notice I labeled every button, I figure since its for kids, it will be a lot easier to tell them to press the #2 button or "L" button then it will be to tell them to press the top middle button.

Let me know if you like/dislike it and if you think theres someway I can improve it.

[gamecreature]

Isn't the lower left button usually the number 1 button?

[AtomSmasher]

Isn't the lower left button usually the number 1 button?

Its often #1 for fighting games, but I think the top row makes more sense to be #1 for everything else.

[Lutus]

#1 should be on the lower left.  If this is for kids you have to keep in mind that they have small hands and they rest their wrist on the control panel when they play.  If the top buttons are the "main three" buttons, so to speak, it would be uncomfortable for some of the kids to hover their wrist or continually press the lower buttons.  I have also noticed that with my cab, people who have never used the machine go for the bottom three first.

Just throwing that out there. 

[AtomSmasher]

#1 should be on the lower left.  If this is for kids you have to keep in mind that they have small hands and they rest their wrist on the control panel when they play.  If the top buttons are the "main three" buttons, so to speak, it would be uncomfortable for some of the kids to hover their wrist or continually press the lower buttons.  I have also noticed that with my cab, people who have never used the machine go for the bottom three first.

Just throwing that out there. 

Alright, good to know.  I'll go ahead and switch the numbers.

[JONTHEBOMB]

Part of the blue ghost's head looks like it will be covered up by the trackball plate.  I think if you lined up (vertically) the blue ghost with the pink ghost and pac-man with the red ghost the overlay would look better.  Also, I think that cherries would be a nice addition right below the trackball plate.  Otherwise I think the control panel overlay looks great.

[AtomSmasher]

Part of the blue ghost's head looks like it will be covered up by the trackball plate.  I think if you lined up (vertically) the blue ghost with the pink ghost and pac-man with the red ghost the overlay would look better.  Also, I think that cherries would be a nice addition right below the trackball plate.  Otherwise I think the control panel overlay looks great.

The artwork will be going over the trackball plate, so it doesn't matter if some of the artwork will be on top of it, but you may be right about lining them up.  I don't have time right now, but I'll try that out and post the change later today.  Also, I also thought adding cherries might look good, but I didn't come across any decent pictures of them, but then I didn't really look to hard.  When I get back I'll see if I can find a picture that would work.

[Lutus]

Check this out, this is a .ai file so you can scale it up real nice and it will look great.  But look on the bottom of this cab and it has all the fruit!!!  Not just cherries.  How awesome is that.

http://www.localarcade.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=424&mode=search

[AtomSmasher]

Check this out, this is a .ai file so you can scale it up real nice and it will look great.  But look on the bottom of this cab and it has all the fruit!!!  Not just cherries.  How awesome is that.

http://www.localarcade.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=424&mode=search

Great find, I can't believe I missed those when I first looked at that pic.  Thanks.  I added them to the CPO



I'm not sure which one I like better yet.

and here it is with the images lined up

[butter5784]

I think it might look cool if you added a cherry or somthing to the outside border.  Just like in the game.  It would also make the border look custom Pac Man rather than just some dots.

[Lutus]

I totally agree, having fruit thrown in to part of the "dot-trail" would be very nice on the border.  I just noticed that the blue double line outlining the joysticks does not go all the way around, is there any particular reason for this and have you tried to make it a complete square. 

Still hard to visualize without seeing those changes.  Who knows, the complete square may look cheesy, just wondering if you had done a prototype with a complete square.

God, that was a rambling post.

[butter5784]

Looking at it again, if you were going to try and modify the border, it may look good with a pac man eating like 5 or so dots.  You could try a ghost or somthing if that didn't look right.  I think it would look good.

[AtomSmasher]

What do you think of this:

[butter5784]

It looks great.  I think any more and it may be too much.  What you have now is really nice though.

[AtomSmasher]

I just noticed that the blue double line outlining the joysticks does not go all the way around, is there any particular reason for this and have you tried to make it a complete square. 

Still hard to visualize without seeing those changes.  Who knows, the complete square may look cheesy, just wondering if you had done a prototype with a complete square.

I somehow missed this post, but the reason I didn't use complete squares is because I took it directly from the artwork on the pac man control panel
http://www.localarcade.com/arcade_art/details.php?image_id=127&mode=search

[Lutus]

Excellent, keep it as is then.  Can't argue with the tried and true.

[Spaz Monkey]

How about changing/adding the ghosts getting chased by an engerized(sp) Pacman?  I personally would have the buttons 123-456 and not the 456-123 that you have, but it is your CP.  I would rest my wrist elsewhere on the CP,

[AtomSmasher]

I personally would have the buttons 123-456 and not the 456-123 that you have, but it is your CP.  I would rest my wrist elsewhere on the CP,

One of my main reasons for deciding to use 456-123 is that the kids may have a hard time reaching the controls, so it would be easier for them to hit the bottom row of buttons.  I've been watching this thread and I think I am going to switch it back to 123-456 since that is the most common layout.  I can always change it later if they have trouble reaching the buttons.

[AtomSmasher]

Now I have to figure out what color to make the buttons.  I'm thinking of making the insert coin, pause, and exit game buttons yellow.  1-6 buttons red.  mouse buttons blue.