INTUITIVE FE...

[Flinkly]

i know i posted about this before, but the topic headed in the wrong direction and i don't want new readers going that way...

i've got an idea for a FE that would be user friendly and intuitive, but i want to see how many people would like/use a setup like this.

[SpamMe]

There was another front end a while back that did this sort of thing, but  Idon't know whether it ever got finished. Anybody remember it? The default background (I think) was the name of the FE scrolling in gray.

[Howard_Casto]

Honestly, it's a horrible idea. 

Multiple screens denote multiple confusions, even if the screens are really straight forward.  Also to exit you have to press the exit key three times!  That's just crazy.  And on the flip side, to start a game you have to go through three screens.

Also your assuming that emulators are what seperate the lists and that each emulator only has one gamelist.  We started adding filters a while back so you can make lists however you want. This is important for emulators like mame, which have thousands of games.  You generally want to split that up over multiple lists. Or on the flip side, you may wish to add all games to a single list, so users don't have to worry about what emulator the game belongs to.   

And probably the most important thing, but this is subjective.  When you give a user mandatory multiple menus, they start thinking operating system or even straight out "this is running in windows."  My philosophy when making fes is you want the interface to be very fluid and devoid of buttons and menus if at all possible.  You want a fe to feel like a menu you would see inside a video game so that it brings all of games and emulators together in the illusion of a single, unified, game.

Imho making the user aware of the different emulators used and assuming they know which games run on which emulator makes it far less intuitive than say.... a list called "fighting games" in which they know what kind of game to expect.     

[Minwah]

Imho making the user aware of the different emulators used and assuming they know which games run on which emulator makes it far less intuitive than say.... a list called "fighting games" in which they know what kind of game to expect.     

First I basically agree with HC on this one.

Just thought it interesting that from what you said Howard, you like to have games listed in categories.  While I totally agree users shouldn't have to know which 'emulator' to use, I actually like having systems seperated as a rule - people always say to me things like 'have you got Mario Kart on the SNES?' or 'what about Sonic on the Mega Drive'.   I suppose this is more suitable for people for people who have some gaming background, your method for those who just know what type of games they like.   

[Flinkly]

well, to me, the people who are using my cabinet have some idea of what they are doing (playing a game) and so they would know where to go.  as for the long lists, i'm thinking of having it so you can weed out games you don't want.  if you did this based on just language (english), for most systems, that would be half the games, and i'd also weed out copies of the same game, which would cut the list in half again.  and as for how the FE looks to people, arcades and consoles are just dumb downed computers, and as long as it doesn't look like windows, then people aren't going to think it' windows, and as for the way i want to set it up, it's just like consoles are setup, with two buttons for navigation.  i'm not by any means saying this FE is for everyone, since it doesn't seem to be for you two, but i would love to have one work as simply as this and i'm sure at least a few others would like this as well.  as for the filters, i think the fact that it's a bunch of seperate consoles is the best, even taking into account my parents and girlfriend...that would be the best for most people i know.  and i know you two are giving me your opinions and i like that, it's opening up my mind to the other possobilities, but i'd like to hear something constructive about this idea, like where i should start and how simple something like this would be.  thanks for the opinions guys.

[Gunstar Hero]

Sounds almost like you want a DVD Menu...

Maybe try setting something up with XP Media Center edition?

I know it's more than a FE, but it can do just what you want.

[SpamMe]

Aha, found it: "SigTV"
http://mrsiggler.boob.co.uk/sigtv.html

I personally think there isn't anything wrong with your approach (other than maybe having the 'up a level' button being the same as the exit front end button). The fact that Howard has chosen to do things one way doesn't mean you're obligated to follow suit. Nothing wrong with variety.

'have you got Mario Kart on the SNES'

I get that kind of thing all the time too. The user doesn't need to see "Project64" or "ZSNES" but choosing a particular game system before picking a game to play makes things easier (depending on whether the user is looking for a particular game, or just wanting to kill some time).

[Hiub1]

I've solved that problem by listing instead of "Mame" or "zsnes" just renaming the lists to "Arcade Games" and "SNES or Super Nintendo Games". This helps people out since they most likely do not have a clue of what emulators are, but they can tell you about Adventure Island on the NES or a good Neo Geo game. I think that proper labeling on the CP itself and clear instructions go a LONG way in helping the user navigate through the FE. It is just too hard to do with the FE By itself. If not you would end up with something like Ultracade that severely limits the list size of the games for the sake of convenience. Ovbiously, if that is what you want, just load up Ultrastyle and that will probably yield some pretty good results. It is a tedious process, but making a cab easy to navigate CAN be done!

[Flinkly]

as for the exit FE button being a possible problem, i thought that having only two buttons would be the best, and as for accidentally exiting the FE, i thoguht a conformation would be the best way to go, kind of like when you close down windows, it makes sure that's what you want to do.  i could make a third button and have it be red colored just to exit the FE, but i figure two buttons is good enough for most computer illiterate people. And as for labelling emulators, i already label them by the console they emulate, like Nintendo 64 instead of project64.  i figured everyone did this, but i guess not.  but i would label them like this for ease of use (and common sense).

i'll take a look at sigtv when i get back to my own computer after the holiday.  thanks for the input and ideas guys.

as for the dvd menu thing, i'd like to create something everyone could use other than media center edition, so more like an FE.  i guess yes, kinda like a dvd menu, but have the back and select buttons as actual buttons, rather then screen buttons.  but i would like to have configurable layouts and everything else, so you can make the FE how you want it.

[Howard_Casto]

Imho making the user aware of the different emulators used and assuming they know which games run on which emulator makes it far less intuitive than say.... a list called "fighting games" in which they know what kind of game to expect.

[Minwah]

I'll agree with that too.  What I do is seperate console games by system and arcade games by category.  I generally have both setup at once.... the best of both worlds.  My point being though is the system proposed wouldn't allow such flexibility. 

Good idea, I'll have a similar setup, but with arcade games sorted by controls rather than categories since I have swappable panels.  Gets a bit too complicated to have lists for each CP, and have those split by category too....

I do like to have a 'spare' list, which I can filter as I like when I feel like it.  I occasionally use that for when I can't remember the name of a game but know the manufacturer and game type etc.