Website/Blog for Showcasing Various Visual Novel GUI

[kaeruranawa]

I was thinking about starting a website project to help people who want to design GUI's (by letting people see many VNs they wouldn't otherwise be able to see) or simply admire them.

The website would feature a game per post, and each post would contain screenshots of the GUI (main menu, preferences screen, save/load, regular in-game screen, plus any screens unique to the game) as well as a summary of what the game is about, so readers have more context around why a GUI may have been designed a certain way.

I plan to mostly use Ren'Py EVNs, but may also use other games for the sake of variety.

Would this be something you guys would be interested in?

(Also, I'm definitely open to accepting help from anyone that wants to help me with this project.)

[Hazel-Bun]

Defiantly! GUI is often over looked but it can do a lot to either turn a player off or attract them to a title.

[Asceai]

I value GUI because, as someone who can't draw, it's the only part of a VN I can make look nice =P

[kaleidofish]

This is a great idea! Collecting samples from VNDB can be such a pain. XD If you can, you should also get in touch with developers so they can give an explanation for their design choices themselves. Also, be sure to include all of the must-have Ren'py GUI tutorials (bonus points if you want to make video versions of them).

[noeinan]

Sounds good to me. I made a post a while back to try and collect all the GUI resources in one place. If you make the blog I'll have to add it to the list.

[kaeruranawa]

Currently debating on WordPress.org or Tumblr as the platform.... I'm more familiar with WordPress because I use it for professional web design work but then tumblr has a community....

Defiantly! GUI is often over looked but it can do a lot to either turn a player off or attract them to a title.

I totally agree! To use an example of my favorite dev, Christine Love's GUI are my favorites. They really suck you in, and it feels like you are the protagonist! (And the emotional bonds to fictional characters only strengthen...)

She has 4 big games, but here's 2 to give you some good examples:
Digital: A Love Story
Analogue: A Hate Story

I value GUI because, as someone who can't draw, it's the only part of a VN I can make look nice =P

Yeah I totally know how you feel. xD I'm more a technical person too, so I like that graphic design, user interface, and user experience design all have certain rules that they go by. Of course, that alone isn't enough, and it's never a bad idea to go and look at pre-existing examples.

This is a great idea! Collecting samples from VNDB can be such a pain. XD If you can, you should also get in touch with developers so they can give an explanation for their design choices themselves. Also, be sure to include all of the must-have Ren'py GUI tutorials (bonus points if you want to make video versions of them).

Getting in touch with developers like that sounds really great, I didn't think of that! And videos would be really cool too, I just don't have the time (editing and rendering etc take a long time) to get it done. >.>

Sounds good to me. I made a post a while back to try and collect all the GUI resources in one place. If you make the blog I'll have to add it to the list.

Thanks! I'm planning on getting this up by the end of next week.

[sendo]

Definitely interested in this! Making a GUI sounds simple, until you try and make one yourself. Eagerly looking forward to the site! (:

[chocojax]

I was actually thinking of making a thread like this myself, but then I got lazy, haha! :P

Definitely a great resource to anyone who's making a VN (or just a game)!

Not sure what you should go with (WP or tumblr), but a pro for the latter is that users could like/reblog what you put up and are always able to find it later on in their like list in case it's buried deep in the posts?

[Sharm]

This would be so cool! Finding GUI references is really hard, it'd be nice if I could just scroll through a site. I prefer you didn't use tumblr, I have the hardest time navigating it and I like comments. Sometimes they're the most informative part.

[kaeruranawa]

I'm going to go with WordPress, there's certain functionality I couldn't get by working with tumblr that I think everyone will find super cool. Also if I want a tumblr presence, I can just post links there if I want to.

One thing I'm planning for is allowing developers to submit their own games and GUI using a submission form on the front end, and as long as the GUI has been customized enough (exact rules tbd) their game will be approved and shown on the site. (This, if used, will definitely help keep the site alive, since I won't have to do as much work on my own.)

Going off of what Kaleidofish said about contacting developers, I want to know...
What do you guys want to ask developers about their GUI?
I was thinking there could be an overall developer interview (big picture), then opportunity for small commentary per game by the developer.

Also, what do you look at when researching GUI? I may be able to make a 'side by side comparison' feature that'll let you compare certain features of different GUI more easily.

[Hazel-Bun]

Wordpress sounds fine! Like you said, it's smarter to just link back and have an option for creator input to keep it alive. If this does get off the ground, it'd be cool of the final product was linked here, sticky-ed, and or featured on Ren'py's website.

For questions I'd ask developers...
1). What inspired the look of your GUI?
2). Did you want to innovate? If so, why?
3). Did you aim for a tired and true formula? If so, why?
4). What was easiest? What was difficult?
5). For non-commercial or commericial that used royalty free, did you re-use pre-made assets, create totally new ones, or and mix and match free reasources? How and Why?
6). Finally, did you find it easier/more cost effective to make your own yourself or go to outside sources for help?

~*~

I've only recently gotten into making my own GUI's. Mostly I look at phone apps, my own operating system, popular visual novels and or abstract concept art for inspiration. That and play off the themes of my own work.

Black Doves, for instance, is circus themed with the power colors being Gold and Black (predominantly) and Red and White (secondary). I wanted it to be bold and gaudy to highlight the dark atmosphere I was going on. From there, I searched out textures, fonts, etc. till I settled on a look.

As a newbie, I found Green Glasses Girl's tutorial to be the most helpful and also a small GUI programming thread (I'll find it soon, it's not Camillie's) too.

Simple yet sleek designs, uncomplicated language when learning the how, and a lot of trail and error. Those are my three pillars when it comes to any GUI anyway lol lol

[AWSalmon]

It's an awfully, awfully small component of VNs to be reviewing, but I can see it being useful for developers, for sure. It's not hard to create a decent-looking GUI, but it can be a huge hassle to create something decent-looking and unique. If you're able to get into some hardcore GUI reviews that'd be really helpful.

[kaeruranawa]

Wow, if stuff keeps going at this rate, I'll be done with the site by tomorrow.

http://www.kaerumusic.com/guiproject/

Almost done with the back end stuff that'll let people submit things. Still figuring out the design aspect, the colors are subject to change a bit.

EDIT:

If you're able to get into some hardcore GUI reviews that'd be really helpful.

I could probably do this, actually! (I review anime and manga on a semi-regular basis as a side job.) What would you want analyzed/reviewed in a GUI?

Re Hazel-bun: Thanks for the question suggestions! Those seem to pretty much cover the gist of it all, so I'll probably just end up using those.

Side note, my copy of the Steins;Gate limited edition came, and I'm completely blown away by the production values and GUI. It'll definitely show up on the site at some point.... (Although my being blown away may be because I don't read as many Japanese VNs and don't know what's considered 'standard' now. The only other ones I've read recently were Umineko and Higurshi, and they're not known for their art in a good way.)

[TrickWithAKnife]

I'd be very interested in seeing this, especially if it generates discussion.

[Asceai]

(Although my being blown away may be because I don't read as many Japanese VNs and don't know what's considered 'standard' now. The only other ones I've read recently were Umineko and Higurshi, and they're not known for their art in a good way.)

Koiken Otome is probably a recent example of a GUI that stands out - lots of effects and animation everywhere, and it's something they clearly put a lot of time into. I don't think I've seen anything else quite as extravagant, in VNs or elsewhere.
GIGA engine games have also been known (perhaps less so nowadays, but they've been using the same sort of thing since 2002 or so and back then it was definitely revolutionary, and it still stands up today) for having GUIs that was just really well made, with a huge amount of customisation, reduced 'preview-mode' versions of screens like the load screen and config screen that pop up in the main game when you move your mouse close to hotspots and stuff like that.
I also have to give a shoutout to modern Purple Software titles for letting you customise their in-game quick menus from a palette of buttons so you can decide the organisation and variety of quick actions you can perform - if you find yourself changing the BGM volume a lot, you can drag a control for that onto the quick menu. If you don't like where they put the quicksave and quickload buttons, you can move them around. Stuff like that.

It may be possible to overthink the GUI but I really appreciate all the small touches just to make the experience nicer for people.