Hello,

I am programming a dark dungeon based RPG and I am not 'feeling' my gui. I wanted to ask some people opinions with whats wrong and how I could design a better one.

Here it is:



I appreciate there is nothing on there at the moment, but just imagine lots of square buttons. I am sorry I am being a bit vague, but any ideas/opinions would be good.

p.s. Sorry if this is in the wrong place, I need help with design.

Id make the green and purple brighter, so you can see them better, and fix the edges. The two ends are different, and the left top and bottom are different from each other. The edges all around generally look rough

In order to have good looking progress bars you might need them to have textured borders for example. Look at the interface of other games and you might get some ideas. If you are limited by the features of your GUI (ie only solid colour progress bars) then that's another issue. If you have a good framework, then you need to look at how to create skins for your GUI. There are many tutorials online how to create 3D looking buttons, and how to add background shine to icons on those buttons, outlines etc. However, a general "taste" is something you develop throughout life, so you will need to figure that out on your own. In general, try to make a balanced palette of colours that you will use throughout your interface, and which will be easy to use and clear to see. I for example used to work on winamp skins, and that's how I learned what works and what doesn't.Best advice for you is probably to look at other games and get inspiration from there, and then make changes to make your design unique.

Scaling that font isn't good, the width of the 0's is inconsistent

Also looks like the text on the purple bar is taller than on the green bar

When I clicked on this I thought it'd be about interface design but there's really nothing there..!

You should post this in the visual design section or a forum with more artists. This is an art question.

That said, you should probably start by drafting it in an art program. "Throw art at a wall and see what sticks". You might think about making it more thematic; the doodads in the upper left corner look like they belong on a Star Trek UI.

Knowhatimean?

Thanks for the reply, I supose it is really to bare to really get any good critacism.

Also, I am programming this myself so I have no 'skinning' to fall back on as such.

Moving you to Visual Arts -- I think you'll get more/better feedback on this question there.

GUI does have enough room for buttons, status displays, etc. But again there isn't much here.

If this is a static room putting shadows and light would really make this pop in addition to wall ornaments (such as a rack for sinister tools).

Hope that help!

[size=2]

Also, I am programming this myself so I have no 'skinning' to fall back on as such.

Exactly.

You "draft" in an art program because you can easily, quickly, try different effects and designs and see how they look, then implement in code.

If it's dark, possibly even creepy, then you might want to blend the GUI in more. 20/100 HP isn't as scary as blood stains, ragged breathing and slowed movement.

$0.02