stormsingerstudios
patreon
UI Mock-Up + Art Update
🕑 Added 2020-02-24 04:44:46 +0000 UTCHey guys!
Today, I've got something special: the User Interface, or, to be precise, the dialogue box!
Truth is, I've been developing this part of the game ever since development started, and the dialogue box in particular has gone through several iterations, and the one you're currently seeing is the latest version (and obviously, the one I like the most). I think it captures very well the aesthetics of Santa Lucia.
Speaking of, I'd like to take a moment to discuss said aesthetics! Some of you might have been surprised as to why pink is such a predominant color in the game. Outside the simple reason of "because I like pink", there's also a deeper reasoning behind it.
Santa Lucia, from its inception, always had – both in its visuals and its soundtrack – its roots in the 80s. As such, a major influence for its aesthetics has been synthwave (also known as Outrun) as well as popwave. This can be seen in how we use colors inspired by it, such as pink, orange, blue, and dark purple. Another component of synthwave is the presence of lines in the artwork, something I plan to carry over further in development. Of course, this isn’t the only inspiration for Santa Lucia’s aesthetics, but that is something for another day, hehe.
Anyway, back to the dialogue box: I am very interested in what you guys think of it. Since it's a mock-up, nothing is set in stone, and everything is subject to change, so make sure to get your opinion heard!
One last thing: this month has been extremely busy for me. I’ve never shared this in details, but last December, I lost my mother to cancer. As you can all imagine, this has been very hard to deal with, and my family hasn’t really started recovering from it. Yet, life has to go on, and I’m taking an entrance exam for a job opportunity early March. I haven’t had a lot of time to prepare, which means that this month has been pretty rough on my schedule, and I haven’t been able to work on the game as much as I would have liked. Right now, Karina’s sprite has been completely reworked, and Nate has also received quite the lifting. Depending on how things go, you might see one or two new additions to the next build, but I don’t want to make empty promises.
Anyway, this should be about everything,
Cheers,
Devilizer
Comments
Stormsinger Studios
Thanks everyone for the feedback! We're going to take another look at how we have the UI set up so we can get this just right! Looking at it again, we agree that the buttons are both too small and look kinda off, so we're gonna try something else. Also, Dev says thank you to everyone who wished him well. It hasn't been an easy time for him, and it's unfortunate because the whole thing unfortunately coincided with most of SL's development. We're working through things together, and every day he gets a little bit stronger. It means a lot that you guys care! Cheers! ~Dzahn
@Devilizer best wishes to you, take it slow and don't let it ruin your days. I hope you can be happy again soon. Don't worry we'll wait~ Life backstabs all of us at some point sooner or later and we just have to endure it... But don't fight for sadness and despair, but for happyness and joy! I kind of agree with @Jacek Jagosz from above and I want to add: a button to hide the UI would be nice. The quick save and load funtion is nice, but maybe having some of the functions in one category (preferences/ options/...), so the UI looks cleaner could work.
It might be presumptuous of me to say, but I think the synthwave aesthetic was fairly overt already. This new dialogue box seems like the natural next step. I concur with Jacek, the menu icons look highly unnatural. I look forward to seeing what else you the studio has in store. You have my condolences about your mother, not that the words of an internet stranger help any. Keep up the good work, your care for the game is noted and appreciated.
Jacek Jagosz
I like it, but I hate that the icons are shifted (tilted). Even though the buttons are parallelograms I think the icons inside should be straight. Take care!
Really like this style! It wasn't until recently that I've decided to let go of my hatred of pink... but anyway, this is definitely a great aesthetic! Oh... I'm sorry about your loss, Dev :/ it's quite the hardship... do try to hold your head high, but at the same time, don't overexert yourself... I'll keep sending positive energy, as usual... and good luck on that exam!
