In-game Iconography

dammit

I'm guessing the UI and art experts on the forum are going to have a lot of information on this topic that I'm hoping to tap into - especially if there are articles I can read. I'm looking for as much information as I can get on menu and other icons to use in games to avoid having to communicate in words but also to avoid some confusion we've been having with users not understanding the icons we selected originally for our games.

Also, if there's any information on iconography changes over time (such as the fact that what was recognisable to the VCR generation might have no meaning to the current young iPhone users) that would be freakin' swell :)

dislekcia

Ah. That "reset level" button, AMIRITE?

So what I tend to do is image search for a specific verb to see what the results tend towards.

Sometimes there's also stuff you can do to teach players concepts by attaching them to icons that you use frequently, like if you made your "undo" icon be an image of a hex (tile with or without motion indication, like it's swapping with something) next to a "backwards" pointing triangle, you'd be able to have an "undo all the way" icon be a the same hex + TWO arrows pointing "back".

Generally though the best idea is to test out multiple concepts on players until they don't notice what you changed because it just works.

dammit

:) The reset button and the menu button. (I found out the menu button was the VCR square symbol for Stop....this had not occurred to me in many many playthroughs so now I'm on the hunt for improved ideas). I like the thinking of having symbols from within the game to represent the options. Thanks!

PS: Anyone else with info, links, suggestions are welcome to keep adding :)

dislekcia

For menus, I always hunt for this kind of icon in a game:



Now that you've explained that it was a "stop" icon, I kinda get it, but the thing that made me assume it was a menu button was its positioning more than anything else. There are also a ton of things that could be "stopped", so as a verb it doesn't really convey "menu-ness" even if it's translated directly.

Aaaaaaaand now I'm looking at the menus in DD and going argh a lot. Great :(

dammit

hahaha, yeah, the triple lines we were using to get *into* that menu... we're thinking of a Pause button, but that doesn't tell you that clicking on that will get you more options... I'm not sure. Still hunting and thinking :)

DavidHecker

A lot of our decisions, rightly or wrongly, are based on what's been done in popular games for our target market. As we do games for kids aged 4 and up, we've found that learned behaviour plays a huge part in their comfort level when navigating an interface. For example, the classic turning arrow used for restarting a level is something that kids who can't yet read will look for automatically as it's what they've very quickly become accustomed to. We've done some tests with a range of kids and when using icons they've already seen and identify with - regardless of their reading ability - they are always able to find their way much more quickly.

Now if we were doing things for an older audience, we'd probably spend more time crafting totally unique items that the player will have more time to get accustomed to. But for kids, we've found that they want to get into the game as quickly as possible, so giving them a picture (icon) of something they know helps to smooth that process for them significantly.

petrc

A good site to get icon ideas from: http://www.flaticon.com/

TheFuntastic

That menu icon is affectionately known as the "hamburger" icon in UX circles ;)