Check it. Animated background, sound included!
http://megaswf.com/view/b88b695d55e9a798cd2e5cbeec24fd6b.html
Unfortunately, I am stuck using an old version of the background due to my inability to sync my computers this morning. Should be updated tonight!
EDIT: Here is the completed background! Check it. It is a major component of the demo UI as it provides the atmospheric foundation.
http://megaswf.com/view/ab2d6199581dbae240a32c329fc7abdd.html
Mobile Phone Function
Basic Menu 
Media Viewer
Logs
Inventory with Item Selected
Inventory with Nothing Selected
GPS Function
Background has been incorporated
Following on from the earlier post of “In search of HUD” (son) I felt it was appropriate, after all the dust has settled from the major shift in design we have embarked on, to elaborate on the intended function of each of the actions a user can perform with his or her UI. Granted, the UI is supposed to be self explanatory, and, in most cases (66% of the population, in fact), the functions will be familiar.
So! It has decided this game will be almost like Oblivion without so much of the giddying movement, slashing of swords, shiny graphics, medieval setting or proverbial gnashing of teeth when your companion gets stuck on a rock and you cannot possibly finish the next quest. Imagine that it has been crossbred with Sin City (…what a mongrel).
Now that you have an idea of the kind of world that the player will be stepping (or more correctly, pointing and clicking) into, how he, she or it may interact with it becomes the next question, that is where the UI comes in (I think I’ve already elaborated on this earlier, it being the conduit, suit, mask, rubbery glove that the user uses to fully interact with the world as he, she or it would do so in reality. Providing similar experiences that would be familiar to the player, while still retaining the atmosphere and glamour of the game, through the UI is the hurdle, really… I mean, you can’t possibly put every single thing into it… Do you really want an interface function that allows you to relieve your character from the pains she must be feeling in her bowels?).
So, the functions I have outlined already, but have yet to explain are:
- A Basic Menu System
- An Inventory System (housing evidence)
- Including and Inventory Analyzing system (i.e. when you click on evidence it will open another window explaining its function etc)
- A mode that allows the user to view the character
- A logging system with current missions or to-do lists
- A phone and messaging system (send and receive phone calls and sms’s) including contacts
- A viewing system, which identifies suspects explicitly
- A media viewing system (i.e. to open saved audio files and video files inhabiting the inventory)
- A help system (i.e. on mouse over it explains function)
- A conversing system (allowing the user to interact with NPC’s)
I have also decided to include a rudimentary GPS function, which featured prominently in the trailer, and, despite this, I completely overlooked earlier.
P.S. Screen shots to come! For now, amuse yourself with these
The Basic Menu:
Indicated by the button in the top right of the screen with a computer on it. Every game has one, even if it’s not so obvious as this. The basic menu will allow a player to perform all the usual tasks such as exiting the game, loading a previous saved version or saving their current play state, as well as options to modify sound (which reminds me… I need some of that), graphical quality (although on flash… if you need to lower the quality (which is possible) in order to fully appreciate the game… go get a new computer) and other sundry items. Next to the Basic Menu system is a rudimentary help function (this is currently low on the priority of functions to complete). This will allow a user to mouse over buttons to discover their function and, in the odd instance, give hints as to where to go if stuck, hopefully, this isn’t needed too much.
The Inventory System:
Identified by the button with a kind of round top half of a person with a magnifier, this will allow a player to take and store evidence to use later, a storage place for the knowledge about a case the player may have acquired. Within this system, a player will be able to select an item and view its intimate details on a screen on the left of the storage bank. While nothing is selected the player will be able to view the vital statistics of his, her or it’s avatar (proverbial stoking of the ego).
The Log:
Indicated by the button with a writing pad on it, the Log contains all the details and scribbles of each still open case the player is working on at the time. Not only will information be added to each case file as suspects are interviewed and evidence analysed, but it will also allow a player to scribble (type, really… very few computers allow a user to scribble coherently) any extra information the player may come across, that is not explicitly added, or to remind him/her/itself to do something, etc. You know how diaries and notepads go, god…
The Phone:
A major part of the game earlier in the year, the phone has been scaled back to fill a role on par with the log and inventory. It will allow a player to phone their relevant police headquarters for possible further information. But, it’s main use will be to prompt the player to follow an optimal play through. It will allow the user to receive messages and calls from the headquarters, which will give the user important clues as to how to solve a case.
The Point of View:
Pretty self explanatory, it’s what the player sees on the screen behind all of the menu buttons and screens. In the point of view a player will be able to mouse over people, and, if that person is a suspect listed in the Log, that person will be explicitly identified with a halo (I am thinking yellow) around them with a little side window showing all the information the player currently has on the concerned suspect, and, consequently, allow you to question them, which can lead to further clues and, if you’re lucky, an arrest!
The Conversing:
Which leads me to conversing. Once a suspect is selected, a dialogue box will open showing the respondents face in the screen above his responses followed by your options for reply. The screen will display a suspects emotions, whether it is fright, anger or curiosity, it can provide great insight into a case.
The Media Viewer:
Similar to the inventory, this allows the player to store surveillance footage and audio and view them later to squeeze what little information you can get out of them. Within some of these media files will lie important hidden clues, which, if found, will further an investigation considerably, consider these easter eggs.
