In line images or a separate window?
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| Pervert Action: Future with a 'separate window' layout, at 1280x1024 resolution. |
In line images don't have to stick to a strict size for the sake of consistency, but I feel that separate windows are better for having a character portrait up during a conversation or sex scene, and it doesn't interrupt the flow of the text. I also find the look of the in-line layout quite ugly, and obviously it wouldn't work with the kind of animations and pictures going back and forth a lot in the combat sections of PAF.
When it comes to the next topic, image size, inline images probably have an advantage in that they can go more comfortably horizontal and take up more space, but that doesn't do a good job of accounting for different screen resolutions and can be awkward.
How big can images be in an AIF game?
Here I'm referring to image resolution - the amount of space the image takes up on your screen. In PAF the images were around 500x610, which is higher vertically than horizontally (that's for the sake of the layout, and better for full length character portraits). That size is pretty good on the 1280x960 monitor upon which I designed the game but looks fairly small on the 1650x1050 monitor I have since upgraded to. I have been playing around somewhat with images at an 800x870 resolution, which takes up a bit less than half of a 1650x1050 screen. On that resolution it's great.
I recently did a poll over on the AIF Archive to try and get a sense of how big I can go with such images. The responses I got suggested to me that about 50% of respondents could probably go bigger. I've opted for Super PAC to stick with the 500x610 size (a lot of the work was already done before I even considered going bigger) but I'd like to have some idea whether I can go larger for future reference. I would expect larger widescreens to keep expanding through the market except that laptops and similar smaller PCs are becoming more common, so the effect may actually be inverse.
I can actually include larger images and have players merely use ADRIFT's "fit to window" function to adjust the size of the image, but this does reduce quality somewhat. What do you think? Should the images go larger or stick to about the scale of PAF? Do you think it's worth going bigger if the poll is right and only about 50% can get anything out of the increased size?
File size
Did anyone have any issues with the download size of PAF? Or of any other AIF game? By the way, I don't mean the server issues that happened at PAF's launch - that was a different matter. I mean do you have substantial enough bandwidth constraints that you can't download a game in the hundreds of megabytes range?
The biggest issue for file size is animations - the gifs take up a lot of space. The ones in PAF aren't generally too bad, but I've recently been trying some ideas that came out above 50mb for a single animation (in 800x870 resolution). I am factoring in the potential file size issue and trying to restrain the file size - I don't expect (at the moment) anything that large will make it into the game.
I know when downloading AIF games I've never had an issue with file size, even though my bandwidth has never been brilliant. Are other people worrying about their bandwidth for AIF?
Okay, there's quite a lot of questions in there, but hopefully it's all clear enough.
I'm going to go in reverse order because the latter questions are the easiest.
ReplyDeleteFile size: No problem.
Resolution: This isn't something I'm really picky about. PAF worked great, I suppose I'd have to look at alternatives to really try and make a decision. I've never played a game and thought 'wow, if this resolution was just better it would be perfect', but I don't really have an eye for such things.
Images in text or separate window: I actually went back and forth on the answer for this. First, it's worth noting that all RAGs games use the image in a separate window scheme. Second, I think out of window works better, but there can be some exceptions.
Out of window is I think clearly superior for long static images. For example, if the character is going to be in a forest for awhile, just having the forest image stay up while action goes on works better than if it was in line. Also, when there is a lot of text for a scene I think the image works better when it has its own window.
When the text is a little more brisk and the images come quickly, I think in line might be an exception. Some of Goblinboy's scene did not have a lot of text with them, but they did have multiple pictures, so it was possible to get a new picture on the screen before the old one was off.
I'd say in general though, out of window is superior.
In line images or a separate window?
Delete- Both are fine for me, as long as they're not too big to my screen resolution. 1366x768
How big can images be in an AIF game?
- PAF images worked fine. I'm not sure how much room there is for enlargement.
File size
- So far so good. I only think the file size would become a matter of concern if it grows bigger than 1GB.
First off, I do not like the frames. It feels very 1990's to me. In fact, the whole Adrift Runner feels very old-fashioned to me.
ReplyDeleteI'd go with inline images. It feels far more streamlined by comparison.
Composition-wise, I think you can get away with the image taking up about 2/3's of the game window's height. The picture you have included in your post looks about right to me. Center that sucker within the text and call it a day! :)
Interesting, but I'd have to say that's the thing I'm least likely to change, as it would prevent me from doing stuff with animations and swapping images back and forth in combat. It also means an establishing picture is quickly lost in the text. You can manually choose to play PAF with the images in-line with the text, but if you try it I think you'd find it doesn't work especially well.
DeleteAll of the runners feel old fashioned to me (they are all old fashioned, I guess). I would rather like to be able to re-skin the runner to match the game, but that's just ADRIFT feature wish-listing. Ultimately I think I just don't like the way a TADS game looks like a Word document with some images roughly pasted in, so maybe that's a matter of taste.
It's just a cosmetic personal preference. At the end of the day the interface isn't likely to be so bad that it affects my enjoyment of a game.
DeleteOh, and as for file size, I'm really not bothered as long as the game is uploaded to a file-sharing service with decent DL speeds and minimal waiting.
ReplyDeleteI am in a remote area so my only option is satelite internet. This has a download limit of 1GB per month before it drops back to a very slow speed. For PAF I had to wait a few months until I had a spare 240MB left at the end of the month before I could download it, so I would appreciate a cut-down version of anything any bigger than that.
ReplyDeleteI usually run my monitor at 1280x1024, but can go up to 1920x1440 (yes, there are still some of us using CRT's)
I like the pictures in a separate window unless there is a good reason to put it inline.
1GB - ouch. At that level I'm flattered you ever picked up PAF; it must have just been PAF and email for that month.
DeleteAs for file size I think a lot of people do the "with picture" and "without" in cases of large games (I could be wrong) and I think that kinda solves that issue for some people. I personally use a laptop that 1366x 760ish (some games run at 766 but my default says 768?) So I really don't have a problem with too many images (I'm used to having to compromise portrait photos, but not many people use portrait anymore). And I think my only thing with Inline/ separate box is that I tend to not pay attention to the text as much with Inline, but I do like being able to scroll back and look at certain things just with a mouse scroll.
ReplyDeleteGood topic - a long answer.
ReplyDeleteGenerally I prefer in-line as to me the graphics feel more connected to the events in the story but only if the system being used allows them to be scrolled, I've noticed in some games that this is not the case and you either lose the picture or some text before you can see/read it and then are unable to scroll it back.
For some games like PAF I suppose a windowed graphic adds to the style of game in this case maybe because it had a sci-fi setting so it felt more natural.
Size of graphics may be a factor in my above comments I'm guessing that technically if you're using a separate window (like in PAF) you have more control over the total scale of the viewing area whilst with in-line it can throw things out depending on resolution and screen size.
File size is not so much an issue although with slow download speeds it can be frustrating as mentioned file hosting can be more of a pain.
Hope that helps
nowherecity24
Images are event dependent part of game. It's not a background. So i usually use images in text for Adrift games.
ReplyDeleteSystem display resolution and file size is not a problem.
Thanks for your responses, everyone. My conclusions from this are that I'll probably just go with my own inclinations on this. I actually think that the image size and presentation plays a pretty big part in getting the feel of the game right, but it's probably in large part one of those things that players don't think about much. That's not surprising as players aren't presented with the alternative paths not taken. Therefore I, as someone who has access to the images in large resolutions and who can swap around the configuration of the layout, am best positioned to make the decisions about this.
ReplyDeleteI'm also getting the sense that there's not huge pressure on file size - although as a rule I might release a version without multimedia anyway, just in case it's helpful to some players.
"... I might release a version without multimedia anyway, just in case it's helpful to some players."
DeleteThat's a good practice IMO. I actually played both GoP 2 & 3 the first time around without pictures and honestly, having played the full versions since, I don't feel like I missed much. I think the key is to have your character descriptions stand on their own, without the need for the images.
Inline or window: both can work, but I'm with Nick on disliking frames. Positioning depends a bit on the overall look of the UI, and on image size: large images are annoying inline, but perfectly fine on the side on a widescreen monitor.
ReplyDeleteImage dimensions: I'm on 1920x1200.
File size: I don't really have a limit, within reason. As long as the files are small enough to be downloaded free from whatever hosting service is being used, it'll be fine. My connection isn't particularly fast, but I don't have a limit and I can be quite patient.
Frames aren't great - why couldn't a game pop out a window like a website does, spawning a separate image when necessary? The player could close it or keep it open as they wished.
ReplyDeleteAlso perhaps have an IMAGES command where they can review which pictures they've encountered and re-open them if they wish. Or IMAGES OFF which makes the pictures not pop up automatically and potentially indiscreetly.
I surmise this would be doable in Inform 7 with Glulx Flexible Windows.
It would be cool to see something like an IMAGE command to turn off individual pictures for instances where a player doesn't particularly care for a picture or it breaks immersion.
Delete