I like the old school doodle-y font, but am finding the size/placement a bit overpowering. Perhaps a bit smaller, and/or not overlapping our glitches' faces?
I read the thread before seeing them in-game, and I expected to hate them, but I actually don't. By the sounds of it, I was supposed to be seeing some horrifying curly bubbly default Windows font that took up half the screen, but it's not really that bad at all.
Real life examples show that the average person will dislike unfamiliar things. (The non-average, in this case, is someone who is an expert on game and application UI and has studied and worked on it in-depth for many hours. No, you aren't a UI expert because you have played 10,000 hours of video games like the rest of us.) But over time, as that thing becomes less strange and unfamiliar, our actual opinions are revealed. Some of us are still going to hate it. Some of us who liked it at first might actually start hating it. Some of us who hated it might grow to really like it. I don't know if the new progress words are good UI, and I don't know any experts who might give their opinion on it. However, for now, I'm going to trust that whoever was responsible for this is an expert, and knows what they're doing.
For anyone trying to determined the OP's thoughts/decision about the change - really was just making an observation they are 'cute'...tried to keep the OP as neutral as possible to solicit just this kind of discussion (and 'cute' has it's place, but it isn't necessarily always good)...I was going to originally say they are so cute they are icky...but wanted folks to be able to post their own opinions first. Also wanted to give the change time to sink in, but wanted to note there was a change to those that hadn't seen it yet...
I am glad I did wait to post my complete thoughts on the change - I think I have to agree with folks on both sides. I do like that they aren't the standard old progress bar (which is indeed boring), but I think the font and the 'doing stuff' generic message vice what I'm actually doing are the two things that I don't like about them. If they were in the original glitch font, or something more rookish, I might be cool with it. The fat bubble font is really too childish for me...makes me feel like I'm playing a nursery school game, and why would anyone want to try to make this game any more attractive to small children when it is touted as a 14 and older game?!
Is it my imagination or have they been changed a little? When I first saw them I could have sworn the colours of the progress bar in the middle of the text was paler, now they seem a bit darker & more saturated. I think that's an improvement, & it'd be lovely if there were some more tweaks!
For me Glitch part of the humor in Glitch is the contrasts: adorable muppety characters that regularly get whacked on no-no powder. Etc, etc. I think the contrast will be improved when less "touchy-feely" actions get the same treatment. (I honestly believe "doing stuff" is just a holder until other actions get the same deal... but I may be making assumptions.) When we get "crushing" and (I so so so hope) "poisoning," I think they become hilarious.
Seems odd to me to have an issue with the new progress pars and not have an issue with, say, the smiley-happy piggies.
I am certainly pleased with anything that adds more style to the game and removes it more and more from the standard "lexicon" of games is a pro to me.
bah, I know I'm "Mining"... or at least trying to. I initiated the action, I see the pick moving and hear *tink, tink* that much is intuitive. Now there's a rock with a chicken, a butterfly and big poofy letters changing color in front of it, above it are picks and crowded around it are glitches trying to mine thru more distractions.
I can't even remember what the previous progress bar looked like, and that was a good thing. Less is more. I want to see the beautiful art of the tree, rock, or tools.
I don't even remember what the old progress bar looked like. I think the new ones are cute and fun, and I went "ooooh, something NEW" when I saw them. Maybe I'll get annoyed after the millionth time, but chances are I'll stop noticing them the same way I did the old ones.
I agree with Lord Bacon-o that we should have a "poisoning" one. That would be amazing. Or more terrible puns, because Glitch can never have too many of those. :D
Way too big and poofy and intrusive. Actions should not CAPSLOCK AT YOU. All it does is draw attention to the fact that you can't do anything until the BIG POOFY CAPSLOCK RELEASES YOU. Actions used to have their own sweet little rhythm. NOW THEY ANNOUCE THEMSELVES LOUDLY.
I think i'd be okay with the overly cutesy letters if the words were at least mildly entertaining. ie. "Stroke" instead of "pet <3" or something like that.
Part of what makes the old progress bar good is that some people have commented that they don't even remember what it looked like. That's how widgets are supposed to be designed. Unobtrusive, functional.
I do feel sorry for all you men having to play in a girly environment. The whole history of video gaming you've never been able to catch a break, have you? I'm glad you're rebelling against this tyranny at last. Maybe with your protests, some game designer out there will at last make a game for YOU!
Haha, +1 Pomponella!
As for my 2c, I like that TS wants to give character even to progress bars, but I agree with many others that it's needlessly obtrusive. No issue with cutesy-ness or anything, but many people do a LOT of one action (like mining) so the animation will get very tired, very fast. I like the idea though! I hope some middle ground can be reached
I think any guy who could be driven away by cute progress bars probably isn't the type to play Glitch anyway. Personally, my identity as a man has never been threatened by bubble fonts or Hello Kitty.
Well as I said earlier I very much dislike this new addition. Gives me a headache and makes me feel I need to barf. I have to look away all the time now because it bothers me so much. They are also way too cutsey and childish to me. And I AM female and they definitely don't appeal to me at all.
I like green. But I don't like orange. Please refrain from using orange in this game. USE MORE GREEN! If you use too much orange, I can no longer allow myself to play this game. (Someone might think I like orange or something!)
I'm sorry. I forgot that programmers probably don't know colors when they're not html coded:
Don't use #FFA500. Use more #008000. Also #827839 should be avoided as it looks like baby poo when baby is sick.
Pass that info on to your drawers and colorers, please. :)
I'm not sure that I would go as far as saying I dislike them, but something does seem a bit strange about them. Kudos for the effort, and I think its a good idea, but maybe this would be better left to the voting system we have all been waiting for. Make up a few looks and let the players decide what we like best
Lol! My first thought also was that these are just "too cute". I was actually a little annoyed (I'm a reactionary) but then I noticed that I could see through them - Love that!!
Pomponella, I have just met you and I love you. :D Spot-on.
I just...something that affects gameplay not one single iota has led to a thread with over 100 comments, just because it's perceived as ~girly~ and of course the guys in the audience will not stand for that. Wow.
I just wish I wasn't so high-level so I could see what the massaging and milking and nibbling ones look like. :) Screenshots anyone?
I dislike them less today than I did yesterday. I stopped seeing the "mine" one after just a few minutes. The see-through-ness is nice. They are kind of cheerful.
I'm a guy and I played with Hot Wheels and Meccano when I was a kid and I STILL love these new progress bars! Their design suit this game. Very Glitchy! :-D
I do like that the mining ones are now constantly reminding me that this rock is MINE all MINE...so, that means I don't have to share anymore, right?! *snicker*
I'm also male and I also think they are great. I hope they stay. They are much more creative than the old battleship grey blocks.
I'm sure the ui engine allows the designers to easily swap out the text, so it could be fun if they and the devs set it up so that a specific task's progress bar pulls from a small set of different terms, sorta like the gnomes do, but shorter and hopefully more punny.
Ok, I have to say.........the mining animation is pretty cool now. The pick ax and MINE lower as the rock lowers. That is new, and that is cool. (still really really dont like the bubble art, and its not growing on me)
@Saralein - Lol! I think maybe we need this bar too.
This morning I was mining when I noticed the little "x". I clicked on it and stopped mining! I absolutely Love this! There have been many times when I wanted to stop my Pick and couldn't. So very happy to have this! maybe we had the option all along and I missed it?
Also, I had a nice laugh when I saw "Doing Stuff"!
I've played for a bit with these to try to give them a chance. I'm still kind of not liking them... the font is too cheerleaderish/Hello Kitty for me. I also share Lord Bacon-O's mental confuddlement of thinking of the cancel x as a registration mark. Having them be so large and see-through seems incongruous with other dialog text in the game.
My 7-year-old son came up behind me right after they changed and said, "Aww, the meters changed! They're so cute!" That's neither a plus or a minus, just wanted to mention that a child sees this as a very attractive part of the game.
Some changes felt automatically natural and right, like going to all mailboxes and new Alakol music, so I don't think I'm having a kneejerk "all change is bad!" reaction. Just my 2 currants!
I agree with others who've pointed out that a good interface does its job without intruding itself on what you're doing; this one is just way too prominent. For example, when I'm digging peat, the word completely covers up the peat bog, so I no longer get to see the digging animation.
Also agree: The X reads as a copyright/trademark/registration symbol. The X was much more clear on the old design.
I think the new progress bar fails on three fronts: usability, information design and graphic design. So far I'm dealing with it by averting my eyes every time I do something that triggers it; it's definitely reduced my enjoyment of the game.
I suspected that maybe that X had been there all along but for some reason I never noticed it. It's a good size now and doesn't look like a TM to me but we all have our own unique per perceptions. I do agree that it is a little big and does obscure some of the animations that I enjoy seeing.
I dislike the new bubble-font progress bars. They're too large and obtrusive for my taste and really hard to look at in certain settings. The original progress bars were effective and felt like part of the overall design.