[-z-] wrote:

ai wrote:EDIT: Oh and, what false 'strength' icons on ouns? Those are genuine (yet not official, but genuine).

Oblivion wrote:Did you know the current logo for Nexuiz is actually the japanese Katakana character for 'Ka'?

Well, we established that he was wrong, it only resembles the 'Ka' character, but it isn't. So the ouns icons are correct.

[-z-] wrote:I'm open to suggestions, but please don't tell me negative things about my work without having a positive solution. I'd appreciate it if you'd cite your sources, pictures of styles you like... links to websites you like... etc.

Well sure, I always try to give constructive critic but you don't always have a solution, sometimes you'd just need to redo some thing and see if people can give comments and solutions on that.
My "solution" so to speak, perhaps were a bit suddle, but taking away some shinyness would be a good start, maybe not everything but some here and there. I think it's the "blurryness" that throws some things of.

The meny at the top is good, a bit variety from the standard 'to-the-left' menu. But the bottom one is overkill. (People who are lazy enough to scroll up to the top should not be allowed to have Internet ) And besides, those kind o menu's are only needed with lots of text which I assume Nexuiz site won't have.

[-z-] wrote:As for the other comments. The menu font is 'weird' because it will not be a graphic, it is actual text as it's easier for search engines to read / follow and it permits for the easy addition of a category if need be (we'll make the font smaller smarty pants).

Just because it's not a graphic doesn't mean that it needs to be an ugly font.

I actually think the problem is not that it is an inherently ugly font (although I would personally tend towards something like Trebuchet MS, it's that it is too large.

The logo is still too large though.

Here's an update with a few subtle changes. Verdana is a nice wide font that's easy to read. You are the first to complain about it so it'll stay until the majority things otherwise.

I have lightened the menu background and changed the color of the download now button to sort of bring the whole page back in together.

For the firts time I've seen this mockup, I've had two feelings:

First: Wow, awesome, it's much-much better-looking and informative than the curren website (at least it grips my eyes more).

Second: I dunno who wrote them, but all the buttons seem like an AD. You can see lot's of sites with free flash games, telling you it's free, come, download, but when you follow the links, you'll find yourself it's only a "free-to-try", only the demo is free, you'd need activation (and your credit card numer ready) if you'd like to play the game in it's full glory, or it just installs some crap that's not even equal to the screenshot's you've seen on the site (or it may even damage your PC).
I dunno why do I have this paranoia, but this mockup is too "agressive" for me. It may scare me for the first time, and I'd run away thinking "it's another desperate attemt to be very nice for the first time, but they only need my credit card's number, and if I subscribe, they might send me spam too".

Suggestions: The reason why I do really like this kick ass game is the community that has been built around it. I've never met so much nice ppl on the internet elsewhere I think we could entitle ouselfves with our full modesty, we're the most friendly community on the internet in the genre of FPS games. If somehow you could add more notability to this, that'd make some respect and trust in a newcommer's mind.

"Nexuiz: People in Pieces."

It looks good, but it still looks like a jumbled mess like the old site. Many elements are distracting and there is no focal point to the page.

here's a page you should check out: http://www.thinkvitamin.com/features/de ... asy-to-fix

sorry for harping on you, but that's just my two cents

Updates, updates updates:

z, where it says nexuiz is free open souce ......

I think the free should be white.

dunno what you think about this, but i would find it cool if the site and the game menu looked and functioned in a similar way.

the site could even function as a tutorial on how to use the menu, with notes and hints like "type here to search the server list".

4m wrote:dunno what you think about this, but i would find it cool if the site and the game menu looked and functioned in a similar way.

the site could even function as a tutorial on how to use the menu, with notes and hints like "type here to search the server list".

Sounds incredibly hard and precise to do. Well, maybe not hard, but a lot of work.

I suggest dropping free and open source from the line at the top

Nexuiz is a first person shooter that run on ....

and add them to the description lower down.

victim wrote:I suggest dropping free and open source from the line at the top

Nexuiz is a first person shooter that run on ....

and add them to the description lower down.

That is phrased the way it is for a very important reason. You may know what nexuiz is, but this homepage should be catered more towards users that don't know.

Nexuiz? What the hell is that? It's not in the dictionary. We need to tell them, fast. The average web-user judges a site in seconds.


When you look at this template, try and figure out where your eyes go and try to understand why I designed the page the way I did.

The Logo is big and in the top left, yours eyes are drawn into it's interesting shape and shine.

How can I identify this shape by name?
Ahh, "Nexuiz... too fast for your grandma to play?!".
Play, so it's a game, and ahh yes, a download now button. 256mb, okay. good to know.

How much does this cost? Will it run on my computer? What's the catch?
Nexuiz is a free open-source first person shooter that runs on Windows, Linux, and OSX

Alright, this game must be crap if it's free.
:watches the video:


Seal the deal with a quick write up, some images, latest buzz and the curious player will have faith in the solidity of this product.

The main menu, though stowed away, raises the user's confidence in the game with proud offers of FAQ, Forums, Downloads, Links, Ladder and Tournament as well as offering invitations to 'come back soon'.

Ok, good ideas when putting those elements in. Now you need to stylize it in a way that you see it in that order. Again, there are a lot of things there that can be distracting. You want to remove the clutter in a web page so that the things you want the user can see are visible.

We should be grabbing them because Nexuiz is good, not because it's free or open source.

Nexuiz being free and open is a bonus, but not the reason to d/l, install and play it.

I installed Sauerbraten a while ago because of the screen shots, Although I've only played it a few times because of its stupid in game menus. The Sauerbraten website has pages of screen shots, all of them big and in good quality.

Below the Alientrap head logo, add a slide show panel showing off the models. Lots and lots of shots of all the models, with different weapons, randomly appearing.

(256MB) is negative, remove it and replace it with now. They will find out on the next page how big the file is.

The strap line 'too fast for granny' isn't very good, how about 'state of the art fragging' Google search

Ok, good ideas when putting those elements in. Now you need to stylize it in a way that you see it in that order. Again, there are a lot of things there that can be distracting. You want to remove the clutter in a web page so that the things you want the user can see are visible.

I tested it on a few friends, the general consensus was as I had hoped. They went to the site without knowing what Nexuiz is. You however didn't and as such I believe you were expecting something different. Try looking at it with fresh eyes.



It's just so weird to hear you say that with

"Urban Terror 4 - a free modern FPS shooter game for multiplayer, urbanterror.net"

in your signature.


I would have never downloaded Nexuiz if the words 'free' weren't written somewhere.

It may not be the reason you downloaded it but it's the reason some people do.

If you are afraid that we'll get ~a bunch of n00bs that don't understand the game the way you do~ what does that matter? It's people interested in the game, everyone has to start somewhere. There a various communities setup for users who are looking for a deeper experience in the game as is the case with any other online game.


The model slide show is a possibility.

I disagree with your stance on 256mb. That fact is open for debate. I'd appreciate knowing how large the file is.

I asked for suggestions on the slogan. Again, it's personal opinion. Yours will be taken into consideration and perhaps a vote will be had for the slogan.

As for your template. There are a couple quirks here and there, including:

->The irony of the 'Help the aliens' caption on the donate button.
->'Too fast for your Grandma to play' subtitle harmfully exaggerates the speed of Nexuiz, which although has a high maximum velocity, also has a low acceleration rate. The use of particular words 'Too fast' could scare away newcomers; consider a phrase more relevant [Simple, fast, intense, and completely free], or omit the space.
->I dislike 'Holy crap, that's Nexuiz? Why haven't I heard of this yet?' because from the way it is written, it seems to be predicting the viewers' reaction and stuffing words down their throat, a bit aggressive and arrogant.
->The embedded video player used matches the gloss of the tool bars well, however the screen shot used as a place holder could involve a map included with the main distribution.
->Download Nexuiz' sticks out and functions like a sore thumb, as it is at the top of the page, before a potential player even is able to learn WHAT Nexuiz is.

Overall, the current design appears to be screaming 'Download!!! Download NOOoOOoOwWwWWwWwW!!!', almost as if it was forcing itself upon the user.

"Too fast for your grandma to play" could very well scare away newcomers who think it's exclusively for the hardcore. I know I've stayed away from lots of games before because I was afraid of going online and getting consistently beaten.

First of all, thanks to -z- for putting in the effort on this. Taking the initiative is hard and keeping momentum is harder. I think everyone would agree it is a huge improvement over the current design. (No offense to the designers of the current site. It's just outdated.)

It's virtually impossible to please everyone entirely, no matter what the project is. Design work it is particularly hard because much of it is subjective. It's best to admit right away that it can't satisfy everyone's tastes and all criteria. Attempting to please everyone can make a lifeless disjointed design. You have to discuss who you are trying to reach, what you want them to do and how to get them to do it, then pick a direction and move forward.

Target audience:

Action game enthusiasts - This could include both computer and console gamers. It may be people that have never played an FPS game, but probably wouldn't be people that only play puzzle games or slow paced role playing games.

Desired action:

Download and play the game, get hooked, donate, contribute to the community in some way, promote the game.

Motivation:

Considering the target audience: Give the site an updated look, because an action gamer wants something new. Make it a little edgey (a little aggressive), since action gamers want to shoot something. Let's be honest, we want to go fast and shoot. We want explosions and mayhem. Smiles and welcomes come later when you are already convinced and visit the forum for more. The home page hooks you, the game and community reels you in. Make it fun. It's a game, isn't it?!

Considering the desired action: Make the download easy and obvious. Let them know it's free. Inform them of the file size so they aren't scared and aren't deceived. Give them evidence of the quality of the game with large photos/video. Give them evidence of community with the news blurbs and community ads and links.

Now look at the preview image again. I think it does all of this. Good job, -z-!!!

victim wrote:We should be grabbing them because Nexuiz is good, not because it's free or open source.

Nexuiz being free and open is a bonus, but not the reason to d/l, install and play it.

I agree with Z on this one. I think it's important to state if it's free or not as one might be deluded into that this is just a demo or shareware or whatever. And I know for a fact many people only download stuff if it's free. Two of my friends who went over to Linux OSes asked me of any free games, I of course mentioned Nexuiz and they played.

TVR wrote: ->'Too fast for your Grandma to play' subtitle harmfully exaggerates the speed of Nexuiz, which although has a high maximum velocity, also has a low acceleration rate. The use of particular words 'Too fast' could scare away newcomers; consider a phrase more relevant [Simple, fast, intense, and completely free], or omit the space.

->I dislike 'Holy crap, that's Nexuiz? Why haven't I heard of this yet?' because from the way it is written, it seems to be predicting the viewers' reaction and stuffing words down their throat, a bit aggressive and arrogant.

Overall, the current design appears to be screaming 'Download!!! Download NOOoOOoOwWwWWwWwW!!!', almost as if it was forcing itself upon the user.

1st. The slogan isn't decided yet I presume so I never bothered to say anything about this. But on this matter I agree with TVR.

2nd. Same as above, I never bothered to mention this as I asumed that won't be the final line. And I do not only agree with TVR on this one, I also think this is a bit immature and childish (14 years old kiddies talk ), and to add to that, it doesn't fit with how the community actually is. It might give the impression we see on other game forums (newbies unwelcome; at least that's the impression I get).

3rd. And yet again I agree with TVR. It's good that there's some of the "Download Nexuiz now!!" feel to it, but this is a bit too much. Cause as the page is setup (how all the buttons looks like ads and stuff), this whole site looks like a giant huge add for Nexuiz (with an arrogant coomunity).

But yeah, I too appreciate the work Z is doing. And I don't want to discourage you, we're all trying to help you improve it.

Okey dokey, made the download button a little less in your face.

"Too fast for your grandma to play" still doesn't make logical sense. "Bejeweled" is too fast for my grandma, much less Nexuiz. This needs a better slogan.

torus wrote:"Too fast for your grandma to play" still doesn't make logical sense. "Bejeweled" is too fast for my grandma, much less Nexuiz. This needs a better slogan.

In good time my friend, in good time. Let's just concentrate on the design and layout of the site, then at slogans and such. These are only temp I think.

Now, much better! I don't have anymore those feary feelings...

One comment tho... I'd add the forum on the left side too, becouse it's the forum where the majority of the community buzz is going around.

torus wrote:I'm not a huge fan of that logo- I think it the drab monochrome doesn't give a good impression of the gritty, techno-industrial atmosphere Nexuiz is grounded in. IMO, vector-graphics isn't what a Nexuiz logo needs.

I don't think vector is the right approach either, but the industrial atmosphere of the game was a huge turnoff to a friend of mine, and I'm too fond of it either.

A clean, minimalistic feel could be very effective, as long as the game is suspenseful from startup. Of course, this would mean a new menu and a new, possibly soft, dischordant entrance theme, but the contrast between that and fast-paced action would be wonderful, in my opinion.

Mute Print wrote:

torus wrote:A clean, minimalistic feel could be very effective, as long as the game is suspenseful from startup. Of course, this would mean a new menu and a new, possibly soft, dischordant entrance theme, but the contrast between that and fast-paced action would be wonderful, in my opinion.

A new menu is in the works and it's got a similar feel to my mockup it's more blue though.



Check this thread for phase 2. I'll keep this open for general questions.

My thoughts:

The slogan: Don't like the grandma slogan. Sorry I don't have anything better to demonstrate, but obviously this is a tough one, it has it's own thread. If I think of something, I'll post it there.

Overall appearance: Generally, the layout is good. Personally, I like the large download button in the header, specifically the one with the circled down arrow which has become a universal symbol for a download. The size is not needed there, they will find that out on the next page, and as has been suggested, adding free to the button might be helpful. I like the developer logo/link being on the left side and not in the header, it just fits better that way.

Now down to a few more specific things.

Layout: the developers button should probably be above the donate button since the header is currently "Help Wanted", it just makes more sense.

Buttons: specifically the developers & donate buttons, they need less gloss. If you want to add a bit of gloss to a hover image rollover or something, thats fine, but they just look bad over-glossed. Second, the screenshots button needs to be updated in two ways: 1) it really doesn't need the Nexuiz name there, at that point people should know this is the Nexuiz website, and 2) it should just refer to media in general, not specifically screenshots, unless we're separating the media pages.

Header text/images: I have no problem with the way the top/bottom menu is setup. I also have no problem with image-based text for menu headers (such as "Latest Buzz"), however, news articles having image-based text isn't generally a good idea unless there is an image generator to go along with it (otherwise general website maintenance becomes too difficult).

Then the last thing, what are your plans for a video UI? Is this hosted on the website, or embeded from somewhere else, what types of controls will we have? From using various flash-based video players, I personally highly prefer on that gives the simple control of changing play/pause by clicking anywhere on the playing video. Other than that, the UI in your mock-up looks very fitting, had to judge by a static picture (and an image of Q3).

Lastly, scale: How do you currently plan on handling it? It's impossible to judge from a static image

Current Mockup

Willis wrote:The slogan: Don't like the grandma slogan. Sorry I don't have anything better to demonstrate, but obviously this is a tough one, it has it's own thread. If I think of something, I'll post it there.

In the works

Willis wrote:Overall appearance: Generally, the layout is good. Personally, I like the large download button in the header, specifically the one with the circled down arrow which has become a universal symbol for a download. The size is not needed there, they will find that out on the next page, and as has been suggested, adding free to the button might be helpful. I like the developer logo/link being on the left side and not in the header, it just fits better that way.

The majority of people decided it would be better on the side. This allowed me to add a download button for the mappack as well.

Willis wrote:Layout: the developers button should probably be above the donate button since the header is currently "Help Wanted", it just makes more sense.

Vermeulen asked me to remove this completely.

Willis wrote:Buttons: specifically the developers & donate buttons, they need less gloss. If you want to add a bit of gloss to a hover image rollover or something, thats fine, but they just look bad over-glossed.

I think it looks better with the current mockup but I'm open to other's opinions on this.

Willis wrote:Second, the screenshots button needs to be updated in two ways: 1) it really doesn't need the Nexuiz name there, at that point people should know this is the Nexuiz website, and 2) it should just refer to media in general, not specifically screenshots, unless we're separating the media pages.

To us, Nexuiz is not necessary, we know what it is, we've heard the name a million times. To a new user however, Nexuiz isn't the easy name to remember and any reiteration we can get away with, I suggest we do. However, Vermeulen has the final say in this.
I can change it to say media or something of the like though.

Willis wrote:however, news articles having image-based text isn't generally a good idea unless there is an image generator to go along with it (otherwise general website maintenance becomes too difficult).

Don't worry, that text will be HTML. I will use a div container with the gradient background image.

Willis wrote:Then the last thing, what are your plans for a video UI? Is this hosted on the website, or embeded from somewhere else, what types of controls will we have? From using various flash-based video players, I personally highly prefer on that gives the simple control of changing play/pause by clicking anywhere on the playing video. Other than that, the UI in your mock-up looks very fitting, had to judge by a static picture (and an image of Q3).

Well, at first I was thinking of using a 3rd party such as www.stage6.com (the featured player) but since that's based off divx player, it's taking a chance / shooting yourself in the foot.

The solution I'm leaning towards now is a high def FLV using a free player such as this one.

Though the featured video could (and should still) be uploaded to various video sites to increase publicity as well.

Willis wrote:Lastly, scale: How do you currently plan on handling it? It's impossible to judge from a static image

Fixed width. Stretchable height.

[-z-] wrote:

Willis wrote:Buttons: specifically the developers & donate buttons, they need less gloss. If you want to add a bit of gloss to a hover image rollover or something, thats fine, but they just look bad over-glossed.

I think it looks better with the current mockup but I'm open to other's opinions on this.

There are many people that has said that they are a bit too shiny, but I might be wrong (I assume that's what gloss is, unless it's the outline of the button).

[-z-] wrote:

Willis wrote:Second, the screenshots button needs to be updated in two ways: 1) it really doesn't need the Nexuiz name there, at that point people should know this is the Nexuiz website, and 2) it should just refer to media in general, not specifically screenshots, unless we're separating the media pages.

To us, Nexuiz is not necessary, we know what it is, we've heard the name a million times. To a new user however, Nexuiz isn't the easy name to remember and any reiteration we can get away with, I suggest we do. However, Vermeulen has the final say in this.
I can change it to say media or something of the like though.

Well, if the "new" user doesn't know that this site is about 'Nexuiz' by the time they reach the screenshot area after watched the movie and read the text, then I say that that user should buy a brain on ebay, seriously (Also, you said somewhere that you assume they would watch the movie like the first thing they do, so this only strenghen the point).

That is starting to look really good. The background behind the header, while still subtle, still adds a lot of color to the page, making it looks less bland.

Yeah, that this point, FLV is pretty much the only way to go for video it seems. My concern about header image text was based on the "Holy crap..." line. Without the developers button, the donation button doesn't look nearly as awkward.

My only other thought is that that "click here to view..." button is just too big and really throws off graphical flow. I think it would probably be better to replace it with an actual media shot, and make in a wide but short gradient button running the span of all the media preview shots.

And on a very minor note, you may want to put text underneath the AT logo, as very few people will know that is a link, or what AT is.

Willis wrote:And on a very minor note, you may want to put text underneath the AT logo, as very few people will know that is a link, or what AT is.

Yeah, I agree on that one. Forgot to mention this a few times.