GamingShogun has posted their interview with Vic Davis, Founder of Cryptic Comet. Cryptic Comet is the developer of turn-based strat game, Armageddon Empires.
Quote:
GS) Despite all the positive reviews Armageddon Empires has garnered, a sticking point most reference is the unnecessary button clicking as well as button placement. What happened in the game's design of the user interface which led to this?
VD) Well the interface is really the result of a non professional like me taking a shot at what is really some complex game dynamics. I think it could definitely be improved and I’ve added some incremental steps to that. One of my last updates added a timer for the appearance of a message pad that only had an ok button to press….just some info I thought was needed before the next screen popped up. Because I wanted to mimic a board game and show all the dice rolls, you have this very regimented flow process for resolving conflict in the game. There are certain points where you can roll the dice, certain points where you can re-roll selected dice and even points where you can play cards to change things. The UI is probably a bit too literal. I’m going to keep smoothing it on the margins but in the end it is what it is… and short of a complete design overhaul its core character isn’t going to change. I do know that once people get used to the flow process they come to terms with it…. Sort of like a bad marriage
If you haven't had the chance to play Armageddon Empires yet and are a fan of turn-based wargames, I highly recommend it. The UI can be a bit cumbersome but it is alot of fun.
