Ideas to help TWP improve its visibility

Make yourself a youtuber and explain there how you made the game.

While you are explaining it sneeze real hard, then mimic the MI2 scene where Largo enters the bar and the spit flies throughout the room but in your case something falls from your nose.

It will become viral and everybody will be buying the game. Trust me, I have received a couple of those and (beleive it or not) they were viral. :smile:

2 Likes

I hope so!

Dude, what the hell! Those pixels are supposed to be look sharp!
So, did you really play the game with such filter?

If someone wants to give it a try:

There are even screenshots in the comments, for deterrence: https://blog.thimbleweedpark.com/patch_notes#58e4d1387dce7cf6620421bc

:slight_smile: If I play in a window, I don’t have problems with this. But if i play full screen on a large monitors, it does not work. I’m not the only one to think that. It probably also depends on whether you are myopic or not. True, people seem kind of divided on the issue. They were divided on font antialiasing too, 10 years ago. Now antialiasing is the default.

PS: I did play with reshade, and it rocks.

How about a cat video on Youtube that sends subliminal Thimbleweed Park messages? E.g. a cat jumping into a TWP box.

3 Likes

I’m buying to some of my friends and letting my old adventure friends know about it. For a wider out reach maybe steam is the key. they really do good suggestions and i hope many more people in time will buy it from their recommentations.

OK, this brings up four big issues.

  1. I think coin UIs are stupid.
    1a) They can be OK, if designed for from the start, which Thimbleweed Park was not.
  2. None of the area below the verbs is set up to be walked on. Without the verbs, you want to do down there, but you can’t and it’s confusing and feels like something is broken.
    2a) If we did put walkboxes down here, the scale would be wrong.
    2c) Clipping information would have to be created.
  3. The verbs are the soul of Thimbleweed Park.
  4. I think coin UIs are stupid.
10 Likes

Me too. However I meant a coin with verbs, not the MI3 coin. This is not obviously stupid, and not require a different design from the start.

I did not realize it would be a problem not to be able to walk in the area below verbs. (However, not all the area would be uncovered: a row would still be taken by the inventory).

Since you have already pleased scumm lovers, it looked like a good idea, to make money. but never mind. thanks for listening :slight_smile:

I wonder why, and I’m not talking about modifying TWP UI but the way you seem to hate coin UI in general.

Don’t they serve their purpose? What do I miss if the game is designed with a coin UI? would it be possible to make a list of pros and cons and enlighten me?.

Pros:

  • The UI is hidden and doesn’t mess with the story.
  • The UI is where my mouse pointer is, I just have to press the 2nd mouse button and it comes to life.

Cons:
-Fill here, since I can’t think of any.

So, do you mean a wheel with verbs…?

I mean a coin with pickup, push, use, look, talk. (drawn as icons, but on mouseover the text “pickup” appears.)

(Since I believe we don’t have “open” puzzles in twp, no need for the verb “open”. “Give” would be done by combining object with actor, or with talk, as already is.)

Divided? I don’t know what you are talking about.
Antialiased font looks blurry and therefore sucks! #FACT

Don’t get me started about ClearType&Co…

3 Likes

I remember two: [spoiler]

  • Open check register
  • Open foil-wrapped brick
    [/spoiler]
1 Like

Very well, then add “open” to the coin :slight_smile:

Pros:

  • Generally works with (single) touch interfaces
  • Generally works with controllers with analogue stick (at least with cyclic layout / verb wheel)
  • If a graphical coin: no need to translate verbs in images
  • If a generic wheel: dynamic (e.g. different actions for different characters [Franklin]), count of verbs is not bound to the layout (e.g. vs. 3x3 grid)

Cons:

  • When using touch: your finger/hand may obstruct parts of it (especially problematic when context sensitive)
  • It’s often required to click/touch for a period of time to distinguish between walk to and show coin (I hate delays in UI)
  • If content sensitive + automatic layout (e.g. DOTT Remastered): defies muscle memory
  • If a graphical coin: not dynamic
  • (minor) Drowning joke wouldn’t be possible.
2 Likes

I fail to see that, apart from feeling displaced & wasting resources, adding a coin-interface would enlarge the audience by a significant degree.

Generally, do some research, revisit already existing GUIs and implement your own ideas. The annoying part of the coin interface is that you a) need to hold down something (mouse button, touchpad area, …) and b) also move to a certain area more or less precisely. If you just trigger a coin, turn it off by another click (acceleration/distance/whatever) or select some stuff without a ‘holding down’-input, you can come up with something nice (but don’t forget about that inventory items want to be visible and accessible too).

The verb interface is fine. It wasn’t used to its full potential but it fits to/defines the TWP experience. The current basic implementation shows its limits when it comes to translations. Browsing through many items also wouldn’t be this much fun. Symbols are fine, when they’re differentiated enough and offer the right level of complexity but there is still something about verbs.

Instead: fix/enhance the content, port the game, do sales actions, work on a new adventure (team is available, workflow exists, engine is mostly done, there is an audience), enjoy life.

1 Like

Most of the team is off doing other things. That’s the downside to being contractors, when you’re job finishes, you have to go find work. We could get most of them back over time, but it’s not like a team is sitting around.

1 Like

A megaphonetron … that should do it :smiley:

BREAKING NEWS: 27 years on, secret of Monkey Island is finally revealed.

1 Like

And more importantly,
5) Coin UIs are stupid.

1 Like

Coins do suck, but their problems can be easily fixed. If only someone cared to articulate them. If someone creates a new thread, we can discuss it there. I don’t want to hijack the thread.