Options Screen is Ok

[Nikos Beck]

I have an options screen with sliding music, sound and ambient volume controls, a fullscreen checkbox, a graphics quality pulldown list, a resolution pulldown list.

At the bottom should I have a single "ok" button or a pair of "ok" and "cancel" buttons?

I understand "cancel" lets the player back out of the screen but do I want that. A player adjusted their music volume, changed their resolution and hit "cancel". Which action did they want to cancel? Both? Maybe they forgot their initial resolution but liked it better than the changes they made.

If I have a single "Ok" button then any changes they make stay in place. The resolution has been changed so they'll go back to the game with the resolution they're currently looking at.

What if all they have a audio slide controls? Does that change things? They spent time adjusting the audio, why cancel the changes?

I'd like to get some opinions on how many and which buttons to display.

Also, what should I display on the options screen? I already have quite a few things. Is this the place to have a "credits" or "about" button?

[spellcaster]

I understand your concerns.
If you don't want to have a cancel button, I'd highly recommend that you add a "Defaults" button setting the settings to whatever they were when you shipped your game.

This allows the player to feel secure ("if I mess up, I still can switch back to the default settings").

Depending on your game, you might even be able to avoid the options screen completely. Do you enter an options screen when you want to change the volume of your TV? Allowing the player to change (some of) the settings directly can be an option if your interface allows for some direct manipulation.

But I digress ;)

Anyway, if you want to avoid the "cancel" add a "defaults" button.

[princec]

Simple UI problem solved 1000 times before. You need Ok, Apply, and Cancel. Cancel undoes everything since last Apply. Ok does Apply then closes options window. Make sure Ok and Apply are disabled when nothing has been changed and change text in Cancel to Close for complete idiot-proofing.

Cas :)

[GBGames]

You need Ok, Apply, and Cancel.

Unless you're Apple. B-)

[Nikos Beck]

Simple UI problem solved 1000 times before? Maybe. But there are five perfectly reasonable variations in three posts.

I want to see what others have considered and tried. Having a volume control in the game screen itself makes perfect sense. I might not even need an options screen or I might need a two-part options screen because there is so much to choose from.

[Bad Sector]

"Ok, Defaults" is a simple, yet effective scheme. You may also want to put a "Previous (config)" there or something like that if you want a little more functionality.

But really how many options does this game have? :-P

[GolfHacker]

I agree with Bad Sector. Keep it simple. An OK/Close button is sufficient.

I like the idea of a Defaults button. Very simple and easy to implement.

As far as what options are needed, I originally wrote Fashion Cents with no options. I quickly received requests for a button to turn off audio, then requests for separate toggles for sound/music. After that, requests for a separate toggle to turn off voiceovers (but not all sounds) and slider controls for volume levels (both of which I am adding to the upcoming Fashion Cents Deluxe) - apparently, some users like to have music low but sound effects turned up. A fullscreen toggle is essential - most users are happy with fullscreen, but some users really hate that (especially casual gamers who like to keep an eye on their e-mail inbox and/or instant messenger while playing). Any options beyond this are "optional" - no pun intended - it depends on your specific game.

I recommend looking at what other popular games have done: I personally like the options screens on the PopCap games, as well as Fizzball, Runes of Avalon, and others.

[wazoo]

I would say keep it really really simple, and depending on the target group you're aiming for, you might be over analyzing it.

"Ok" just accepts everything, and "Cancel" backs out of everything. I like the "Defaults" button as well, but I agree with the suggestion to examine some of the other similar type of games out there. Otherwise you're in danger of making a lot of work for yourself, with only minimal gain.

I really wonder if there's any stats on how people actually use the "Apply" button. Do people even make the distinction from the "Ok"?

I digress. :)

[VaderSB]

Unless you've got a 3d game with lots of graphics options (anti aliasing, texture filtering, shadows, etc, etc, etc) "Cancel" button is surely overwhelming. When you've got a couple of checkboxes and two volume sliders you can stick to only one (something like "Close" or "Back to main menu") button.

EDIT: Well, sometimes an additional button "Set to Default" is useful, too.

[spellcaster]

I worked at a company in the usability sector before. I'd like to emphasize the importance of making the player feel secure.

In one focus group, we had a woman who stopped working with the program looking at the screen.... moving the mouse.. clicking nothing, getting worried .. she didn't do anything for minutes.

In order to allow her to go on we checked what was going on. The problem causing element was a simple message box. With only an OK button. It was just an informational text - but she was worried what would happen if she hit the button.

A lot of people are intimidated by the computer. A lot of stuff that seems "understandable and logical" for us (because we know how the beast works, is not understandable at all for a new user.
Make sure they know that they can't break anything. That's why you shouldn't call your options dialog "settings" for example. A lot of not-so-computer-fit people get told by the person who set up the computer for them, that they should stay away from "the settings", for example.

Since a lot of the "casual" gamers fall into the category of people that "just want to use that stupid thing" we should try to switch from the technical "it works this way" to the "the player has this idea of how it works" view.

Also, limit the options. Do you really need to 2 volume sliders for both sound and music? Or is one slider enough (+ the optional mute button)? If you need to have it separate, is it ok to provide profiles (like "default", "music focus", "fx focus")?

How often are the options actually used? Esp. for a game?
Don't add option options because you can ;)

[Nikos Beck]

I like using "options" rather than "settings". An option is something I can choose to do, it sounds non-threatening.

Also, limit the options. Do you really need to 2 volume sliders for both sound and music? Or is one slider enough (+ the optional mute button)? If you need to have it separate, is it ok to provide profiles (like "default", "music focus", "fx focus")?

I have decided to go with "Ok" and "Cancel". I have a "Fullscreen" checkbox and I'm undecided with audio sliders.

I think there is definately a case for audio profiles.

One approach might be to have checkboxes for each kind of audio that the player wants: music, sound effects, voices, and a profile list. They can pick "mostly music" and turn off voices or "no music please". I'd want to make sure I have friendly-named profiles.

What about an equalizer approach? I could have vertical sliders as music, sound and voice channels including a "master volume" and a list that the player can choose a profile from that adjusts the sliders. It looks more like a home stereo. This might be more useful in a AAA title than a casual title.

I also want to float the idea of a label showing the volume. Is it even necessary? I would assume that sliders are self-explanatory so I don't need to show the volume is "3" on a scale of 10.

I'll keep two sliders: music volume and sound volume. It's as simple as I can make it. I am definately not having a "mute" button or checkbox. I don't think it's necessary since the far left of the slider will have volume of zero.

I do appreciate all of the feedback.

The options screen is sometimes tossed into games but it needs all of the interaction and intuition feedback that other parts of the game need.

[Qitsune]

I like the idea of the different check boxes. If you decide to go with slider, you could do it with just a sound slider with a way to indicate what is up and what is down (+- signs of a bar getting wider toward the up) I don't think numbers are really that useful.