[Kde-games-devel] KShisen tiles suck?

[Ian Wadham]

On Mon, 2 Feb 2009 06:22:55 am Mauricio Piacentini wrote:
> Karl Ove Hufthammer wrote:
> > Frederik Schwarzer skreiv:
> >> Is it possible that the default tileset is not a good choice?
> >> I do not like them much but I consider this a case of taste, not of
> >> general suckiness. I cannot even say why I prefer the Classic ones. I
> >> think they are easier to percept optically because the Kanji are not
> >> that complex.
> >>
I have some ideas about that - see below.

> > FWIW, my mother doesn’t like the new tileset either. :)
> >
So shall we let Karl's and Mauricio's mothers do battle ... :-)

> > And I’m not too overly fond of it, mostly because it looks so grey. Even
> > if it *does* use different colours, I think it’s much easier to visually
> > separate the different tiles with the old tileset. For example, the long
> > green symbols look very different than the round symbols in the old
> > tileset, but with the new one, they *appear* to me very alike (even
> > though are not). I’m not sure I can explain it any better …
>
> It is rather a question of choosing a new default, if we want to. There
> is a Classic tileset already, and a Traditional one as well. Maybe (and
> Eugene has stressed this point) we need to offer an easier way for
> people to load the THEMES screen.
>
Amen to that !!!!  I believe every themed game should have either
a Themes menu or a Themes entry in the View menu or a special
line for Themes in the Settings menu.  And I do *not* think "Themes"
is a good name for it.  Does "Themes" mean anything to our respective
wives, mothers, brothers, sisters, children and grandchildren?

And with all due respect, Mauricio, I think "Configure <gamename>..."
at the foot of the Settings menu is an ideal way to *hide* the themes!
The word "Configure" comes from I know not where (Microsoft?), but
it would be meaningless to most English speakers, I am sure.  I
wonder how comprehensible it is in other languages.

Now to why (IMHO) the same tiles are considered "sucky" in KShisen
but praiseworthy in KMahjongg and why the Classic tiles might be
better for playing KShisen, even though they have an unattractive
background colour.  I think it is all a matter of *gameplay* and I think
our artists need to consider strongly the *combination* of artwork
and gameplay when designing a theme.  Choosing a theme for a
game is not an arbitrary matter of taste, like choosing a car colour.
It is more like choosing the colours and layout for the instrument
panel (for which we rely heavily on the car's designers).

In the case of KShisen, you are required to recognise pairs of tiles
that may be some distance apart and in amongst similar-looking
tiles.  That is visually quite a difficult task, so any help you can get
from the theme is a bonus.  In KDE 3 KShisen, the dragons, trees
(seasons?) and flowers have very distinctive pictures and members
of the same set (e.g. trees) are quite different from each other.  All
this aids in the recognition of pairs.  The Classic theme in KDE 4 is
very similar to the KDE 3 theme.  In some ways it is better and
more clearly drawn and in other cases not so clear (IMHO), but
it still has a similar background colour and that makes the pictures
less clear.

For that reason, I use the Default theme when I play KShisen, but
I always use the right-click to show matching tiles.  I still cannot
work out the distinctions (at a glance) between the various tiles
that feature flower designs - nor what should match with what, even.

In the case of KMahjongg, it appears that the tiles are less spread
out and many of them are hidden, so recognition of pairs is an
easier visual task than in KShisen, hence no adverse comments.
Nevertheless, I always have the "show matching pairs" option
turned on, even in KMahjongg ... :-)

So I suggest as follows:

- Make Classic the default tile in KShisen.
- Clean up the tile-body colour of the Classic theme.
- Make the drawings in the Classic theme clearer and more elegant.
- Make themes and options like "show matching pairs" a *lot* more
  visible on the game menus.

Hope this helps.

All the best (from a player's perspective), Ian W.