[Kde-games-devel] KShisen tiles suck?

[Mauricio Piacentini]

Ian Wadham wrote:
> 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?

We can change Themes if it is not a good name. It is not an easy change, 
though, as we use this term in several places now, not only in user 
visible items but also in the API. The API can remain, of course. But 
what would be a better name? Appearance? Themes also apply to sounds, I 
am not sure if we should change it or simply expose it more.

> 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.

I like the idea of a single configuration screen, it blends well with 
other applications in the project. It follows the HIG defined by the KDE 
usability project:

http://wiki.openusability.org/guidelines/index.php/Practical_Examples:Configuration_Dialogs

But at the same time I do not see why we could not attempt to also add a 
direct menu shortcut, something that will open the configuration dialog 
with the Themes (or Appearance) tab already selected.

I understand you do not like the "Configure appname" entry. But what 
should we do, be different from every other KDE application? Konqueror, 
Dolphin, etc all use this convention. It might not be ideal, it might 
have come from MS, I do not know. But I do not think we should try to 
solve it differently only for our module. If it is a problem for native 
speakers, maybe we could discuss a project-wide change?

Notice that even the idea of a single menu shortcut to the theme 
configuration dialog does not apply to all games: KMahjongg and KShisen 
do not have an unified "Theme", for example. In KMahjongg you can not 
only configure the look of tiles, but also the look of backgrounds, and 
the layout. This is something we can also provide shortcuts for. In this 
case if we added an "Appearance" entry it would probably let people 
change only the Tiles and Background, and we would add a different 
shortcut for selection of the board layout (configure board or something 
like that).

> 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 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 ... :-)

I think it all comes down in the end to personal preference, or even get 
used to a design. We also get tired from something after a couple of 
years, and it looses its "shine". The new one posted by Sean for example 
is shaping up to be very good. If we provide more options then people 
will be happier.

> 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.

As for the changes to Classic, it is better maybe to email the author, 
Robert. There are some problems with shadows as well in it. If he does 
not have time for the changes, then maybe some other artist can jump in.

To make it the default for new installations kind of conflicts with the 
"default" name for the current tileset, and we need one named default 
anyway for fallback. But we can change this in the rc file I think, so 
new installations will get it configured. I would not go back to Classic 
anyway: if needed we could change the default to the new one, which 
seems better and an evolution (and not a step back).

As for more visibility of options, it is something that people need to 
decide as a group.
Take the case of KGoldrunner, and how it exposes themes. Is it better 
than having the themes dialog popping up? I don't know. Maybe you gain 
direct access, but you miss (compared with other games that use 
KGameThemeSelector):

a) preview
b) theme information (author, description)
c) direct KNS integration

Not to mention as the theme list grows bigger the interface might get 
into your way, as the menu would simply expand.So, there are advantages 
in one approach and advantages in the other.
I kind of feel that a more compact interface seems more "modern" and 
more in line with the rest of the project. It might not suit all users 
and usage patterns, of course.
So we could probably add a Themes or Appearance menu, like KGoldrunner
has, but it is not good for all games to list all themes there by name, 
I think. Maybe a single option in the menu, change appearance?
Still, I think each author should decide what is best for his game. But 
a little group brainstorm does not hurt, specially at the beginning of a 
new cycle.

Regards,
Mauricio Piacentini