I mentioned it before, but I think the word "Game" is not really applicable to the Kinetic Novels like ours. They don't contain even the trace amount of "gameplay" in form of choices regular VNs have.
Therefore I propose changing the Main / Navigation menu to reflect it and enhance the novel-reading feel.
Main menu can be:
- "Start Reading" #Starts from the very beginning
- "Newest Volume" #Starts from the beginning of most recent release
- "Bookmarks" / "Load Bookmark" #Second variant is compromise to not let go of venerated "Load" convention
- "Chapters" / "Table of Contents"
- "Preferences"
- "Help"
- "Quit"
Navigation menu can be:
- "Return"
- "Preferences"
- "Place Bookmark" / "Save Bookmark" #Second variant is compromise to not let go of venerated "Save" convention
- "Main Menu"
- "Help"
- "Quit"
It could look like this (http://s019.radikal.ru/i644/1205/58/b27c5b510c71.png), for example.
So, thoughts, ideas?
ЗЫ. And while we are at it, lets call our releases Volumes instead of Episodes. Sounds a bit more accurate to me.
Eh, I have to disagree. There's a pretty strong precedent for the current, standard menu in Visual Novels, even in Kinetic ones. Trying to go against that and treat it as something else... to me (Imagining myself as an impartial reader), it would come off as a bit pretentious.
Yeah, VN convention seems to be to call it a 'game', even though that's not a particularly accurate descriptor. I personally would stay with that.
Burn the Heretic!...
Er, I mean, I agree with alethiophile.
Right, traditions are pretty strong for that.
Still, I rather like Main Menu position. Pushing it (but not the text changes, of course).
Also, I still stand for releases being called Volumes rather Episodes. Reason? For me Episodes are associated with TV episode format, which is more analogous to Chapter here. And, you know, the "novel" part in the medium's name.
Like the new position. Also fine with calling them volumes; that does seem to fit better. I was basically going with 'episodes' in imitation of Umineko, which means it must be infectious indeed since I've never played that.
^ Pretty much the same here. I just went with Episodes 'cause of Umineko, but volume is fine too. (Although I'll probably still refer it to Episode in my head. =P)