If you need an on-screen keyboard, then presumably you're entering text? Which is the case I said you need the native UI for. :)
Tim On 6/7/2011 12:16 AM, Miguel Morales wrote: > I disagree, I'd say most GUI elements should use native elements. > The only exception I would say is character dialogs. Although you > could probably skin some native UI elements to look just as nice. > Even for simple things like information messages, game settings, top > scores, equipment, etc I'd prefer either its own activity/screen than > something with tiny buttons and feel cluttered. Or even a dialog with > native controls that behave well with touch, move up automatically > when I activate the on screen keyboard. Just something that feels > like the dev/company took some time to actually make the game for > Android and not just some game that feels like it's running in an > emulator. > > Anyway, I guess it's a matter of taste. Games are so different I'm > probably am thinking of only RPGs which is what I focus on. > > On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 9:34 PM, Tim Mensch <[email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: > > Most games don't need a native UI for common game interfaces, and > frankly when I see a native menu pop up in an otherwise attractive > game, it breaks the consistency of the look and feel. > > The most common exception is if you need to enter text -- a good > text entry field is worth its weight in gold, and for that I can > forgive using the native UI, if only because that's the only way > you'll end up with something halfway decent. This is what happens > when, for example, you click the "Facebook" button in my game -- > it takes you to a Facebook login, and then from there to a native > dialog for you to enter what you'd like to post to your Facebook > page. More complicated UIs (tree views, long menus, etc.) don't > generally belong in games, or at least not the ones I've been writing. > > Tim > > P.S. Hi Brian -- didn't recognize your name before. Small world. :) > > > > On 6/6/2011 3:44 PM, Miguel Morales wrote: >> Well, I try for the best of both worlds. Have the drawing code >> using common code. Then use the android sdk widgets to build a >> native experience and make the other UI elements much faster than >> if I was drawing them myself. (However, this effort is >> multiplied for each platform, but at least it uses the native >> widgets.) >> I think this also stems from years of using ugly java or qt apps >> that don't look native to the OS. >> >> On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 2:37 PM, Brian Conrad >> <[email protected] <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> That's the reality of the marketplace. Publishers don't want >> to spend the extra money to "customize" for each platform. >> And frankly the majority of users won't notice it. The >> smart developer is the one who makes his software easy to >> convert among platforms. >> >> >> On 06/06/2011 02:32 PM, Miguel Morales wrote: >> >> Although I agree that saving time by using the same base >> game code for >> different platforms is a good thing. As a user, I don't >> like it when games >> don't use the native dialogs/ui whenever possible. >> A lot of games use their own baked-in widgets that don't >> function nearly as >> well as the Android SDK ones. >> Furthermore, I don't like it when games don't even >> support rotating the >> phone. >> >> >> >> On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 2:15 PM, Fred >> Howe<[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>> wrote: >> >> LOL! >> >> On Mon, Jun 6, 2011 at 12:17 PM, Brian >> Conrad<[email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>>wrote: >> >> On 06/06/2011 07:31 AM, Tim Mensch wrote: >> >> On 6/6/2011 7:32 AM, Fred Howe wrote: >> >> Hey Aaron - do you know of any good >> android developers who also have >> at least 3 yrs of java? I know of a >> start-up company doing some cool >> gaming projects. Pay is good. Let me know. >> >> It looks like you didn't mean to send this to >> the list, but I can't help >> myself -- why would they be looking at three >> years of Java for an >> Android developer? Most game developers I >> know have years of C/C++ >> experience, and I would be far more confident >> hiring an experienced game >> developer than hiring an experienced Java >> developer. >> >> Frankly, making the C/C++ to Java transition >> is pretty easy -- a few >> weeks at most to get to 95%. But making the >> transition from non-game >> programmer to game programmer can take months >> or years. And some >> programmers never really figure out game >> development (I've encountered >> several in that category with years of >> experience). >> >> Tim >> >> Back during the 1990s it was hard to find people >> who could do game >> programming or more particularly deal with hard >> deadlines that execs cook up >> to tell the analysts. DOD programmers were >> particularly difficult to get >> make something come in on schedule. Tim did some >> good contract work for my >> company too. I tend to agree that Java is fairly >> easy for a experienced >> C/C++ programmer. I am often moving code back >> and forth between those two >> languages and often it is just changing the >> function call or how a pointer >> works. Inside the function it may be the exact >> same code. >> >> We also hired some young programmers who weren't >> happy because we didn't >> immediately let the become a game designer. So >> we started a little program >> where anyone in the company could submit a game >> proposal. What people >> learned from that was they weren't game >> designers. :-D >> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are >> subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Android Discuss" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:android-discuss%[email protected]>. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en. >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed >> to the Google Groups >> "Android Discuss" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:android-discuss%[email protected]>. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the >> Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:android-discuss%[email protected]>. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en. >> >> >> >> >> -- >> ~ Jeremiah:9:23-24 >> Android 2D MMORPG: >> http://solrpg.com/, http://www.youtube.com/user/revoltingx >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the >> Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. >> To post to this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> [email protected] >> <mailto:[email protected]>. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Android Discuss" group. > To post to this group, send email to > [email protected] > <mailto:[email protected]>. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > <mailto:android-discuss%[email protected]>. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en. > > > > > -- > ~ Jeremiah:9:23-24 > Android 2D MMORPG: > http://solrpg.com/, http://www.youtube.com/user/revoltingx > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "Android Discuss" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/android-discuss?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Android Discuss" group. 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