Smash Bros: It’s Time to Have a Talk
December 14th, 2007
Imagine you just popped in Smash Bros. Brawl, and then you press start at the title screen. Well, here’s the main menu you would see next:
How do you feel about this?
As a Graphic Designer, I’ve thought pretty hard about the alignment, the colors, the symbols, the fonts, the white space, and the consistency: and I end up wondering things like this:
• Why is there an X for Group? Is that supposed to mean multiplication?
• Why does the Wi-Fi button look nothing like the other buttons?
• Does this menu really say “Smash Bros?”
• Why do the borders have an uneven and inconsistent thickness?
On the other hand, It also works quite well, and I also end up thinking:
• The buttons must be gigantic so that selection is easy with the Wii Remote.
• The Wi-Fi button looks pretty similar to the logo used on game cases.
• The size of the individual button is determined by its importance.
• Perhaps it will all make a lot more sense once everything’s unlocked..?
• Smash Bros. Menus generally reflect the style of the console it’s on.
Perhaps I simply need to get used to it. Plus in the long run, is it really going to change what we think of the game itself?
.
