Iterated Sketches.

I drew two versions of each of these ideas. One for when the player dies before finishing the level and one for when the player finishes the level successfully. Each of these designs can be tweaked so that they are universal for both outcomes.

Also I included a list/chart with ideas how to give the player the Stat information, I would appreciate input as to which of these would be preffered by the team. If you are confused by what I mean and example would be:

Do I use a (x) symbol after the word Lives or a (:)?

Should The word "Item" be used in the screen or should just an image of the collectable item be shown with a number next to it?

Note that this can also be duplicated with the lives information. A picture of Zaliens head or shadow of his full body with a number of lives next to the image.





In this set I decided to try using the same method as many other side scrolling games of the SNES era, such as megaman, and show a solid colored background with the information on the screen for the player to read and an image or symbol decorating some of the space, in this sketch the image on the bottom right hand corner. If the player dies before completing the level it shows the still broken crashed ship with a white flag of surrender staked outside. If the player successfully completes the level it an image of a triumphant Zalien, again giving the thumbs up, is shown.



In this set I iterated on the idea of showing the level as a background image but instead of it being seen from the outside of the ship it is seen from the inside through the same console that the player saw in the main menu. If the player dies it shows the information on a broken version of the console with the wildlife creeping into the ship. If the player successfully passes the level Zalien is outside the ship giving the thumbs up to those "inside" the ship, i.e. the player/alien scouts still inside the ship.



In this version I iterated on the idea of a crashed ship being part of the imagery. The background is an image of the environment for whatever level the player was on such as Deep forest, caves, plains, desert, etc.... but the information is presented to the player from a console connected to, or accessed from, the outside of the ship, generally utilized for repairs in case of damage to the vessel. If the player is dies the image flashed is of the ship still damaged and in need of repairs. If the player passes the level The ship is slightly or fully repaired, the "sparkles" do not have to be a part of the final design they where put there to help illustrate the idea to the team that the ship is in better condition. One interesting, but complicated, idea I had was that for every level if the player passes it shows the ships repair in various stages. For example, if the tutorial level is passed the ship would only have the glass components fixed, in the second level, another part is repaired and so on until in the final level the screen is that of the aliens taking off.



I have tried to keep the emphasis in the in-game screens that of the information itself and the reason why the player is collecting these items in the first place. At the moment the collectable items are only being used to "reward" the player for taking certain actions in the level and do not actually do anything or have any sort of effect on the player. The repeated attempts to include the environment from the levels in the interface are to prevent the sort of disconnection from the gameplay a purely technological based interface might cause.