EmuGen Designs

[xaint]

Here some of my contending EmuGen designs:
Idea 1. Make a PS2, GameCube, and X-Box skin and allow template system
Idea 2. Make some other designs

Idea 2 is not in progress yet
Here are some from Idea 1 so far:

[Martin]

Hum...forgive me but what's EmuGen? :)

[Trotterwatch]

A new emulation site perhaps?

As for the design, I like the X-Box one, but detest the Gamecube one (change it to blue ;)). I'm no web designer though, so everyone else will probably disagree with me.

[Hexidecimal]

NO, youre right, that orange is HIDEOUS

[pandamoan]

i like both of them. i like the orange on several levels, one being it's uniqueness. i'm not a GC fanboy either, i think the xbox is a superior console, but i'm dead sick of all the black and green websites around atm.

the orange one is bold, has balls, and is unique. i also like the console spread across as a banner.

cool.

of course the gamecubes *i* have seen where dark greay and white, but that doesn't matter much.

[xaint]

Ok... i will change tho color fo the gamecube design. Is there any other color that would look good?

[xaint]

Final version... I think i might change the links (at the top) font to something else :p

[xaint]

What do you guys think...?

[Steveman610]

How do you do that!? I think that design(that one ^) is really nice but i want to know how you do that. I want to make websites like that but i have no idea how. Can you tell me how!?

[xaint]

Simple: You get a copy of Adobe Photoshop and play around with it, and read tutorials on various sites. Simple as that.

[Eagle]

Simple: You get a copy of Adobe Photoshop and play around with it, and read tutorials on various sites. Simple as that.

Haha I think he thinks its a real site already. Steve, you can find a lot of tutorials on HTML, Javascript, PHP, Perl, etc. Its not hard once you know what your doing. It is however hard to just tell you how to do it here. One good resource is my old web design class website.

http://www.swt.edu/cs/course/2378i/sawey/

just go over the major topics. Its not hard to learn if you have a programming background, may be a little more difficult for the PHP and Perl if you dont. And then of course there is Microsoft .net which is a whole other story.

[Eagle]

Oh and as for the design (from a human factors standpoint).

1. Symmetry. Symmetry is a poor design choice in a website. Studies in human factors show that the human mind loses interest if everything is centered and symetrical. A good example is Yahoo. Visit the web page and notice how the "frames" (though not necessarily HTML frames) of information on the main page are not the same size. The column on the left is wider than the column on the right and none of the horizontal rows of information match up. That is to say the top of a section on the left doesnt occur at the same time as the top of a section at the right and the same goes for the bottom of the sections. This isnt mere coincience, they do it on purpose. And it isnt just websites, go get a copy of your local newspaper or favorite magazine.

2. Color scheme. Bright colors disuade a user from remaining on a website for very long, if the colors hurt the user's eyes, he will subconsiously want to leave as soon as he can. Ever wonder why Windows chose Grey or Blue? It wasnt just a shot in the dark, they knew if they made it bright red, people wouldnt want to look at it.

3. Visual Guides. User's want visual aids. If you are going to have buttons like on the top of your page, the users will want to know where they are. The easiest way is when on the home page, highlight the home button. when on the download page, highlight the download button or just make it a different color. From your screenshot (if I didnt know any better) I wouldnt be able to tell where I am. I could be on any of the five pages listed here.

If I think of any more human factors design clues I will let you know.

[RatTrap]

lol.. i didn't like the orange one.. don't think it'll work better with an easier color.. it's not as much the color as it is the picture you used of the GC to make the design.. grab a better pic of it.. more detaild.. and it'll probably do a lot better.. orange is a great website color if toned right.. you can make pages look like candy :D..

symmetry is a funny thing.. well the problem with it and websites.. is that if you are making a page for just yourself.. and thinking that you are as boring as i am.. you won't have THAT much content in it.. so you can skipp the problems of download time because your pages will probably not be that big.. so you don't have to have symmetry and you can spend some space on swiffy swirls or whatever.. but if you have a bigger website.. you kind of need symmetry but i don't mean for your eyes.. but to keep visitors happy.. it's better to load segment by segment.. coz if your page has loads of content wich then will make it very long.. you can load one <table> at a time.. and so you can make it look like the page is fast to load.. because the part of the content that the user sees first (the top) will be loaded faster.. since popular browsers wait untill they have the whole html of a <table> straightend out b4 they actually show it..

unless your an idiot or have other reasons like an overdesigned website (emulation64.com).. then you will probably have to put the whole website in one big table :p..

so about "human factors".. don't restrict yourself.. i made a website just a month or so ago that uses 24000x30000.. so you have to scroll to the sides and up and down.. ppl love it coz i made it simple using a special type of navigation.. so as long as you make an easy way to navigate.. i say go for it :).. one good rule though.. is to make sure that your visitors are at maximum 3-4 clicks away from good content.. or what their looking for..

bright reds on a website or not.. that can look good too if you just know what your doing with the rest of the website.. believe me.. everything is possible.. just look at zombo.com :p..