[THEME] Sidebar 1920x1080 (Released)

[RedDog]

This is my first theme for GameEx (or for anything else for that matter). When I first started making the theme, I did not expect it to be anything special, but at some point I really thought it started looking pretty good. After all the positive feedback and great suggestions from everyone who took the time to take a look at my work, I am ready to release it.

The idea of the Sidebar theme is to give the GameEx user the feeling of looking at the box or jewel case that games might come in. It is fairly simple and minimalistic, but when combined with title/snap shots or videos, it looks nice. Hopefully someone else out there there in GameEx-land will enjoy it as well.

Most assets have been altered or changed including:

- 45+ Backgrounds (including optional alternate backgrounds)

- 90+ Logos to match the backgrounds or game consoles

- Update and Loading screen assets

- Sound assets

Here are some snaps of the theme in action:

RELEASE: http://www.gameex.info/forums/files/file/529-sidebar-1920x1080/

...and a big thanks to everyone who took part in this thread over the last few weeks.

 

=== 7-20-2016 ===
- Added Wii logo and background

[stigzler]

Wow - I wouldn't call that amateurish - they look fab! Great design and great layout. Definitely add this to the repository once finished!

My one reservation would be the GameEx logo on the top right. Now, I realise I may be being a little controversial on this one, but one of the reasons I went for GameEx in the first place was to customise and make it totally yours (ish!). I happily credit GameEx on my system, but am a bit averse to branding on every page. Is it easily removable (i.e. a theme layout component) or is it included on the overall page graphic (i.e. incorporated at gimp/AI stage?)

Great work - genuinely love your theme.

[Draco1962]

Hey RedDog, this looks very good! If this is your first attempt at a theme then color me impressed!

To cover every system ever made and emulated will be a tremendous undertaking, and you will find yourself deluged with requests for X system/emulator that you didn't get to or think of. Perhaps creating for what systems you are emulating and the more common ones for each of the categories (consoles, handhelds, Pinball, Slots, etc.) I don't know what graphics editor you are using, but if you can create a template in .psd (Photoshop) or .xcf (GIMP) formats to upload with the theme for others to create their own, you should be golden.

I see no problem with the GameEx branded page for the Start page, but you may want to consider providing an start_bak-alt.png page that those who prefer no branding can rename and use in its place.

Congrats on your first theme!

[stigzler]

First page cap doff is a good idea.

Draco has a point about number of systems. The number in the GameEx database below. You'd have a job on. Best to publish a gimp/PShop template and let others make those obscure ones...

Acetronic MPU 1000
Acorn Archimedes
Acorn Atom
Acorn BBC Micro
Acorn Electron
Adobe Flash
American Laser Games
Amstrad CPC
Amstrad GX4000
Amstrad Mega PC
Apple 2GS
Apple II
Apple IIGS
Apple Macintosh
Apple Pippin
Apple Powerbook 520
Atari 1040ST
Atari 1200XL
Atari 130XE
Atari 2600
Atari 400
Atari 5200
Atari 520ST
Atari 65XE
Atari 7800
Atari 8-bit
Atari 8-bit Demos
Atari 800
Atari 800XL
Atari Jaguar
Atari Jaguar CD
Atari Lynx
Atari Lynx II
Atari Pong
Atari ST
Bally Astrocade
Bandai Playdia
Bandai WonderSwan
Bandai WonderSwan Color
Bandai WonderSwan Crystal
Big Fish Games
Camputers Lynx
Casio Loopy
Casio PV-1000
Casio PV-2000
Coleco Vision
Commodore 128
Commodore 16
Commodore 64
Commodore 64 Demos
Commodore Amiga
Commodore Amiga 1000
Commodore Amiga A1200HD
Commodore Amiga CD32
Commodore Amiga CDTV
Commodore Amiga Demos
Commodore CDTV
Commodore MAX
Commodore PET
Commodore PET_CBM
Commodore Plus 4
Commodore Plus_4-C16
Commodore VIC-20
CPS-3
Creatronic Mega Duck
Dragon 32-64
Emerson Arcadia 2001
Enterprise
Entex Adventure Vision
Epoch Super Cassette Vision
Fairchild Channel F
Fairchild Channel F System II
FM Towns Marty
Frets on Fire
Fujitsu FM Towns
Funtech Super A'can
Future Pinball
GamePark GP32
Games for Windows
GCE Vectrex
Genesis Microchip Nuon
GoG
Hartung Game Master
IBM PC
Interton VC 4000
Jupiter Ace
Laserdisc
Magnavox Odyssey
Magnavox Odyssey 2
Magnavox Odyssey 400
Magnavox Odyssey 500
Mame
Mattel Aquarius
Mattel HyperScan
Mattel Intellivision
Mattel Intellivision II
Memotech MTX
MGT Sam Coupe
Microsoft DOS
Microsoft MSX
Microsoft MSX 2
Microsoft Windows
Microsoft Xbox
Microsoft Xbox 360
MSX 2+
MUGEN
NEC PC-98
NEC PC-FX
NEC PC Engine
NEC PC Engine CD
NEC SuperGrafx
NEC TurboDuo (JP)
NEC TurboDuo (NA)
NEC TurboGrafx-16
NEC TurboGrafx CD
Nintendo Arcade System
Nintendo DS
Nintendo DS Lite
Nintendo Entertainment System
Nintendo Famicom
Nintendo Famicom Disk System
Nintendo Game Boy
Nintendo Game Boy Advance
Nintendo Game Boy Advance SP
Nintendo Game Boy Color
Nintendo GameCube
Nintendo N64
Nintendo NES
Nintendo Pokemon Mini
Nintendo Satellaview
Nintendo SNES
Nintendo Super Gameboy
Nintendo Virtual Boy
Nintendo Wii
Nokia N-Gage
Nuon
OpenBOR
Panasonic 3DO
Philips CD-i
Philips Odyssey
Philips Odyssey 2
Philips VG 5000
PopCap
RCA Chip-8
RCA Studio II
Sammy Atomiswave
ScummVM
Sega 32X
Sega CD
Sega Chihiro
Sega Computer 3000
Sega Dreamcast
Sega Game Gear
Sega Genesis
Sega Genesis 32X
Sega Genesis CDX
Sega Genesis Model 3
Sega Master System
Sega Mega Drive
Sega Model 2
Sega Model 3
Sega Naomi
Sega PICO
Sega Saturn
Sega SC-3000
Sega SG-1000
Sega SG-1000 II
Sega ST-V
Sega System 1
Sharp MZ-700
Sharp MZ-800
Sharp MZ80K
Sharp X1
Sharp X68000
Sinclair ZX Spectrum
Sinclair ZX80
Sinclair ZX81
SNK Neo-Geo
SNK Neo-Geo AES
SNK Neo-Geo CD
SNK Neo-Geo MVS
SNK Neo-Geo Pocket
SNK Neo-Geo Pocket Color
Sony PlayStation
Sony PlayStation 2
Sony PlayStation 3
Sony Pocketstation
Sony PSP
Sony PSP GO
Sord M5
Steam
Stepmania
Taito Type X
Taito Type X2
Tandy TRS-80
Tandy TRS-80 CoCo
Tangerine Oric
Tangerine Oric-1
Tangerine Oric Atmos
Tatung Einstein
Texas Instruments TI-99_4A
Thompson MO5
Tiger Game.com
Tiger Gizmondo
Triforce
Visual Pinball
Visual PinMAME
VTech CreatiVision
VTech Laser 2000
VTech V
Watara Supervision
Windows Frotz
WoW Action Max
xx-Dummy-xx
Z-Code Interactive Fiction

[tthurman]

I think they both look really cool, but after flipping back and forth several times, I think I like the simplicity of the first version. It has a crisp and clean look, and retians the visual appeal wihtout being to fancy. I don't think the added border looks bad on the second version at all, but it seems that it could become overly busy in a crowded screen full of them. my 0.2

Could just twist it around, Art-Box

Krakerman has ventured down the road of all the systems with his GameRoom theme, so I'd say go for it. You could always limit it to the big dogs as well.

I think this would make for a really cool theme!

[Draco1962]

I like both concepts. The first as tthurman noted for its simplicity and crispness. I'm more inclined toward the second with the tiled appearance as I take a second look as it is something I could see doing for myself.

The first example would more easily lend itself to providing a basic template for end-user creativity IMO. The more adventurous and skilled should be able to handle creating a tiled frame, however.

[RedDog]

@stigzler: Thanks for the praise. For the GameEx branding, I can see what you mean; after some thought, I may try to make the home page GameEx and remove the logo elsewhere (I do want to give prop to GameEx somewhere). I do intend to include templates so that anyone interested can make their own changes/additions too.

@Draco: Thank you as well. Yeah, when I said systems from x-date to x-date, I really meant the most common ones. I certainly could not see doing ALL OF THEM. UG! But, the theme is simple enough that someone could do some on their own too.

@tthurman: Thank you. It's funny that I didn't think of Art-Box as a name. I may go with that. I also came up with Art of the Game which I kind of like, but does not quite hit the mark. I will have to brainstorm a bit more though.


And to everyone else who gave a like, Thanks to you as well.

I will post updates when I have them.

[Maikerbushi]

Good work, would like to see it in action.

[starbuck]

Looks good - ready to try it out

[stigzler]

I dunno why, but the look of your theme makes me think "Cart" as in Cartridge

Cart-Art

Emu-Cart

Carty-Arty-Flarty-Blarty....(OK - forget this one...!)

Think my neurons are disconnecting with age.

[RedDog]

Update:

I've added an entry in the FIRST post along with some NEW screenshots of some of the new backgrounds.

A lot of the work is done, but there is more to do. By the time it is finished, I estimate that there will be around 45 backgrounds. It does seam like a lot, but for the most part, I am enjoying the work. I also decided to spend some time cleaning up or creating logos that will go with with the backgrounds, so this has added to the project. They won't be anything super fancy, but they will be pretty clean.

I have removed the GameEx logo from all of the backgrounds except for the Main Menu and Update screens. However, as a sort of ode to GameEx, I used the GameEx font in many of the non-game backgrounds (Main Menu, Themes, Statistics, Search, and Favorites to name a few).

Maikerbushi asked about seeing the theme it in action. I did try to take a desktop video of GameEx with two different capture programs, but they either crashed or created a corrupt video file. I really didn't want to take the time to troubleshoot it as I do not have much experience with video capture and editing...so snaps will have to be enough for now.

Also, while I REALLY do like the name 'Carty-Arty-Flarty-Blarty' as a theme name, I decided to go with a very simple name: Sidebar

Enjoy the pics...and any feedback is appreciated.

[stigzler]

Also, while I REALLY do like the name 'Carty-Arty-Flarty-Blarty' as a theme name, I decided to go with a very simple name: Sidebar

Your loss, dude.....I guess Sidebar will do for now.. all looking good.

[Draco1962]

This is really coming together nice, RedDog! I look forward to giving it a whirl!

[tthurman]

I really like where this one is going! Classic lines and styling, not to subtle, but far from overbearing!

[RedDog]

I have uploaded the Sidebar theme as a test release. The link is at the bottom of the first post above.

If anyone would like to take it for a tour or look it over, I would appreciate any feedback/suggestions you may have. Once it is 'good to go', I will arrange for it to be placed in the repository as an official release.

Side Note: There is a thread in this sub-form regarding uploading themes. I assume that for larger projects, the best way to get them placed in the repository is still to message Tom with a link to the file...is this correct?

[Draco1962]

Hi RD - Very nice! Only a few trivial bits. First is with the Video background and probably just a personal thing. I would nix the NEtflix text as it may be misleading to someone using the theme that Netflix is accessible which the support was actually dropped when they withdrew their API last year.

The other was the EmuBak which displays with Steam logos regardless of the emulated or integrated support. I would go generic with that image. I must say I am impressed and see myself using this!

I would upload your theme here when you are ready to release it, and send Tom an email to review for placing in the repository. I can't see any reason why he wouldn't want to include this gem!

[Adultery]

I would think that any of us upper staff can approve that upload/move to the repo, no?

Thanks for the contribution! I'll load it up on my dev machine and give it a whirl for sure! Much appreciated!

[Draco1962]

I would think that any of us upper staff can approve that upload/move to the repo, no?

Probably so. Just want to confirm with the "Big Guy" before taking that action since the Repository is a new thing.

[RedDog]

Hi RD - Very nice! Only a few trivial bits. First is with the Video background and probably just a personal thing. I would nix the NEtflix text as it may be misleading to someone using the theme that Netflix is accessible which the support was actually dropped when they withdrew their API last year.

The other was the EmuBak which displays with Steam logos regardless of the emulated or integrated support. I would go generic with that image. I must say I am impressed and see myself using this!

I would upload your theme here when you are ready to release it, and send Tom an email to review for placing in the repository. I can't see any reason why he wouldn't want to include this gem!

Thanks for the info. I was wondering about Netflix. I had never tried to set it up in GameEx until I did the theme, so I just assumed I was missing 'something'. I will exclude Netflix then.

Regarding the emubak, I did know that it is used for several purposes. I had included several emubaks (steam, GameEx Arcade, Highest Rated) so you select the one you wanted to use (I only use it for steam myself). I think what I will do is add a generic emubak as a default and then include the specialized types as alternates. Of course, the basic gimp templates are also there just in case.

[RedDog]

I do appreciate the praise, but let's wait on asking Tom to upload until a few eyes have seen it.

Even in these few posts, there are a few things to change.

Another side note: The one thing I could not test was the GameEx upgrade update screens. Is there an archive where i can download a previous version of GameEx or is there a way I can trick GameEx into updating?

[RedDog]

I made some adjustments based on feedback:

- Removed Netflix from VideoBak title

- Added a generic EmuBak and made it the default for the theme. Other options are available in the Alternate Assets folder.

- Adjusted the background color for some of the more generic backgrounds to be the same (AllGamesBak, EmuBak, LastPlayedBak, MostPlayedBak, StartBak)

A version 2 file has been uploaded (check the bottom of the first post).

Thanks again.

[stigzler]

Just took her for a spin. Spot on. Great contribution.

[RedDog]

I needed to make a few adjustments for the GameEx Update assets:

- Updated AutoUpdate1.png and UpdateAni1.gif

- Also made minor changes to PicturesBak.png.

A version 3 file has been uploaded (check the bottom of the first post).

Thanks again.

[RedDog]

Update (11-24-2015) TEST RELEASE v4

A few more updates. I am hoping that these may be the last of them:

- Corrected ControlPanel.png layout for 1920 width
- Updated ErrorDialog.png for proper sizing
- Updated PleaseWait.png
- Added Blank.png to LOGOS

- Resized scroller
- Added sample Scroller files to Alternate Assets
- Moved ListNum under List

A version 4 file has been uploaded (check the bottom of the first post).

I will give this a week and if nothing else comes up, I will probably throw it up on the repository.

Thanks.

[tthurman]

I gave this a go myself this past Sunday. Since I have such a limited setup with just MAME, it makes it difficult for me to fully appreciate. It looks great though, and I encountered no problems. I don't know how feasible this is, but a larger snaps screen would be nice. <edit> larger in general, across all themes, not just yours.

Edited November 26, 2015 by tthurman