Actually I think that representing all game data on one screen is an ideal to work towards, rather than away from. The issue is displaying all that stuff effectively and in an aesthetically pleasing manner.
Not really imho. Some data is not always necessary in the first place. And often more data = more confusion at the start. Gettin' deeper and deeper into casual games (my day job), I start to really appreciate simplicity. And not only in match-3 clones.
Take Final Fantasy X for example - the game is very complicated, yet it only displays HP, MP and action buttons during a battle (and nothing during exploration). Damage formulas are pretty complex and many stats affect them, but when you choose a spell you only get its name and mana cost. And it's fine - you know that Firaga deals more damage than Fire because you got it on a higher level and all you need to know about Haste is that it makes you faster. How much? For how long? That's really not necessary at this point - after all there's no other hastening spell to compare, so there's no need to know the exact numbers. I'd like to pursue the same ideal with MAGI. The spells are unique enough to make exact data and numbers unnecessary.
each spell could have an animated sparkle that differs in speed dependent on the casting time.
When you cast a spell, a progress bar appears on its icon, showing your casting speed. I guess it's enough.
The indicators that represent your level in each colour could do with being placed beside the actual buttons to power up those colours.
...or dropped altogether, as the spell icons already show them. I know, but what about enemy channels
? That's my main problem here :/.
I think one of the ways you can really free up the interface is to hide the stats display and only pop it up when the player mouses over the avatar or you are hit by a stat debuff. That would free up a fair amount of real estate.
I agree. Such ideas are very good and I'm gonna experiment with features like this. If I'll be able to implement them easily (and they will look good enough), I'll definately do so.
I understand that you just want to update it and some of these changes would mean a considerable amount of re-written code so I'm just making suggestions.
That's fine. Your suggestions are good and interesting to read, so I'm very happy with them. Thanks. Besides, what couldn't fit in MAGI may be of use in the sequel
.
Thanks again for the feedback. I'll experiment with some of your ideas during this weekend.