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[GameRoom]

Just what I was going to say. I like the idea of seeing how the game is played before you do.

[fraxcell]

I think a sometimes neglected element in menus is sound design. I like having satisfying noises play when I press buttons.

[Quicksand-T]

I like title screens that tell or imply part of the story of the game.

Does anyone else miss those story-sequences that would play in old games if you stayed on the title screen too long?

[fraxcell]

I'm not a big fan of having to learn the story by waiting around on the title screen. Usually I ignore it, and then I'm all like "Who's this guy?" when the game starts.

[Chris Z]

Zelda II has the most resonant title screen for me.  Kinda conveys the desolate and mysterious nature of that game's version of Hyrule.  The image and the title music work really well together too which burned it in my brain even further.

[gunswordfist]

Just what I was going to say. I like the idea of seeing how the game is played before you do.

Cool. Great minds think alike.

Watching Ip Man's DVD menu recently made me think, "Man, it would be cool to have a game menu where you can see gameplay at the top and all the options at the bottom." This makes me wonder why menus where you have to scroll down are so popular. You should be able to pick gameplay modes/options like say uh...how you pick a fighter in a fighter game roster. No scrolling up and down and it would look cooler. Everyone wins.

I like title screens that tell or imply part of the story of the game.

Does anyone else miss those story-sequences that would play in old games if you stayed on the title screen too long?

Part of the appeal of the gameplay menus I've been talking so much about as not having the players be idle at the menu. But I'd be lying if I said I don't fucking love those story screens. 

[GameRoom]

Maybe have the menu scroll through screenshots that the player took.

[TheLastBanana]

That's an interesting idea, actually.  What would fill the screen with when there are no pictures, though?

[GameRoom]

Maybe add some screenshots in the game file yourself. I also like the idea of seeing the last time you played like in Mega Block Man 2.

[DYRE]

Maybe you could have some other type of main menu background (possibly of the 'panning the camera around a scene' variety, or maybe something else) and just show screenshots over that?  I think a background that shows screenshots would make a lot more sense if it was a game like Pokémon Snap or something, however (off topic: we need more games like Pokémon Snap).

[Rob Lach]

I loved the main menu in Driver (and many others), where it's your apartment and different objects represent different options.

[Fun Infused Games]

I'm all for easy, quick, and functional.

The Madden series of video games is a good example of how not to accomplish this. Too many menus with too many sub-menus with too many sub-menus... you get the picture.

I've got a pretty basic set of menus I use for my games and don't try and be too fancy. They work, they look alright, and the user can't get lost in them.

[gunswordfist]

These are all really helpful, thanks.
I'm thinking of, at the bare minimum, having the icons animate when they're selected as well as having some faint scanlines that scroll by.  It's at least more interesting that way.

*steals idea*

[TheLastBanana]

Jeez, I totally forgot about this thread.
In case anybody's interested, this is the title screen I eventually ended up with:
http://forums.tigsource.com/index.php?topic=16216.0
The idea in the game is that you're at a USSR control console of some kind, so I ended up making it look a bit like an operating system. I didn't end up animating the icons, but they do have mouse-over effects. I kept the scanline effects too. I think the menu is fairly navigable and not incredibly ugly (or at least fits the theme), so mission accomplished, I suppose.

[dantheman363]

Ya, keep it as simple as possible.

[Taiko]

I don't know if anybody else has this problem, but it's tough to make an aesthetically pleasing main menu while retaining its functionality.  There's just so much space to fill, I never know what to do with it all.
That said, it would be nice to see some examples of really good main menus for reference.  I suppose this could sort of become a hall of main menu fame or something, just to give some interesting ideas for menu design.
I'll start off:
I generally like menus that you can move your character around in, like in Fancypants Adventure or Spelunky.  It's kind of neat to be able to get a bit of a feel for the game before you've even started, and it's far more interesting than just moving a cursor or hitting buttons.  My one problem with it is that it doesn't always work - some more emotionally involving games need the player to be immersed while actually playing.

A good title screen actually means a lot to me.  It shows the developer took care in polishing their product.

Personally, I like to see either cool animation or interactivity in the title screen.  Derek's Spelunky and Brutal Legend are good examples.

[Feral_P]

You could have a title screen involving a neutered version of gameplay. For example selecting the menu options by moving your character onto the text and activating it. Not neccessarily the best menu screen, but It's something different, at least.

[iffi]

You could have a title screen involving a neutered version of gameplay. For example selecting the menu options by moving your character onto the text and activating it. Not neccessarily the best menu screen, but It's something different, at least.

That reminds me of Spelunky, in which you move your character to a door and enter the door to select the menu option. I really like it when menus like that work out well.

[XRA]

I like title screens that tell or imply part of the story of the game.

Does anyone else miss those story-sequences that would play in old games if you stayed on the title screen too long?

i do, attract modes in general are fun, anyone have tips on how to do them..I'm assuming it is playback of the player's input?

[.]

I think a sometimes neglected element in menus is sound design. I like having satisfying noises play when I press buttons.

For sure. I agree with this 107%. Satisfactory sounds make all the difference.