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[Yannic]

Heyo!

We all know them, "press start to continue" screens at the start of almost every console game ever. These days mostly used for quickly getting information on what controller our current player is using, among others.

http://gamedev.stackexchange.com/questions/14182/what-is-the-purpose-of-a-press-start-screen

Here's one from NFS Pro Street:

And Mario 64:

I've not meddled much in console games personally, PS2 when I was a kid and Wii a short bit later, but these simple start screens are fascinating to me. They set a mood from the get go, and act as gatekeepers between our world and the world we're about to immerse ourselves in. They're one final check before we go down the rabbit hole.

Anyway, forum game: Post your favorite "press start" screen! And perhaps even think about it, and explain why!

I'd love to see what you guys come up with!

[oahda]

Journey!





Gets right to it. Shows the main landmark of the game, in-game, with minimal UI for settings. Then just starts with a very short cutscene that shows the logo and eases right into the gameplay without cutting. And then at the end of the game, the credits animation ends up right back where the game started.

The only thing I'd improve would be to move the camera into to the cutscene without a cut instead of just transitioning into a completely new cut, which makes it slightly less cool then it could've been. That's how I'm imagining the start of a game I'm working on.

[absolute8]

I couldn't find an animated version, but it's really cool to watch these guys duke it out in real-time at the start screen of Riki Kunio:

[andyfromiowa]

Technically, this isn't Pony Island's actual start menu, but the game begins with this "start menu" that doesn't work properly and has bizarre, demonic error sounds.  It's an easy problem to solve, but it establishes the tone for the entire game that follows and really stood out to me.

[JWK5]

Dragon Age Inquisition has an interesting start screen where the mages are marching on one side of the screen and the Templars are marching on the other side and when you hit start a blast of green energy (from the rift) sends them all flying off the screen. What I like about the intro is that even if you really knew nothing about what the game was about the intro clues you in on the major conflicts and plot points that will be illuminated as the game progresses.

[michaelplzno]

I always liked this one, though OoT is probably overrated: