Creative ways to 'select an object' with highlight

Hello I'm working on a game and am stuck with an idea of how to make selecting an object a bit different. Games just use mouse-over for the object(I'm using raycast to check for it) and they usually pull up a name and when you click on it, you get info. Some show a little panel with buttons for information, etc. But are there other ways? Here's a screenshot of how Life is Strange does it.

 

I'm not sure I understand your goal here. Mouse-over and click is common because it's a sensible UI that people already understand. I wouldn't change something like that just to be different; pay the cost of training users in some different UI only if some great benefit makes it worthwhile.

 

Well, I want to use the mouse-over still, but have the info shown differently than just a point and click and rather some more examples people know of in other games.

 

Like @JoeStrout, I'm not sure what you're after. If you're looking for something other than the industry standard, then it might help if you tell us more about what you're trying to accomplish. Or provide a picture, even hand-drawn.

Gigi

 

To provide more info, look at the image I showed in the first post. It isn't just 'point and click'. You point and drag the little mouse icon to the behavior that you want to happen, picking any option you want.

 

That mechanic serves its purpose in Life Is Strange. Adventure games are all about creatively manipulating objects in the environment.

In your game, what's the purpose of highlighting and using an object? Are there multiple ways to use an object or just one? What's the environmental context? What do you want to convey to the player about their connection to these objects? Like the others are saying, fit the mechanic to the game's needs, not the other way around.

As an example, say you're making a game about a widower searching through his house for something secret that his recently-deceased wife had hidden. This might be a very emotionally-laden experience. As the player mouses over each object, the character could play a hint interaction, such as wistfully touching a picture of his dead wife, or angrily looking at his briefcase to convey that he's upset about spending too much time at work. In the context of this game idea, these elaborate mouse-over interactions help set a mood, but in a different game they would be ridiculous overkill.

In contrast, say your game is a high-energy, fast-paced collection game. When you mouse over an object, it could bounce around and spray particles, like it's excited to be chosen and is waiting for you to click it. This provides a nice visual reward for the player.

 

Will the player have multiple actions to choose from when they hover over an item? How many options will the player have to choose from? How much time will they have? Will the GUI appear when the mouse is over it or will they need to click it to activate the choice list?

Clicking to activate & then holding the button while you drag the cursor to the option is slower to do than hovering to activate the choices & then just pressing the relevant button to choose the action but this also limits you to having a maximum number of choices <= the number of buttons available on your controller.

What is the best starting place will depend on these & other factors.

 

The player will have multiple choices, usually just two, sometimes they may not have a choice(irrelevant here). For persons, they'll have 3-4 choices.

 

Is timing an issue? I.e. Will they need to make quick decisions or will they have time to think through all the possibilities?

 

They'll take their time throughout. So far all I have is the object rescaling (up/down) and a little textmesh showing the 'name' of it.

 

Are you thinking more about "juice" -- that is, visual flourishes that make the interface look more lively? Or more substantial factors such as ideas about what the interface actually does?

 

I'm thinking of mostly visual ques.

 

There was a good discussion about this very thing a few months ago. It was about showing that items can be picked up, but the same ideas work for any kind of interaction.