Cantr Mobile Redesign Project

[Cdls]

Straight to the point, playing Cantr on mobile devices kinda sucks. Sitting in the doctors office today, I think I called my phone a variety of things that a phone should never, ever be called. So, I decided to put together a proof of concept idea for the idea of making Cantr mobile friendly. Should this discussion prove to be constructive, I will post an official suggestion.


Here is a mockup I did of the player page:
http://redesign.wastelandgaming.us/cantr/playerpage.php

Character Page:
http://redesign.wastelandgaming.us/cantr/characterpage.php

I haven't really fixed the layout for larger screens yet, as the focus is on making a better mobile experience, but I will get that sorted out later. Adjust the screen size (ie shrink it), view on mobile devices and so on. What do you think?


Should this prove to be something people are interested in, I can provide additional POC's on the main page, character page and so on.

[hyrle]

I have to admit that even on my phablet (a Galaxy Note 3) and tablet (a Nexus 7) playing Cantr can be frustrating when compared with the experience of playing on the computer. I do like how your mockup adapts to changing widths, dropping some content and formatting it in a more friendly way for a mobile device. Of course, I think the home screen is the easiest of the UIs to make work well on mobile devices... there's going to have to be a lot of thought that goes into how to make the Objects, Inventory, Item Creation screens and everything... so this won't be a small undertaking. I think - at best - ProgD may make the simming part of the game easier with these changes, but the game - at its heart - also has a heavily social component which requires typing words into a text box... and I find that 90% of my Cantr frustration on mobile has to do with autocorrect when typing, which I recognize is something ProgD will never be able to address because it's my phone/tablet's fault.

I voted "Not Sure" simply because I don't know what kind of development time we're talking for a project of this nature. I envision a payoff - I just don't know how large it will be.

[Cdls]

Thanks for the input!

there's going to have to be a lot of thought that goes into how to make the Objects, Inventory, Item Creation screens and everything... so this won't be a small undertaking.

Agreed that it can be a small challenge, but not all that bad. Once I get some more free time, I can create more POC's to show.

I think - at best - ProgD may make the simming part of the game easier with these changes,

That is an interesting thought. While I have nothing against the simming aspect of the game, my intentions are more into accessibility for mobile players. We need to attract more players and if we can make Cantr more 'mobile friendly', we can tap into that demographic. I know back when I first started playing, the whole table based / fixed width layout being used was quite the norm, but now it is dated.

and I find that 90% of my Cantr frustration on mobile has to do with autocorrect when typing, which I recognize is something ProgD will never be able to address because it's my phone/tablet's fault.

I have seen some LOL inducing typos due to autocorrect!

[Swingerzetta]

Hyrle, perhaps you would be happier if you turned your autocorrect off?

That looks like a great start, Cdls. I've been wondering myself how to simplify the game pages. One of the challenges of using a phone or a tablet is all those little buttons, and how they're all so close together. Another is the challenge of zooming in and still being able to see everything.

The first thing I would suggest, though, is to have a button to return to the char select screen that is visible Before the event log, to save on scrolling, but that would only be a small improvement.

It may require a radical redesign to get the game to actually be Easy to play on a mobile device, but I think the main priority should be to make sure the page fits onto a narrower window, which your front page already does nicely.

[TuxedoKitty]

Yes please. My biggest issue (other than the auto correct) is the super small buttons and having to zoom in really close. And even then I sometimes end up pointing at things rather picking them up.

[Snowdrop]

My greatest issue with using Cantr on my phone is the fact my 'up' key stopped working - it really doesn't work well with the bottom to top feed

My other big issue is that I keep getting logged out on the phone, but I'd guess that would be a problem with the browser, right?

[hyrle]

That's true... the buttons are a frustration when playing on mobile.

[kicking jay]

Perhaps all navigation button and the various screens could be arrayed in a bottom panel that scrolls with you... :?

[bnlphan]

I voted not sure. My reasoning being I have seen a couple of games and sites in the past that redesigned their site to be more compatible with cell phones and the things ended up way worse than before. One even so bad I could no longer use it. So I am a bit wary of change. Even now I often find myself looking for the Go to full site link on a lot of pages because Idont like the layout or limited options on mobile sites. A free app with ads to pay for it would be nice so we still had the option to the setup we currently have if we don't like it plus revenue from the ad, but I don't know if that is possible or an option. Just throwing out some thoughts.

[Rebma]

...is the super small buttons and having to zoom in really close. And even then I sometimes end up pointing at things rather picking them up.

Fracking hell, yes. Pointing at shit, trying to find IG excuse for the point. That, and whenever I try to log in, the page has so much crap now that I hit everything but log in. I do love the new frontpage, but for cellphones, the old one was at least a little better because the page didn't have as much content.

I've been a mobile user for pretty much almost the entirety of my cantr-addiction (so, ten yrs? lol) and have always hated it on mobile. The only thing that made it more bearable was when we got the mobile cantrspy going haha.

[SekoETC]

A lot of sites have a separate mobile version. Sure it would look crap if someone using a regular computer had to look at huge text but I'm sure they can be kept separate. Having a m.cantr.net.

[Auryn]

I would only be okay with this if the mobile site was an option, not forced onto every device. I personally have no problems accessing Cantr on my phone (a Droid RAZR), and to me mobile versions tend to be more of a hassle than the desktop version.

[Otherside]

to me mobile versions tend to be more of a hassle than the desktop version.

I have to agree with this. Browsers and phones are evolving so quickly and doing most of the hard work.

It is nice to have the option, but it has to be opt-in and book markable, not opt-out.

Got a Z2 here with all kinds of scaling options (Android 4.4.2), and Cantr currently works pretty well here. Apart from the occasional random pointing, cancelling projects, deleting chat shortcuts for the dead, etc.

[curious]

Not sure.
Last time I played Cantr, I got totally hooked on it, and to the point that that's all I did.
If I could use it easily on my phone..? Nah... I am doing okay protecting amall amounts of time at home.

[*Wiro]

I often use the non-mobile version of sites on my phone. I do think the typing box is small so I try not to type too much on my phone.