Workflow of menus

Start and Main Menu

As soon as the player enters the game, it sees the NEO-GEO logo screen and the model of the console in which the game is running. The screen works as a video with transition effects showing the elements (logo and console model) in order.

Title screen video

Just as any other NEO-GEO & SNK game, after this first introduction, the Windjammers main menu shows up the same way the intro does, as a video with transition effects. The screen contains a lambent insert coin feature (showing how much credits the player has) along with the title of the videogame: FLYING DISC GAME - Windjammers. Also, the game having two versions of itself (WEST or EAST) it also appears in which version the player is, the current level the player is in and a copyright text.

If the player waits long enough (roughly just a few seconds) without inputting any credits, a gameplay video will start showing how the game is from a player's perspective. This is a brilliant feature to give an idea of what the game is about and how it is played.

Tutorial video

After that first menu showcase and gameplay video, if the game detects enough credits to play, the player is able to press the main button and the tutorial screen shows up where the main controls are as soon as it is pressed.

In-Game Screens

Right after the tutorial, the game let’s the player start 2 different game modes (the two player one locks itself if the game does not detect two or more credits to play with a second person): P1 vs COMP. or P1 vs P2. After game mode selection, a character selection menu appears in which the player or players have to choose one of the 6 characters available (Beeho Yoo*, Steve Miller**, Gary Scott, Hiromi Mita, Jordi Costa, Klauss Wessel and Loris Biaggi). Once each player has chosen a character, a stage/court selection menu shows up letting any player choose up to 6: Beach, Lawn, Tiled, Concrete, Clay and Stadium (in the singleplayer version the CPU chooses a stage/court and a character to play against in order to make a “level”, there are as many levels as the number of characters).

*replaces Steve Miller in European release **replaces Beeho Yoo in Japanese/North American release

Once the player or players have been through the selection process, the game starts. If a set is won, but it is the first set played, this screen appears, showing the score both contestants have:

In contrast, if the player lose the set, this screen emerges:

After the first set, obviously, the final set is played and whoever wins this last one the screen shows which of the two players have won the game, including a photo of each player’s characters, the winner and the loser.

Whenever a game has finished, each player is redirected to the previous “select a game mode” menu.

Heads Up Display Analysis

• Green: Player 1 and 2 identifier, alongside with it’s player’s character’s nationality.
• Blue: Regressive timer, it starts from 30 seconds to 0. Each set has a 30 seconds timer.
• Black: Each player score, stored as a x100 multiplayer (for instance, if a player scores a 3 score goal, it’s own score counts 300 points instead of 3).
• Red: Amounts of credits left for every player, each one has a counter.
• Purple: A continue or rematch button that appears if a player has lost a game. It also has a regressive timer of 10 seconds (the game only shows it from 9 seconds on).

Spritesheet of all the UI elements

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