Moveable Menus in Adobe

One of the features of my concept is the ability to customise the in-game HUD. Although this ability has been showcased in a few games, it is not a mainstream feature that is implemented as industry standard. I believe that this needs to change.

The Adobe Suite allows users full control over which windows are open and their exact location. This is as simple as drag and drop. For today we will be focussing on Adobe Photoshop to demonstrate, however all Adobe programmes operate using the same controls.

The Adobe help page states that '[users] can create a custom workspace by moving and manipulating document windows and panels. [users] can also save workspaces and switch among them'. ⁽¹⁾

Panels can be moved to predetermined locations or to an open space of the user's choice. 'To move a panel, [the user must] drag it by its tab'. ⁽¹⁾ It really is just as simple as drag and drop. 'As [the user] moves panels, [they] see blue highlighted drop zones. If [they] drag to an area that is not a drop zone, the panel floats freely in the workspace'. ⁽¹⁾

Panels can be dragged together to form a 'dock'. 'A dock is a collection of panels or panel groups displayed together. [users] dock and undock panels by moving them into and out of a dock'. ⁽¹⁾ Docks are a brilliant way to organise documents as panels with similar functions or targets can be grouped for ease of use. 'To dock a panel. drag it by its tab into the dock at the top or bottom or in between panels'. ⁽¹⁾

Conclusion

The ability to click, drag and drop panels is already being used in so many creative industry softwares. If this technology exists, can it be used for gaming interfaces? Is the code transferrable or could it be recreated and specialised for gaming? These are all questions that should already have been answered in the gaming industry. I believe that with enough time and resources, this ability could benefit games and their disabled playerbase indefinitely. 

References 

(1) Adobe. (2021). Adobe Photoshop Workspace Basics. 
Available: https://helpx.adobe.com/photoshop/using/workspace-basics.html
Last accessed 14th June 2021.