Candy For Eyeballs...
From the original Analog Industries archive. Some links and images from that era no longer resolve.
Adam and I have been having an ongoing… well, “argument” is too strong a word. “Discussion” would be better, although it does get heated at times. The subject is eye candy in plug-ins, specifically things that are there just to make something look cool, but serve no purpose whatsoever with respect to the operation of the plug-in.
Being me, you can guess what side of the argument I’m on. As long as there isn’t an unnecessary use of CPU cycles, I’m all for it. The current windmill I’m tilting away at is a real-time animated waveform display for Discord 3. As you all know, Discord is a pitch-shifter, so there’s no earthly reason to have a waveform display in the UI. It would impart no information whatsoever that has anything to do with the plug-in.
Now, that fact in and of itself doesn’t bother me, as I’ve frequently been known to make UI design decisions based upon aesthetics alone. (The 3/4 view of the original Dubstation would be a good example of such.) I’m of the considered opinion that if something looks interesting, it has a direct effect on the creativity pathways of the brain, and thus is a Good Thing.
Adam, being Adam, disagrees. Normally, I can just do what I want and he’ll eventually come around, but this is an interesting case. Making an animated waveform display is a fairly complex process, and we’d have to devote a week or more of dev time to adding it. The main thing to consider is that once we’ve hacked the underlying framework in to shape, we’ll have the waveform display for other plug-ins that might actually make use of such a thing, so it’s not wasted development time really. It’s just wasted on this particular plug-in that has no need for such a thing.
So, I put it to you, dear friends. Is a quixotic pursuit like this worth the dev time, overall? Do you find that you’re more likely to go to a plug-in that has bells and whistles in the UI? Or do you just want the fucking thing to do its job and not do the Macarana every time you open its editor?
10 comments
You're digging Urs' waveform display in ACE, aren'tcha? I actually quite like little display gewgaws like that. Much more than I like software GUIs that are trying to ape actual hardware.
+1 for CR on this one.
Normally I'm all for well done aesthetic trinkets, but as I put Discord 2 on damn near everything and will upgrade more or less immediately, I'm left wondering: why the hell would I ever need or want a waveform display in this plugin?
I prefer good design to bad design but I'm not really in to gimmicky stuff either. However people who need eye candy have money to spend too so you might as well.
This is an interesting question.
- c
not gonna lie, as superficial as it may seem, I dig a good UI. I agree 100% that it inspires creativity and it makes me WANT to tinker with it.
There are plugins out there that only serve a basic function - and truly that's all I need them to do - but most of the AD stuff is unique and "creative" in nature and tinkering is EXACTLY the way I've gotten some great stuff with them.
I'll load up Replicant or Automaton not really knowing exactly what I want to happen - I just know it will be right when I hear it and the super cool UI's is a major part of what keeps me messing with them (of course the bottom line is the final sounds I get - but those cool UI's helped take me on the journey)
ok - that was 4 cents that should've been only 2 - but hope that helps!
joey b
I heard a salesman use a good line once, "Of course you don't need it, but you WANT it don't you?"
Now think back upon the history of music gear of the last 30 years. Blinky lights add appeal and would be on more hardware if not for added cost.
Blinky lights (or waveform displays) cost you and Adam your time. So what is that versus the "oh cool, look at that, I'll buy it." factor when someone sees your plug-in? I'm thinking it's worth your time (adam's time). The skill learned will be used again.
Even though I'm not buying the plug-in, I'd say add the display but give users the option to turn it off.
I am actually going to go with Adam on this. If the amount of time to add it was trivial, then I'd say go for it, but since a wave form display does *nothing* for this plug in, why not skip it? When you do a plugin that can benefit from one, you can always port that work into this plugin if you wish. So count me in the camp of people who cant see the need for a waveform display in an pitch shifter plugin.
i just spent the last hour fixing a bug in some eye candy code, so i'm gonna have to side with adam.
on the other hand, stuff that looks cool feels cool. and things like the waveform display in synth squad actually helps a lot with the programming of that thing, so... yeah. maybe. maybe do it at the end, if you can squeeze it in?
I "just want the fucking thing to do its job and not do the Macarana every time I open its editor"
but whatever.. if it's there it's there. if it's something you will use later in another plug then it isn't wasted dev time obviously but i hate cluttered up UI's and find i use those plugs less unless they are doing something really fucking awesome.. then i'll put up with it. i do own an FS1r. need i say more?
that being said.. I really like the UI's you come up with and think you have a knack for getting it right and finding the balance between "eye candy" and "just works". so, if you are gonna add something to the GUI that is not essential to the plug in, chances are, you'll probably do it in a non-retarded way.
Some eye candy I can get behind, but in the case of a waveform display on a pitchshifter, I feel like it would be distraction. Consider the user who doesn't automatically dismiss it as eye candy. Imagine them trying to figure out how what they're seeing relates to the knob changes they're making and from there trying to make some value judgement from the visual information. To me, that is adding a layer of confusion rather than clarity to the UI.
I wouldn't assume all your users will get that it's just a pretty moving picture.
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