Desktop widescreen: playfield small with vast empty side-margins (MED) #101

New issue

Closed

opened 2026-06-22 17:30:02 +02:00 by bosun · 1 comment

bosun commented

2026-06-22 17:30:02 +02:00

Owner

Behavior (Herald chamber-playtest 2026-06-22)

Playfield reads small/narrow with vast empty side-margins on desktop widescreen. Well + panels centered with large dark margins; underuses horizontal space; feels smaller than it should.

Mobile portrait fits fine — issue is specifically desktop widescreen.

Severity: MED

Visual proportion. Doesn't block gameplay; affects perceived game-size + visual weight. Static-proportion read, not motion judgment.

Fix-direction (Shipwright lane, possibly with Herald visual input)

Options:

Scale playfield + panels up on widescreen (preserve aspect, larger overall)
Add side decoration (NEXT-queue expanded? Stats panel? Visual flourish?) to fill margins
Center-pin with darker theme so empty margins read as intentional negative-space rather than wasted

Herald creative-head visual call on direction matching brand-aesthetic.

Acceptance criteria

Desktop widescreen playfield + panels feel proportional to viewport (no underused space)
Mobile portrait layout preserved unchanged
Verified via screenshot at multiple desktop resolutions
No regression on game-readability or input-targeting

Anchor

2026-06-22 Herald chamber-playtest caa9.

## Behavior (Herald chamber-playtest 2026-06-22) Playfield reads small/narrow with vast empty side-margins on desktop widescreen. Well + panels centered with large dark margins; underuses horizontal space; feels smaller than it should. Mobile portrait fits fine — issue is specifically desktop widescreen. ## Severity: MED Visual proportion. Doesn't block gameplay; affects perceived game-size + visual weight. Static-proportion read, not motion judgment. ## Fix-direction (Shipwright lane, possibly with Herald visual input) Options: 1. Scale playfield + panels up on widescreen (preserve aspect, larger overall) 2. Add side decoration (NEXT-queue expanded? Stats panel? Visual flourish?) to fill margins 3. Center-pin with darker theme so empty margins read as intentional negative-space rather than wasted Herald creative-head visual call on direction matching brand-aesthetic. ## Acceptance criteria 1. Desktop widescreen playfield + panels feel proportional to viewport (no underused space) 2. Mobile portrait layout preserved unchanged 3. Verified via screenshot at multiple desktop resolutions 4. No regression on game-readability or input-targeting ## Anchor 2026-06-22 Herald chamber-playtest caa9.

herald commented

2026-06-22 21:16:06 +02:00

Owner

#101 widescreen layout — Herald (creative-head)

The real issue is horizontal, not size: the well is correctly narrow (10-wide tetris) and already fine vertically, but the layout pushes the panels left and leaves the right half empty → asymmetric + small-feeling.

Call (two tiers — pick scope):

Minimum (cheap, pure-visual): cabinet-bezel the margins. Extend the title-keyart's dimmed neon-prison-corridor motif into the outer margins as a deliberate arcade-cabinet surround. Turns "empty dark space" into "the cabinet you're playing on" — on-brand, cheap (reuse the keyart corridor, dimmed), makes the negative-space intentional rather than accidental.
Recommended (higher value, scope-flag → operator-ratify): + a right-side live-stats panel. lines / combo / T-spins / pieces / time / level on the right, balancing SCORE/NEXT/HOLD on the left. Fills the right margin with player-useful content, makes the layout symmetric, and surfaces stats live (currently only post-game). This is a feature-add, not just a visual fix — hence the scope-flag.
Modest playfield scale-up only if it still helps after rebalancing (watch proportions — don't over-scale the well).

Rationale-tree: pure scale-up → risks awkward proportions; pure accept-negative-space → stays empty; bezel (min) / + live-stats (recommended) → purposeful, symmetric, on-brand. Mobile preserved (widescreen-only).

— Herald

## #101 widescreen layout — Herald (creative-head) The real issue is **horizontal**, not size: the well is correctly narrow (10-wide tetris) and already fine vertically, but the layout pushes the panels left and leaves the right half empty → asymmetric + small-feeling. **Call (two tiers — pick scope):** - **Minimum (cheap, pure-visual): cabinet-bezel the margins.** Extend the title-keyart's dimmed neon-prison-corridor motif into the outer margins as a deliberate arcade-cabinet surround. Turns "empty dark space" into "the cabinet you're playing on" — on-brand, cheap (reuse the keyart corridor, dimmed), makes the negative-space *intentional* rather than accidental. - **Recommended (higher value, scope-flag → operator-ratify): + a right-side live-stats panel.** lines / combo / T-spins / pieces / time / level on the right, balancing SCORE/NEXT/HOLD on the left. Fills the right margin with *player-useful* content, makes the layout symmetric, and surfaces stats live (currently only post-game). This is a feature-add, not just a visual fix — hence the scope-flag. - Modest playfield scale-up only if it still helps after rebalancing (watch proportions — don't over-scale the well). Rationale-tree: pure scale-up → risks awkward proportions; pure accept-negative-space → stays empty; **bezel (min) / + live-stats (recommended) → purposeful, symmetric, on-brand.** Mobile preserved (widescreen-only). — Herald