1) Deal damage to an enemy.

2) Deal damage to an enemy and stun them.

1) Deal damage to an enemy and stun them. 2) Deal damage to an enemy, stun them and knock them back.





Last one,





1)Deal 30 damage to an enemy, stun them and knock them back.

2)





Yeah of course the picture, the picture is probably first thing you saw on the post.



One thing that really irks me about RPGs and majority of MMOs, is the need for reading. No one wants to read, its redundant and your point doesn't get across fast enough for the player. Yet for the first two choices, we prefer the more dynamic skill.





So yes, we need to present depth while hiding it.





Deciding when to put walls of text in your game is a separate thing from giving information to the player. You don't need for them read it if they can consume information otherwise. Some games do it rudementary like old JRPGs where it's literally a word on a menu.









MOBAs and MMOs do it slightly better, and is naturally the more modern way.









But you might ask, what more can they do compared to this? My suggestion would be a small video clip or gif for the icon instead.









This is straight away readable and noticeable instead of the vague icon. You can also see the character in action, and roughly what it would do. But of course there's problems with size but there are always work-around to UI management.



Now, the remaining issue is the nitty gritty details like range, damage, aoe, etc. But tbh, more than likely when you step into a game, this isn't your main concern. Visuals is what is most important when playing for the first time or for readability sake.

This is straight away readable and noticeable instead of the vague icon. You can also see the character in action, and roughly what it would do. But of course there's problems with size but there are always work-around to UI management.Now, the remaining issue is the nitty gritty details like range, damage, aoe, etc. But tbh, more than likely when you step into a game, this isn't your main concern. Visuals is what is most important when playing for the first time or for readability sake.

Now, its no risk for DotA but as an indie dev, who cares about crap like numbers stats, depth, balance etc. when you cant even get attention from your players? Best way to go about your game is to keep players interested while presenting them new information that is also easily digestable.

Let's make an RPG skill, which one looks more interesting?Okay let's try another.