How many options max in a title menu?

[Fortunastreet]

I currently have a dilemma: up to recently, my title screen had only 4 entries (New game, Load game, Options and Quit).
I added in the mean time a fifth entry (Credits), and I currently have now two new additional choice that I could add there (Achievements and Music Room). But I fear it could overload the menu.



How many choice would you say a title screen should maximum have?

 

[AkiraKotatsuhime]

It's okay to have much stuff in the title-area, but if you feel like it should be a bit less on the topmost first layer people will see when starting the game, you could think about moving some entries with less importance into deeper menu-layers, such as... putting credits, trophies and music into "EXTRAS".

～炬燵あ

 

[Trihan]

It's okay to have much stuff in the title-area, but if you feel like it should be a bit less on the topmost first layer people will see when starting the game, you could think about moving some entries with less importance into deeper menu-layers, such as... putting credits, trophies and music into "EXTRAS".

～炬燵あ

Seconding this. Putting things into deeper menu layers is definitely the way to go once you feel you have too many options in one menu.

 

[Fortunastreet]

That's an idea, yes.
I was also suggested on discord to add achievement in game rather than in the main menu, but if I add fourth extra in the future, I will definitively go for a sub-menu.

 

[Dust]

The less choices, the better. It's much easier to parse that way. Others already recommended sub-categories which I'd also propose.

If you want to get into the really nitty-gritty of UX-topics like this: There's something called Hick's Law. Basically the more options you present a user the time they need to scan & understand the menu increases logarithmically. So more time spent not actually playing the game.

 

[Fortunastreet]

Here is what a sub-menu would look like, do you think it would be better than my Touhou-like initial screenshot?

 

[BlackMage]

I like the new title. Looks cleaner and easier to digest. However, the submenu looks too flashy compared with the title screen with all those floating ringed orbs.

 

[Fortunastreet]

It would be better darker like this?

 

[BlackMage]

I think the non-darker one is better in this case.

 

[ShadowDragon]

or maybe what I seen in games, fade out title menu, fade in extra's,
when cancel extra's, fade out extra's, fade in title menu, but it depends
on the concept of the game as well, I like it otherwise

the darker is better though if you change background.