TK-421
Author: John Cody Walton
Final Score: 61%
Description: When Swiz released JetBlack, the first thing I thought was ,"Damn, that looks like Vader's armor. Cool!" Unfortuately, JetBlack is mired with usability issues surrounding text color. This gave me the idea of creating an theme as the inverse of JetBlack. So this theme is designed to look like Imperial Stormtrooper (Clonetrooper) armor. It's made of hard white plastic using sharp highlights, combined with soft black rubber. Hope you like it.
Biography: Not provided.
Comments
Posted by Kevin Husted (Panel) at March 30, 2004 10:11 AM
My problem with this theme is much the same as the other StormTrooper inspired theme. The black lines around all the elements. Stormtrooper armor is real(you know what I mean) and it doesnt have a dark black outline around it. Look at the texture window in the screenshot, see how there is no black stroke anywhere near the titlebar area or widgets? NOW THAT IS HOT! Carry that through the rest of the theme and youve got one crazy hot theme here.
Posted by William Bart (Panel) at March 30, 2004 11:11 AM
Nice bright white comes across nicely, good balance between it and the black. Overly angular controls and black strokes ruin it for me though.
Posted by Max Rudberg (Panel) at March 30, 2004 11:18 AM
Usable and consistent, the black strokes are the main problem. If those were replaced by thin strokes and a slight shadow, it would be pretty cool. I'm not a fan of the sharp angles, perhaps if they were slightly rounded in the corners.
Posted by Phillip Ryu (Panel) at March 30, 2004 01:43 PM
Yup, gotta agree here. The sharp angles aren't quite Stormtrooper; if you think about it, the actual armor is pretty rounded, and relatively smooth. A great theme based on stormtrooper armor is something I want pretty badly though... so keep working on this! :)
Posted by Steve Streza (Panel) at March 30, 2004 02:05 PM
I've loved this since the first time I saw it, and it still rocks. One of my favorites in this contest.
Posted by Angel Rendon at March 31, 2004 12:25 AM
THis is better than the other storm trooper theme, the angles would look better if they were rounded though.
Posted by Michael Salbato at March 31, 2004 06:57 AM
Time to be redundant. Really like the concept, but I don't think the black outlines and sharp edges work for it. I could see it working well with some of the above suggestions though.
Posted by Dan Shannon at March 31, 2004 10:24 AM
When I heard about the name, I laughed at it, and Phill thought I was crazy. But I hope that by this point, everyone gets the joke.
"TK-421, why aren't you at your post? TK-421, do you copy?!"
I like the look, and I think that this would make an awesome theme. The menus could use some sprucing, but everything else is nifty.
Posted by Cody Walton at March 31, 2004 11:38 AM
Thanks for the comments everybody. I appreciate the constructive criticism.
I don't think my entry is going to be one of the winning six, but I will keep working to improve it, and maybe I'll try to build it myself in ThemePark. Unless one of you pro themers wants to help me out.
So the concensus right now is...
1. remove the black outlines around most of the elements
2. round off the corners of the slanted elements
Any more suggestions?
Posted by Junio at March 31, 2004 12:07 PM
From a usability standpoint, the check boxes and radio buttons aren't different enough. The activated states of the check boxes should include lines and not circles
Posted by at March 31, 2004 02:45 PM
Probably my favorite entry so far
Posted by Harlan Lewis (Panel) at March 31, 2004 05:35 PM
My thoughts are fairly redundant, I guess. Too harsh and too sharp for my tastes. Aside from that I don't have anything new to add.
Posted by Cody Walton at April 1, 2004 06:45 PM
Just to let eveyone know, it looks like my entry is not going to be one of the winning 6, so I'm going to go ahead and start working on improving it and creating the theme myself. There's a thread over at MacNN about the changes I've made so far.
http://forums.macnn.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=207900
Posted by at April 28, 2004 03:15 PM
Very cool, John. you should get together with Ian Black and come up with a superior StormTrooper Armor theme because i can't get them out of my head. the prop/makeup/wardrobe artists who came up with the ST armor design in the 70s have nailed something that will never get old. I'm still amazed. this whole Yellow/Red/etc. tinge to the CloneTrooper armor seems like a Crayolic Abstraction® and too sesame of a modification in the new films. Hopefully you don't include that and call it a Aqua variation. ...no. don't.
As a parting thought. Try to include at least one element from the actual armor that ties it in to the theme... such as the transmitter on the chin, or even the accordian style black plastirubber in the suit, or a thick black line under the titlebar with a trapezoid black square sticking up like in the ST helmet... kwimean? otherwise delete the line like everyone said.
Please do this one.... or i'll switch to the darkside...
Luke Dorny
Posted by Robert Lowell at September 11, 2004 12:33 PM
nice site i really like it