Rockbox Theme Style Guide (not official)

[DrewVosburg]

PURPOSE:
I believe in the Rockbox project.  The tools that Rockbox provides can't be matched with any other music player operating system.  Despite this power, it is still simple to use.  I have "rockboxed" players for others, and none of them have come back to me with questions, because it simply works as expected.  Every day people can use a Rockbox device with no difficulty.

The reason I'm creating themes for Rockbox is so that common users (every day people) can have access to the full potential and customizability of Rockbox.  This goes beyond having options to change from a list of preset "themes" and instead aims to respect the settings that are changable in the GUI.  In other words, my "themes" are more like layouts, a collection of behaviors and elements which can then be styled to match the user's taste.  For example, the defaults match what I would consider to be the common denomonator, or what most users would find useful.  HOWEVER, if one wanted to change the font, font color, background picture, or even clear the background for a background color, the theme should respect these changes and adapt accordingly.  In this way, one doesn't have to learn complex algorithms and proprietary syntax in order to use an MP3 player that looks the way they like it


An excellent Rockbox theme must have, in order of importance, the following:

AN APPEALING LAYOUT

Most people consider this almost exclusively in their choice of theme.  Appeal is quite subjective, and people use different information when using their player.  For example, some might use the clock, while others don't see it as necessary.  Some may want to know bit rate information, while some don't know the difference between 192kb MP3 and uncompressed audio.  However, there are some pieces of information which are critical to a music player, and they are:
  -  Song Title
  -  Artist
  -  Album
  -  Playing or Paused
  -  Song Progress
  -  Battery Level
  -  Volume Level
  -  Shuffle and Repeat status
Though these may vary in presentation, they are the bare minimum to a music player.  Anything less than this is simply impractical, and many people prefer many more options.  More technical users tend to prefer more technical information displayed, while more common users tend to prefer the basics.

Further in the strain of subjectivity is the concept of "visual appeal."  Elements should be placed according to purpose, visual rhythm, and spacing.  This can vary drastically, but in general, things should balance out.


READABILITY AT A GLANCE

One technical aspect seems to go overlooked, particularly with the Sansa Fuze: screen pixel density .  An average computer screen is said to have 90 pixes per inch (PPI), while the Fuze has a screen with 148 PPI.  This means that themes for the fuze are actually 64% bigger on a computer screen than they are on the device.  This is quite a difference!  More pixel density means smaller pixels, which means the aliased fonts don't stick out like they do on a computer screen.

The particular font I use comes from my Rockbox theme past, from when I designed soley for my iPod Video.  Although it did not have a superb PPI (114), it had screen space to spare, with nearly twice as many pixels as can be found on the Fuze.  Thus, the 21 pixel Adobe Helvetica was deemed an appropriate-sized font for my themes, and I stuck with it.  One thing I am resisting is shrinking a large size theme to a small size screen.  Instead I work with the small screen with full-size fonts in order to prevent readability problems.  The font can be taken down to 18 pixels without too much readability loss, but I am emphasizing readability, particularly for less technical users (everyday Joe).

The rockbox website recommends that you not use a font bigger than the equivalent of 16pt on a 100 DPI screen.  On a screen like the Fuze, this would be a 24pt font!  Screen resolution and DPI should both be taken into consideration for each device, because it vastly affects readability.


REFINED BEHAVIOR

One of the more difficult things to acheive in a limited environment such as Rockbox is refined behavior.  This includes things like using conditionals in creative ways to create consistency.  It is important to design the interface to display information when it is available and re-arrange things when it isn't.  This involves more than turning virtual LEDs on and off.  Status bar icons should not be absolutely positioned, but should float to the corners.  If there is album art available, the information should re-arrange itself to display the artwork, but if it is not available, things should spread out to be easier to read.

[AlexP]

People can make themes however they want.  If it is crap, it won't get used.

[gevaerts]

PURPOSE:
However, there are some pieces of information which are critical to a music player, and they are:
  -  Song Title
  -  Artist
  -  Album
  -  Playing or Paused
  -  Song Progress
  -  Battery Level
  -  Volume Level
  -  Shuffle and Repeat status

I disagree. I don't care at all about shuffle and repeat (I never change those settings) and I couldn't care less about Artist (my theme does have the composer however, which is critical).

Also, why do people keep assuming that one only ever listens to songs? It's a title, not a song title!

[DrewVosburg]

Most of the themes on this site are pretty iffy.  They certainly aren't taking advantage of the tools built into Rockbox.

I understand that you won't change shuffle and repeat, but if they were turned on, don't you think it would be frustrating if you didn't know?

[gevaerts]

Most of the themes on this site are pretty iffy.  They certainly aren't taking advantage of the tools built into Rockbox.

Then don't use them. That's not a reason to deny them to other people though.

I understand that you won't change shuffle and repeat, but if they were turned on, don't you think it would be frustrating if you didn't know?

That reasoning leads to having an indication for every single setting. Why don't you specify an indicator for e.g. backlight on hold? Wouldn't it be frustrating if that changed and you didn't know?

[DrewVosburg]

I'm not trying to say themes should be taken down.  I am trying to post general guidlines for people who want to develop a new theme.  That way they will end up with something common people will want to use.  Technical people can make their own themes, and in fact, that seems to be most of what's on here.

Not trying to tell other people they are doing things wrong, but look at some of the responses to this:
http://www.junauza.com/2008/10/15-rockin-rockbox-themes-for-ipod.html

[AlexP]

I am trying to post general guidlines for people who want to develop a new theme.  

I personally wouldn't presume to do that.  People tend to make what they want to use.

I think it is actually the title of the thread that bothers me, it sounds too official.

[DrewVosburg]

well, i'm a new user as of today.  feel free to re-title, since i don't know how to.  you're the mod, it's your call.

either way, i do think i know what makes a good theme.  these kinds of things aren't entirely subjective, and i have done quite a bit of looking into it.  people can make any themes they want, but there are some things that, in general, make themes better for common users.  i tried to collect them into one place.

[AlexP]

I'm of course not anti good themes, I just like freedom to do whatever you want including making crap themes, and your post just sounded a bit prescriptive to me

I added not official to the thread title just to make it clear

[gevaerts]

either way, i do think i know what makes a good theme.  these kinds of things aren't entirely subjective, and i have done quite a bit of looking into it.

Of course not everything is subjective, but guidelines that are partially correct, partially subjective and partially plain wrong don't help anyone.

[AlexP]

Let's calm down peeps

The original post had some ideas that certainly some may find useful when they are making themes, and I thank the OP for the time he has taken - but everyone remember you can of course do whatever the hell you want with themes

[DrewVosburg]

precisely.

i'm not trying to say that everyone should use this as a guide to making a theme.  i'm trying to make suggestions that will create refined interfaces that are easy to use and customize.  basically, i've been trying to separate the layout from the style, and have found it remarkably easy.  it allows end users to change the theme without having to open a .wps file, which is not something "your grandma could do."

i'm not trying to impose these on anyone else, but i found this useful in creating my own themes, and i wanted to share.  no offense was meant.

[AlexP]

i'm not trying to impose these on anyone else, but i found this useful in creating my own themes, and i wanted to share.  no offense was meant.

Certainly none taken, and I'm sorry about the tone of my original reply, which was somewhat negative.

[Yotto]

I like this idea in concept, though like others I may disagree on the particulars.

For me, it's kind of like writing guides. "This is the way to write your own work of fiction" type thing. If you're lost and floundering, it would be really nice to have a checklist of things to do to make your WPS, and tips to keep it from looking ugly. However, as you gain knowledge and experience, you can more freely ignore the tips because you know what you're doing.

This would not be the sort of thing that the WPS gurus would look at, except to improve on the guide itself. This would be for the new artist who had the vaguest idea but no clue what to include.

Looking at it this way, the guide in its current form is pretty good. Maybe split nonessential items (shuffle/repeat indicators, while nice, are not needed in every WPS) into a "We also suggest you use" section, but other than that I personally would have liked something like this back in the old days.

[JdGordon]

Damn, I came in hoping to see a guide about how to write clean well written skins (that sort of guide would be really useful (as long as you go by what *I* think is correct and not others' )

just remember that theme guidelines is a moving target because the theme capabilities of rockbox are ever changing.