Main Menu Navigation

1. Summary

Main menu navigation is the non-diegetic frontend shell menu shown after the title/start screen. It uses a left-side vertical stack of Western-styled text buttons over a scenic background, with a decorative frame marking the currently focused option.

Overview

The main menu navigation appears after the title screen and overlays a Western landscape background. The menu is a compact, left-aligned vertical stack of uppercase text buttons: CONTINUE, LOAD, MISSION SELECT, OPTIONS, and EXIT GAME. The currently focused entry is not color-filled; instead, it is framed by a thin ornamental horizontal bracket, preserving the screen’s sepia/Western art direction while still making focus visible.

The UI keeps the interaction area away from the central character silhouette and logo, making the background art function as a cinematic shell while the actionable choices remain grouped in one predictable location.

Job Story

When I have passed the title screen, I want a compact menu that lets me continue, load, choose a mission, change options, or exit, so that I can quickly route into the exact game flow I need before entering play.

Classification

• diegesis: Non-diegetic
• functional_type: Frontend shell
• component_type: Button

Wireframe

+--------------------------------------------------------------+
|                         DESPERADOS III                       |
|                                                              |
|                                                              |
|   ~ separator ~                                              |
|   [==== CONTINUE ====]                                       |
|          LOAD                                                |
|      MISSION SELECT                                          |
|         OPTIONS                                              |
|        EXIT GAME                                             |
|   ~ separator ~                                              |
|                                                              |
| v.1118.r34331.F                                              |
+--------------------------------------------------------------+

Components

• Game logo: large branded DESPERADOS III wordmark centered near the top.
• Menu option labels: uppercase text buttons for CONTINUE, LOAD, MISSION SELECT, OPTIONS, and EXIT GAME.
• Focus frame: ornamental horizontal bracket around the selected row.
• Decorative dividers: small Western flourishes above and below the option stack.
• Background scene: non-interactive Western landscape used as the menu backdrop.
• Version label: small build/version text in the lower-left corner.

Parameters & Audio

Navigation

• Entry point is the title/start screen after the player presses a key or button. From this menu, CONTINUE enters the latest available progress, LOAD opens saved games, MISSION SELECT opens the mission map/selection flow, OPTIONS opens settings categories, and EXIT GAME starts the quit flow. Returning from submenus should restore the main menu with a focused option in the same left-side stack.

Dependencies & Logic

• Save-game state determines whether CONTINUE and potentially LOAD are actionable.
• Mission progression determines which missions are available after MISSION SELECT.
• Platform/input mode may affect focus movement and activation prompts, while the visual menu structure remains the same.
• Localization can change label widths; the ornamental frame must still contain the focused row cleanly.

BDD Scenarios

Edge Cases

• No save data: CONTINUE should be disabled, hidden, or blocked with clear feedback; exact shipped handling needs build verification.
• Corrupt or incompatible save data: CONTINUE and LOAD should fail safely without trapping the player.
• Long localized labels: the focus frame and left-column spacing must still fit the text without overlapping the background art or dividers.
• Rapid input: focus movement should not skip items unpredictably or activate the wrong row.
• Exit flow: EXIT GAME should guard against accidental quit if the platform/build uses a confirmation modal.

QA Notes

Mechanic Links

• Mission Challenges, Badges, and Replay Goals - Main Menu Navigation routes players to Mission Select, which is the starting point for accessing mission replay and badge-pursuit content.

References

1. 1.

   Desperados 3 Let's Play Gameplay Walkthrough Pt 1 Prologue & Byers Pass [1440p w/ Commentary] (0:41-0:55) Live title-to-main-menu sequence and main menu frame showing the left-side navigation stack with Continue focused.

2. 2.

   Desperados III (L16-22 of 283) Static source description of the title-screen main menu listing Continue, Load, Mission Select, Options, and Exit Game.Screenshot 2: Title Screen Tags: Title Screen, Mode & Screen Select Section: Title and Settings