TL;DR
Icons over players' characters in multiplayer games, denoting what their status is.Show this on the map or minimap as well, to better determine who is chatting and from where.
What ?
- If their console is open (regardless of typing status), show something like a white semi-transparent (maybe adjustable?) chat bubble with an ellipsis above their character.
- If they've sent a chat message, flash an empty chat bubble above their head, with the background colored to their chat/character color. See alternative option in "Why?"
- If they've been idle for a period of time and haven't sent any key or mouse input events, show a chat bubble with zzz or maybe an animated zzz floating up and disappearing above their character to better distinguish it from chat.
- If they have the map open and are browsing around, show an icon above their character.
(no idea for an icon suggestion for this one)
Why ?
Showing the status of a player is very helpful. I got this idea from Quake III Arena since it's the first game I personally know of to employ such a system. It's good to know if someone is sitting there staring/plotting, or busy with something. It shows an ellipsis chat bubble above their head when the console is open, so you can politely not target them, and know that they're chatting or working on something for the server.- For the console being open icon (ellipsis), it's just another way to know someone might be typing/responding to you, or busy with commands. It's handy to know they're not just sitting there.
- For the chat icon, it would be handy to know who is chatting and where from. Maybe show it for a similar period of time as the message on screen. Maybe have the ability to set it to activate on hover/click--hover over the message in question or click on it since so many go by in big games, and it will display the chat bubble for that player on the map for 10 seconds running around the map, instead of their normal dot. This way, you can find who said what and better understand what they're talking about relative to where they are.
- For the idle icon, it would be easier to spot people who may have gone AFK. If they have the ZZZ shown, you can know they haven't touched the game in a while and if they're in the way of something, you'll know they're idle and can be safely kicked.
- For the map icon, it's similar to the console icon. It's handy to know if someone is browsing the map and not just ignoring you if you're talking to them.
Example of Quake Live chat bubble if you don't know what I'm referring to:
http://gamdo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2 ... eter-2.jpg
