Menu

A menu shows the list of options the player may wish to select after a game's startup has been played. From there, players may select one of the choices available on the screen in order to play the game, find information about it or sometimes to set up or change the options.

While most Nitrome games go straight to the menu after the startup, some games, such as Super Treadmill and Roly Poly have a "Click to start" option that the player must click before proceeding to the actual menu. Usually, special animations allow a smooth transition from one option to the other and may even relate to the game's theme. For instance, when a player selects options in the menu when playing Rockitty, an image of a fish will transition the player to the screen for that option. In NES games, a noise may play when the player selects a certain option.

Layout
Up until the release of Skywire VIP - Extended, game menus had the basic layout of the game name at the top, followed by the options presented in text. This layout of options was used up until the release of Swindler, where the play, scores, help and credits buttons were reduced to icons that lined the bottom of the screen.

Components
These are some of the components that show up on a game's menu after the startup or startup screen, if applicable.

Play
All games will have a "Play" or "Play Game" option that will allow the player to start the game after this option is selected. It is typically placed at the top of the screen, as most players would want to go straight into the game. Players can then select a level they want to play, and the game begins.

Help
The "Help" option can be selected by players to get basic information on how to play the game. Often, it is also given to players when they first start playing. More information is often supplied to the players as they progress through the levels.

Scores
Clicking "Scores" will bring up a list of the top 100 high scores submitted in the game. They do not necessarily display the highest scores, but rather the highest value submitted to the database.

Options
This option appears less frequently in many of the game's menus. It allows the players to toggle some of the game's settings, such as the sound, screen quality or reset the player's progress.

Credits
The "Credits" option shows a list of Nitrome staff involved with the game's development, which is often shown as artwork, programming and music.

Interactive menus
Some menus have components related to gameplay that players could interact with before playing the game. For instance:


 * Roly Poly's menu was placed inside a circle that players could rotate upon any option they selected.


 * The letters spelling Dangle hung from webs, and when pulled in a certain direction, would bounce back to where they were first placed.


 * Bubbles trailed behind the player's cursor whenever they moved it into the water area of Aquanaut.


 * The word Power Up was spelled in metal crates which the player could use to create a circuit between the two transformers in the menu.


 * The bow and hat from the grey creatures in Rainbogeddon appear on the title screen and follow the player's cursor.

Nitrome game menus
Below are all of the Nitrome game menus, listed in chronological order.

Nitrome Touchy menus
Below are all of the Nitrome Touchy menus listed in chronological order. These menus can only be seen on a mobile phone screen when playing a Nitrome Touchy compatible game.