This is the fourth article in a series on common usability and graphical user interface related terms [part I | part II | part III]. On the internet, and especially in forum discussions like we all have here on OSNews, it is almost certain that in any given discussion, someone will most likely bring up usability and GUI related terms - things like spatial memory, widgets, consistency, Fitts' Law, and more. The aim of this series is to explain these terms, learn something about their origins, and finally rate their importance in the field of usability and (graphical) user interface design. In part IV today, we focus on 
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Member since:2006-11-01
Another option is to have the submenu take the place of the original menu.
Personally I really like the implementation of ring menus in the game Secret of Mana (Super Nintendo, 1993 - for non-Americans the original name is Seiken Densetsu 2). It works wonderfully with most commands you need to do in the game's main screen. Not just actions, but also inventory and equipment. In the game, you don't move a cursor to select items that appear around the cursor; instead, you rotate the ring with the selected item being the one at the top. If an item has 'submenus', the submenu appears in the place of the original one. There are visual and sound clues to let you know when you select an item, enter a submenu or go back to the parent. Everything but the selected character is shaded out so you know who the menu applies to.
Con: not all items are at the same distance from the cursor.
Pro: you can prioritize items (distance from default item is 0), worst case is distance n/2 where n is the number of items (still better than n)
The main issue is that you really need to rethink how to organize items, and how many to put. You can't just make a long list of items like in a regular popup menu. But then, it beats having 20 options when you are likely to use 3 or 4.
Member since:
2005-12-31
> How would a circular menu system work with submenus? Would they
> expand out around the opening menu? or in the middle and push out
> the opening menu around it?
Just an idea: A submenu could open around the exact position of the mouse cursor at the time you clicked the parent menu item. The parent menu would be "greyed out" so it won't confuse the user. In case the submenu opens partially off-screen, the center of the menu could be used as a "knob" to drag the menu around the screen.