Ok, this is going to be a rather "dumb" thread as I've never done a theme before and will be messing it up all over the place. I will also make dumb comments to myself and ask myself stupid questions that TFM already answered once.
If you feel like helping or giving opinons, feel free. Being nice about it is liked but not required.

Idea: A really exotic interface. It doesn't have to be efficient, but I'm looking for flashy entertainment goodness. So far I'm thinking of doing something that integrates a full flash background that is interactive. Circuitboard colors. I want things to move around alot and have an option to have them make sounds as they do so (or not, for when I'd rather not have it stomp on my music).

Things I need to include (concept):
A program launcher.
Task switcher.
Systray type thing.
System information monitors. (Time, date, day, ram, processor.. what else?)

How do I avoid the "task bar" without losing functionality?
Can I make a hotkey that shows the "desktop" (no application windows) and then brings the apps back up as they were when I press it again?
Can I remap the windows-key to do a popup nomatter what app is in focus?

More later once I do a concept photoshop.

Whoa slow down... You have much reading to do, grasshopper.

http://wiki.litestep.com/Index

Also, look in your \modules\docs folder for docs, and open up theme's *.rc files in a text editor for reference.

It looks like what you want to do is doable, but you're going to have to start building something, first.

The best questions to ask will be "I tried this and it doesn't work. Here's my code, what am I doing wrong?" Or, "I don't understand what the manual means by this... can someone give me an example?"

Hehe. My design style is unorthodox to say the least. I am indeed RTMF. Several times.
I find that most often my two problems are: Figuring out what I actually want something to do/look-like. and; my art skills are teh sux. :(

As I sort-of said: My questions are not as much questions I want the board users to answer as they are questions that I need to answer some way or another. Most of them will indeed be answered in time by TFM.

XD

How about all of the questions being answered with RTFM?

Damn n00bs...can't live with them...can't live without them.

My advice: make your first theme an easier one :P

Build a tutorial theme or something.

When you decide to learn to mountain-climb you don't head for Everest.

Some do, but they rarely come back. =P