The narrow-bar-at-the-top-with-pulldowns is fairly similar to an ancient system for some OS / application for developing some flavor of Pascal, I think it ran on Apple IIs.
That was an all-text interface but the idea was similar: one narrow bar that did not take up much real estate, that unfolded into into a big panel or cluster of pull-downs when you wanted it. The "two-dimensional" nature meant that many commands could be fit into one big structure without overwhelming you all at once.
Of course, mouseover was not supported ... that was "before mice".
You had to hit a key or key-combination like "Alt E" to edit. It was considered "user friendly" back then because the letters were chosen for easy-to-remember words, AND they were displayed, so you didn't have to "just know" what the key combos were.
How things have changed! And yet the best, latest solutions sometimes look somewhat like pre-historic, striving solutions.
I still love your Brick Herb Castle, and every time I expect to see Trish on the top, letting her hair hang down. I thought that profuse herbs would be hiding the bricks by now! Too dry?
