On game design: User interface is as important as your game

On game design: User interface is as important as your game

 by Ben Briggs


After a long hiatus, we’re going to start up our series on game design again; we find it helps to catalogue our thoughts on different aspects of various titles and they also give an insight of why we grade various games the way that we do. In this article we’re going to take a look at user interface which is arguably as important as the gameplay itself. A great interface doesn’t make a user jump through hoops to access what he or she wants to get to.

Multiple save states

It’s now common for games to save the current state of play when exited via the home button or on an incoming phone call. What’s less common but becoming increasingly more relevant is the idea that a game should save state for each mode that it includes should the user wish to begin a new game. Instead of wiping progress, the game simply saves state for a later time and only resets the mode should the player want to end their game.
Plants vs. Zombies—amongst others—has such a system that keeps state for multiple games at once. As well as being able to keep an adventure game you can keep multiple games in the quick play mode which includes minigames as well as a handful of scenarios for each of the different assaults on your house. Because there are so many different levels that are available the system could be considered overkill, but it’s great that you don’t have to lose any of your progress if you want to try another stage.

Multiple save games

There is a definite need for multiple profiles to be included on the iPhone OS; if only because handing your device over to your friend gives them access to your personal data. Slightly less important is the ability to have multiple game saves, but we think that it’s a worthy addition. It gives your friend an opportunity to play the game but to experience it for themselves from the beginning, rather than at five levels in where the difficulty is more unforgiving. It also stops them hindering your progress!
Devil Invasion has a good implementation of this; an autosave slot is kept so that you don’t lose progress if you have only one game. But you also have six slots that you can save in when you like!

Screen orientation detection

The iPhone and iPod touch both have headphone jacks in a different location on the device, and ideally you want the headphone cord to be coming from the top of the device when it’s in landscape mode. It’s uncomfortable to try and wrap your hands around the device with the lead sticking out in the bottom left, but the majority of games seem designed for the iPod touch and not the iPhone with the jack on the top alongside the sleep/wake button and SIM card slot. Therefore, holding the device in the right position for the game can be a problem. It’s easily solved by detecting the device orientation and flipping the screen accordingly, much like Angry Birds.

Similarly this technique can be used to optimise the user interface for portrait or landscape; this feature benefits the iPad more than the smaller devices but it doesn’t mean that iPhone games haven’t been designed with this capability. We can think back as early as Smiles when we started to see interfaces that rotated depending on device orientation and that also affected the gameplay.

Finger friendly hit targets

If you’re going to use virtual buttons, bigger is always better, and the bottom strip of icons in Fieldrunners is a perfect example. True, you don’t want to sacrifice too much of the available playing area but if that control is absolutely necessary don’t make it difficult to press. It sounds obvious, but many ports have come over from mobile with minuscule buttons and they look substandard compared to native iPhone games.

Ditch tap to start

Historically, programmers have used the text “Press any key to continue” whenever processing needed to be suspended as in old command lines where a scrollable output wasn’t possible. Nowadays, “press start” or “touch the screen” to continue serve no purpose except to make the player jump through a hoop to begin the game; just to make sure it has your attention. They are completely unnecessary and we’d love to see the back of this “feature” for good.

Accelerometer calibration

The ideal viewing angle for accelerometer based titles is hard to get right, especially as there are a myriad of different configurations that may work for some and won’t for others. Leave calibration to the user; a great example of how to do this is in Tilt to Live which offers three preset configurations plus a custom setting that allows you to angle the device how you’d like. Certainly it helps you to avoid hunching over your device whilst you’re trying to playing a game.

In game high score challenging

Visually marking where another player got to in a level (and subsequently beating that target) is a great concept that we think more games should be using. Doodle Jump started this all off, but later Wheeler’s Treasure and most recently Super 7 have made use of it. Super 7 is by far the best implementation yet; giving you opportunity to beat your last score or personal best alongside your OpenFeint friends and global high score leaders.
Obviously, the best user interface is invisible as bad design is immediately noticeable. However, with the amount of games available today it doesn’t make sense to craft user interfaces with anything but the finest attention to detail. Do this and you will reap the rewards.

Dead Space Review

Dead Space Review

Link: http://uk.ps3.ign.com/articles/918/918859p2.html

In fact, the atmospherics of the game play a large role in adding and heightening the tension that players experience as they move through the Ishimura. Although there are plenty of jump moments, the game isn't simply about the cheap scare as it is tossing you into an area that descends from bad to worse. As soon as you step on board the ship, you automatically get the sense that something is wrong. Everything from suitcases and books to work suits and tools are scattered around. As you go further in, you realize how violent and horrible the situation on board the Ishimura must have been, with limbs, blood-spattered walls and other gory scenes that are directly out of an abattoir. It only gets stranger as you move into more Necromorph-infested areas, with sections of the ship completely engulfed in a flesh-like material that pulses and quivers with a life of its own.

The unsettling nature of the world is heightened by the fact that there is no specific HUD to speak of -- Isaac's health is presented on his back, his ammunition is holographically projected above the gun, and incoming transmissions that he receives pop up in front of his face. Even checking his inventory is pulled up via holograms, and it is done in real time, meaning that a Necromorph can come crawling through the floor or leap from a vent behind you and strike you at any time. Because you're never removed from the action, you feel much more immersed in the world, which is only added to with the environmental items scattered around the ship. Messages scrawled in blood, text and audio messages that detail what happened on board the ship, and even Isaac's notes to himself in his personal journal add to a sense that this is a ship that no one should be on or even near if they value their life, which is an impressive way to balance the story with the action of the game presented in front of them.

Brains and guts, corner pocket.

Along with these startling sights, horror fans will pick up on influences from a wide variety of horror movies that are scattered through the game. Obvious connections of elements found in Dead Space can be tied to Event Horizon, the Alien Quadrilogy, John Carpenter's The Thing, Night of the Living Dead and more. But even more impressive than the large pedigree of game influences is the fact that it manages to weave a carefully balanced narrative that uses the best elements of these films with a lot plausible twists and turns within the story. Not only does the game lay down the foundation of why things went wrong on the Ishimura, it sets up the game to be the launching point for a franchise, and the universe of Dead Space is definitely large enough to support a vast series after this title.

Although the atmospherics add a lot to the game, Dead Space isn't without issues that hamper some elements of play. The zero gravity areas are a bit strange because even though you can see legitimate areas that you could propel yourself to, you can't always leap there. Frequently, you'll need to make a shorter jump that's closer and then hop to the original target. While that seems a bit nonsensical, the other problem that occurs within the zero gravity space is that in these spaces, the camera can sometimes be restricted to show a specific perspective, particularly if you happen to be on a wall or a ceiling. Unfortunately, when the camera locks up during these moments, you can sometimes get attacked by some creature outside of your peripheral vision, which sucks. It can be extremely frustrating, especially when you're trying to dodge one monster only to get hit from behind by something that you could have seen if you'd only move one or two steps to the side, which suddenly releases the camera from being stuck.

Hey, you got something on you right there.

Another issue within the title is that there's a lot of backtracking within the game. It all makes sense in the context of the gameplay, especially when you're going through each situation; instead of being a meaningless fetch quest, it's completely plausible that you'd have to return to one area you've previously moved through once you discover that one vital piece of equipment you need to fix something is stored there. However, it does have a way of making the ship feel much smaller than a massive capital ship. That's not to say that you get this sense throughout the entire game, because there are plenty of spaces like the medical, engineering and mining decks where you'll move through large areas, but the repetition can be a bit disappointing. This is particularly heightened with the sometimes flawed nav icon. By pressing in on the right analog stick, a holographic line moves out from Isaac and points him in the right direction to go, even turning him to face the right way. The problem that comes up with this system is that every now and then, the game will spin Isaac in a circle, projecting a line that goes forward a few feet before doubling back on itself and pointing the opposite way. That's just bad navigation logic.

As an aside, another strange feature that isn't a horribly bad or major issue is the fact that your foot stomp can be surprisingly powerful, destroying boxes or other items from a rather large distance. Typically, you'd expect that you'd only be able to crush something that was below your boot, but for some reason, you can crush a box suspended on a bench above you or floating in zero gravity. It's an odd choice, and a minor gripe that's humorous when you see it, but it does stand out as an oddity.

HUD (video gaming)

HUD (video gaming)

Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HUD_(video_gaming)


In video gaming, the HUD (heads-up display) is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface. It takes its name from the head-up displays used in modern aircraft.
The HUD is frequently used to simultaneously display several pieces of information including the main character's health, items, and an indication of game progression (such as score or level).

Contents  [hide]  1 Shown on the HUD 2 How the HUD is displayed 3 Reduction of elements 4 HUDs and burn-in 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Shown on the HUD

The HUD in Mario Kart: Super Circuit displays the current standing, placing, the held item, lap number and also the current time of a character.

While the information that is displayed on the HUD depends greatly on the game, there are many features that players recognize across many games. Common features include:

• Health / lives – this might include the player's character and possibly other important characters, such as allies or bosses. Real-time strategy games usually show the health of every unit visible on screen. Also, in many (but not all) first- and third-person shooters, when the player is damaged, the screen (or part of it) flashes briefly (usually in red color, representing blood) and shows arrows or other similar images that point to the direction the threat came from, thus informing the player from which direction the enemies are attacking.
• Time – This may be a timer counting down the time limit of the current turn, level, round or mission, the time left until a specific event. Or, it may be a timer counting up to records such as lap times in racing games, or the length of time a player can last in games based on survival. Many HUDS also use time displays to show the in-game time, such as the current time of day or year within the game. Some games may also display the real time.
• Weapons/ammunition – Most action games (first- and third-person shooters in particular) show what weapon is being used, and also how much ammunition is in it. Can show other available weapons, and objects like health packs, radios, etc.
• Capabilities – gameplay options that are often accessible by the player during gameplay, such as available weapons, items, or spells. This can include when the ability will become usable again, such as ammunition, magic points, or some other type of "charge up" timer. Icons and/or text may appear in the HUD to indicate other actions that are only available at certain times or in certain places, to show they are available to perform and which button performs it; for example the text "A – open door" may be displayed, but only when the character is near a door.
• Menus – Menus to exit, change options, delete files, change settings, etc.
• Game progression – the player's current score, money, lap, or level (as in stage or as in experience points). This might also include the character's current task or quest.
• Mini-map – a small map of the area that can act like a radar, showing the terrain, allies and/or enemies, locations like safe houses and shops, streets, etc. (See mini-map for more information.)
• Speedometer – used in most games which feature drivable vehicles. Usually shown only when driving one of these.
• Context-sensitive information – shown only as it becomes important, such as tutorial messages, special one-off abilities, and speech subtitles.
• Reticle / cursor / crosshair – an indication of where the character is aiming or where the mouse pointer is. Pressing a key while pointing at an object or character with the cursor can issue actions like shooting, talking, picking up objects, manipulating switches, using computers, etc.
• Stealthometer – displays the awareness level of enemies to the player's presence (used in stealth games and some first person shooters).
• Compass / Quest Arrow - sometimes found in RPGs and First Person Shooters, they help guide the player toward his or her objective. Sometimes the compass itself might not be a real compass, rather one that points toward the next location or goal.

There are also trends common among genres and platforms. Many online games show player names and a chat text box for talking to the other players. RTS games tend to have complex user interfaces, with context-sensitive panels and a full-overview mini-map with fog of war.

[edit] How the HUD is displayed

The SuperTuxKart HUD displays the character's speed, position, and amount of nitro, while also displaying the map of the course in the lower-left corner.

Typically this information is represented numerically, with the health level being a number from 0–100 (percent): 100 representing full health and 0 representing no health or death. However, many other methods of visual representation can be used. For instance, certain games employ a "health bar" which empties as the player becomes hurt.
Armour levels are also commonly monitored, either through a separate readout, or as part of the health system. For example, Halo series uses one recharging shield bar, acting as the health level. When this is depleted the player can only take a few more hits before death. The same goes in Destroy All Humans!, but in the form of Crypto's shields. Traditionally, games used lives to represent health. Every time the main character was injured he would lose one of his limited lives. Another way to display the life in the HUD is demonstrated in Gears of War, where the characters life is displayed only when he is taking damage, in which case a red cog known as the Crimson Omen appears in the center of the screen. The more visible the Crimson Omen is, the more damage the player has sustained and the closer he is to death. This health system is known as the 'Red Ring' system.
There is also a lot of variance with regards to the display of other information. Some games permanently display all the weapons a character is currently carrying, others rely on a pull up weapon selector. Inventory or storage space may also be permanently overlaid over the screen, or accessed via a menu. Alternatively, only a limited number of items stored in the inventory might be displayed at once, with the rest being rotated into view using the [ and ] keys.
In order to maintain the suspension of disbelief, some games make the HUD look like a real HUD within the context of the game's world. Many first-person vehicle simulation games use this technique, showing instruments and displays that the driver of the vehicle would be expected to see. The displays in the helmet in the first-person adventure game Metroid Prime or Star Wars: Republic Commando also mimic the player's point of view. A similar method is used in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Crysis. In some of these circumstances where the player and character within the game are meant to see the same 'HUD' information, Halo for example, the term HMD (Helmet Mounted Display) would technically be more accurate. This is not to be confused with Head-Up Display.
Some games provide the player with an option to hide part or all of the HUD. This is usually used to create cleaner looking screenshots and videos, which can be essential to producing machinima. Certain games like Pac-Man World and Super Mario Galaxy even keep the HUD elements off-screen without any option. When this method is used, they will only appear when affected. In some games, they can temporarily be displayed all at once with the press of a button. In games where that method is not used, the only way to display them at once is by pausing the game.
In the MechWarrior series of games, the HUD display is slightly different. (image needed) The armor display is in the lower right corner, with the option of displaying as bars or as a wire-frame diagram of the player's mech. The enemy display is located in the lower-right corner, and is much like the armor display. The radar display was located in the upper-left corner in Mechwarrior 2 and 3, and in the lower center of the screen in Mechwarrior 4. An additional interface, either in the upper-right corner of the screen or slaved to a pop-up menu, allow for control of the player's lancemates or starmates (conceptually similar to wingmen). (More information needed)
A few games give players extensive control over their HUD, such as customizing position, size, color, and opacity. World of Warcraft is notable for allowing players to significantly modify and enhance the user interface through Lua scripting.
Despite the modern dominance of 3D graphics in games, HUDs are frequently rendered with a 2D look, often using sprites.

[edit] Reduction of elements

Sometimes, for the sake of realism, information normally displayed in the HUD is instead disguised as part of the scenery or part of the vehicle in which the player is traveling. For example, when the player is driving a car that can sustain a certain number of hits, a smoke trail might appear when the car can take only two more hits, fire might appear from the car to indicate that the next hit will be fatal. Wounds and bloodstains may sometimes appear on injured characters who may also limp, stagger, slouch over or breathe heavily to indicate they are injured, a notable example being Resident Evil 2.
In rare cases, no HUD is used at all, leaving the player to interpret the auditory and visual cues in the gameworld. The elimination of elements has hardly become a trend in game development nowadays, but can be witnessed in several titles as of late. Some classic examples of games without HUDs are Silent Hill 2, Jurassic Park: Trespasser, Ico, The Getaway, Fable III, Another World, Mirror's Edge, King Kong (however it can be turned on and off, at the player's will.), Dead Space, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, and Resident Evil.
An upcoming game promising no HUD is Aliens: Colonial Marines.

[edit] HUDs and burn-in

Prolonged display of HUD elements on certain CRT-based screens may cause permanent damage in the form of burning into the inner coating of the television sets, which is impossible to repair. Also players who pause their games for long hours without turning off their television or putting it on standby risk harming their TV sets. Plasma TV screens are also at risk, although the effects are usually not as permanent.
Burn-in can still happen on LCD monitors, but only when the same image is displayed for weeks.^{[citation needed]}