Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
When designing a HUD for a mobile game, game artists not only need to deal with
placing all interface elements correctly on screen, so that the info provided is clearly
readable; they also have to deal with technical problems, such as scaling the in-
terface appropriately, depending on the different screen resolution of the device the
game could run on.
The first order of problems can be resolved at a design level. Creating the right user
interface for your game is a matter of studying your game with the designer to set the
limits of what specific information the player needs to have permanently displayed
on screen, then deciding how to display it smartly, without distracting the player from
the actual game.
The second order of problems requires planning in advance. We have said many
times that mobile phones have the maximum number of variability with regard to
screen size. Planning prevents your artists from having to redraw the interface of
your game every time a different device is supported.
Easily put, for iOS devices, which only introduce one new standard with each gen-
eration of devices, it is enough to create two different interfaces: one for the iPhone/
iPod touch and one for the iPad/iPad Mini. Create it for retina resolution, and then
scale it down for non-retina models.
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