Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Designing the UI
The UI of a game should be designed while taking two aspects into consideration:
what the look and feel of the game is and what are the actions the main character will
perform, and how.
Begin by defining a list of functions that must be included in the UI, things such
as score, available lives, real and virtual money amount, cross-hair, and mini-map,
whatever is absolutely necessary to be displayed in the interface of the game.
Then map these fundamental functions to different interface methods. Take each item
on the list and ask yourself which is the interface method that better fits the needs of
the game with regard to that specific interface component. For example, assume we
need to show the health status of units in a strategic title: will the player better benefit
from a spatial method, such as drawing a health bar on the top of the unit, or a dieget-
ic method, such as displaying the health status as actual damage to the unit model/
sprite?
When making such a decision, always keep in mind the look and feel you want for
your game. If your game mainly relies on immersion, try to manage the most import-
ant components with diegetic methods. If efficiency and clarity of the info displayed
on screen is what you care most about, it is very likely that a spatial or non-diegetic
representation will better serve such purposes.
Iterate the process many times, until you feel like the main components of the inter-
face are displayed with the best method and the way game actions are performed
reflect the look and feel of the game and/or the main character style.
Remember that a game interface is not only made of graphics juxtaposed on the
screen: audio, animations, and FX can be used as well. For example, the position of
enemies in the game world could be displayed as colored dots on radar, but you could
also use audio cues and audio positioning techniques to lure the player toward the
enemies. Try to mix things up, and as usual, be creative!
Aesthetics
Optimal functionality is not enough for a game interface to be well-designed. The
game interface should also be consistent with the aesthetics of your game. If you are
