Designing and Preparing - Pro Unity Game Development with C# - page 9

 GUI. In addition to all the core or game-critical objects discussed already,
such as the Player and Enemies, CMOD will also feature a GUI ( graphical user
interface ). This refers to all the 2D graphics or widgets overlaid on the screen to
provide the user with access to game options or information. These elements
are divided over two main parts or areas: the HUD ( Heads-Up Display ) and the
main menu. The HUD (as shown in Figure 1-1 ) refers to all the small displays
overlaid onto the screen while the game is being played (such as a cash
counter and health information), to keep the player updated in real time on
vital game statistics. In contrast, the main menu (as shown in Figure 1-12 ) is a
separate screen or window that is shown to allow the Player access to
game-wide features, such as restarting the game, exiting the game, and also
loading and saving the game. While the main menu is visible onscreen, all other
game events, such as the movement of Enemies and the actions of the Player,
should be paused and frozen.
Figure 1-12. The Game menu allows access to game-wide features, such as Restart Game, Exit Game, Load Game, and Save
Game. Later chapters in this topic will implement all these features