Game Design - HUD and Icon Design

Game Design - HUD and Icon Design

• A Heads-Up Display (HUD) is a visual screen overlay that communicates information to the player in modern aircraft and video games.
• HUDs are the most effective way of communicating with players.
• HUD elements commonly found on game screens include health bars/lives, targeting reticules, ammunition gauges, inventory, score/experience, radar/maps, and context-sensitive prompts.

Health Bar

• Health bars represent how close players are to death or restarting the game.
• Many health bars are filled with color or icons.
• As damage is taken, a percentage of the bar is lost, or the color empties.
• When the bar is gone, the player dies, or alternatively, a damage bar exists with similar results with a full "damage bar" signifying death.

Targeting Reticule

• Targeting reticules help players locate and lock onto ranged targets.
• Reticules should not be too big or small to see, and may be rendered in white, which can make them hard to see on some surfaces and backgrounds.
• The reticule should change color or sharpen focus when over a target to give players a clue when to fire.

Ammo Gauge

• Ammo gauges, whether displaying bullets or numbers, are some of the most watched gauges on the screen.
• If possible, display both clips and individual bullets to provide additional information to the user.
• For multiple ammo types (e.g. grenades, rockets), the items should have a way to quickly access them (e.g. button press).

Inventory

• Inventory is essential in adventure and RPG games.
• It allows players to track and manage collected objects and items.
• Players often use hotkeys and drag-and-drop systems for fast item acquisition.
• If an inventory has many items, allowing sorting by type, name, rarity, or other criteria is helpful.

Score

• Early video games focused on single-digit scores, but during the arcade boom of the early 1980s, high scores became a significant focus.
• As home markets expanded, percentage completion and other metrics became even more important.
• Increased online gaming popularity led to leaderboards and a return to combining scores with combo meters, stats, and achievements.

Positive Messaging

• Positive messages (like "Finish Him!" or "Fatality!") in games, like Mortal Kombat, serve as a reward system.
• These messages, whether text or voice, are as rewarding as seeing high scores.
• Positive messages should be visually significant (e.g., big and flashy).

Context-Sensitive Prompts

• Context-sensitive prompts (icons or text) appear when interacting with objects or characters.
• Prompts will often show when doors, gates, or hatches are locked or unlocked, indicating the required controls for operation (like cranks, levers, or push-able objects).
• Prompts can also be used for quick-time events.

Radar/Map

• Map screens provide considerable detail in games, from revealing secret clues to giving players insight into the playfield.
• It's important for players to swiftly navigate the map and move to targets without excessive UI interactions, using markers to indicate specific locations.
• Maps should show the player's direction and allow them to view the map's direction.
• Maps can aid by giving additional information to the player like distance to goals, points of interest, or enemy locations.

Other UI Elements

• Game User Interfaces (UI) involve many considerations.
• Various UI elements, including the main menu, pause menu, icons, screen sizes, and more, need careful design considerations, especially when targeting phones.
• User Interface design often requires principles from Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and User Experience (UX) courses.

Explore the essential components of Heads-Up Displays (HUDs) in game design, focusing on elements like health bars and targeting reticules. This quiz will test your understanding of how these interfaces communicate vital information to players. Learn about the importance of visual cues and their impact on gameplay.