Regarding the art and design of the UI and its impact on immersion and quality of life

[u/sammyjamez]

Something that appears to be not mentioned a lot whenever we look at reviews or in-depth analysis of video games is the UI (or even sometimes the lack thereof if it is meant to be that way).

We tend to take the UI as something that we take for granted yet in the art of video games, it is a crucial part of video game design and even has an impact on the immersion of video games and the art and design of the UI can have an impact on the quality of life like.

So much so that there are those tiny instances where the UI is complained about for reasons where

• -the design behind it is either improved such as with mods (like most Fallout 4 mods have UI redesigns since one of the main complaints was that the UI was too complicated and/or did not display all the necessary information at a glance);
• or because the design behind the UI is too complex or too detailed compared to the rest of everything else (for example, a complaint that can be mentioned is the use of the UI when it comes to all the items that you can pick in an RPG where each item is designed with a complex amount of colours that can make the details too much in a highly detailed game. Games such as Rust or PUBG fall under this criteria

One can probably mention several examples where the UI had an impact on how the game subconsciously communicated intricate amounts of information not just in a direct way but also in a clever manner as well:

• - the most obvious example is that of the Dead Space series where not only the UI is integrated with the game
  • instead of it displaying like you have a camera, but the elements of the game that need to be communicated are done in-game
  • as well like the health is on the spine of the character,
  • the ammo counter is a holographic HUD on the weapon, making it look like an improvement of the weapons' designs to appear futuristic;
  • and the "ammo" count for the stasis ability
• - one element that one can instantly see where the UI makes a difference is how long amounts of information are displayed in RTS games. Not only do these games need to convey the information for the long list of buildings and characters that the players can spawn, but they also have to do in ways where the UI can communicate this information in an instant.
  • For example, Starcraft uses a mixture of concept art to separate a list of basic building opportunities as opposed to the more advanced ones, but also tiny pieces of art for the units that make the art detailed enough to convey the information necessary to separate each one from one another to instantly display with is needed for the money when the decisions quickly.
  • On top of that (and this goes for a lot of other RTS games), the HUD is designed separately per race, as if each race has its own feel
• - some games design the UI as if the HUD is a part of the game itself.
  • For example, the Halo games design the UI as if the player is wearing the Spartan helmet, adding to the immersion.
  • Other games do the same such as Metroid Prime, Borderlands
• - sometimes, the design behind the UI makes a difference as this adds to the immersion of the art style behind the games in general.
  • For example, the UI in Darksiders is designed with a tiny bit of added detail as of the images are stamped behind what appear to be ancient stones or displays of magic. This adds to the games' art styles because the characters are meant to be as old as time but as magical and ancient as these are part of divine races separate from humanity.
  • Some games do the same thing to add to the immersion of the game like Alien Isolation where the text and display look like the 80's aesthetic, making the UI similar to the art style behind the 80's aesthetic of the Alien franchise
• - certain concept arts are not only immersive enough to convey what they mean to the player but also artistic enough to have their flair behind them, as this concept art is like products are meant to look distinct or cool.
  • Things like the different themes of the perks in Call of Duty or the Zombies mode, or the designs behind the different plasmids/vigours in the Bioshock games

Interestingly, the UI is a part of the game's overall design that is important to convey information to the players in an instant yet we tend to take the UI for granted because these are expected elements that we are meant to see in video games but it is interesting to note that UI can make an impact in not what information is given to be player but also how the information is given

Interestingly as well, there are possibilities that the UI can be implemented incorrectly, whether it is bad UI design artistically or even mechanically. For example:

• while the UI in the Witcher series is great, for an unfamiliar player it can look overwhelming.
  • you have the health and adrenaline meter, the map, the items that you have, the controls, and when the information of a lot of characters that you will find on the map displayed as text
• sometimes multiplayer games fall victim to this too
  • COD games have the ammo counter, the mini map, objectives, the kill count and points, the health (in Warzone), pop-up information like medals or points or even the ongoing information of the game mode
  • Battlefield games have the same problem
• Assassin's Creed games, especially the maps when you pause the game display tons and tons of icons all at once. Not only terms into decision burnout but it can make decisions to go from A to B to C and so on feel like a chore
• MOBA or MMORPG games like League of Legends or World of Warcraft have a problem of having to display so much information in one go that make focusing on such information in the blink of an confusing and a chore.
  • You have text, the map, your enormous amount of abilities, numbers that display whilst fighting, the distance characters with their own list of information like who they are what attacks or abilities that they are using, the chat, and so much more