The Power of Video Game HUDs



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The heads-up display can change how a game works, feels, looks, and is made. Let’s find out how.

=== Before you watch ===

Content warning: Some blood

=== Sources and Resources ===

Sources

[1] How We Made The Last of Us’s Interface Work So Well | Kotaku
https://kotaku.com/how-we-made-the-last-of-uss-interface-work-so-well-1571841317

[2] How Slay the Spire’s Original Interface Almost Killed the Game | Ars Technica
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_BPJzNPF6M

[3] Specter Knight Mobility Design | Yacht Club Games
https://yachtclubgames.com/2017/07/specter-knight-mobility-design/

[4] Building games that can be understood at a glance | Stfj
http://stfj.net/DesigningForSubwayLegibility/

[5] The Casual (but Regal) Swipe: Creating Game Mechanics in ‘Reigns’ | GDC Vault
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1024278/The-Casual-(but-Regal)-Swipe

[6] Into the Breach’s interface was a nightmare to make and the key to its greatness
https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/into-the-breach-interface-design

[7] Hearthstone: How to Create an Immersive User Interface | GDC Vault
https://www.gdcvault.com/play/1022036/Hearthstone-How-to-Create-an

Additional resources

Art Direction for AAA UI | GDC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kjbxxbmJCh0

Immersing a Creative World into a Usable UI | GDC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ONYmBBZiBj8

Bridging the Gap Between UX Principles and Game Design | GDC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=73Pqsk74Jc0

Crafting Destruction: The Evolution of the Dead Space User Interface | GDC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXGWJRV1Zoc

So You Wanna Make Games?? | Episode 9: User Interface Design | Riot Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sc3h5JXtIzw

Game Design Deep Dive: Dynamic detection in Shadow Tactics | Gamasutra
https://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/290733/Game_Design_Deep_Dive_Dynamic_detection_in_Shadow_Tactics.php

The UI and UX of Persona 5 | Ridwan Khan
https://ridwankhan.com/the-ui-and-ux-of-persona-5-183180eb7cce

=== Support GMTK ===

Support GMTK on Patreon – https://www.patreon.com/GameMakersToolkit

Use Creator Tag “GMTOOLKIT” when buying on Epic Game Store

=== Games Shown ===

The Last of Us (2013)
Control (2019)
Crackdown 3 (2019)
Metro Exodus (2019)
Overwatch (2016)
Apex Legends (2019)
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (2020)
Borderlands 3 (2019)
The Outer Worlds (2019)
Minecraft (2011)
Assassin’s Creed Syndicate (2015)
Cyberpunk 2077 (2020)
Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey (2018)
Eagle Island (2019)
Devil May Cry 5 (2019)
DOOM Eternal (2020)
Invisible, Inc. (2015)
Darksiders (2010)
Desperados III (2020)
Fire Emblem: Three Houses (2019)
Batman: Arkham Knight (2015)
Ghostrunner (2020)
Slay the Spire (2019)
Ori and the Will of the Wisps (2020)
A Hat in Time (2017)
Hitman 2 (2018)
Rage 2 (2019)
Homefront (2011)
Titanfall 2 (2016)
Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice (2019)
Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order (2019)
XCOM 2 (2016)
Mario + Rabbids Kingdom Battle (2017)
Shovel Knight (2014)
Valkyria Chronicles 4 (2018)
Horizon Zero Dawn (2017)
Guacamelee 2 (2018)
God of War (2018)
Just Cause 3 (2015)
Monster Hunter: World (2018)
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard (2017)
Receiver (2012)
Sunset Overdrive (2014)
Battleborn (2016)
Final Fantasy VII Remake (2020)
Hitman 3 (2021)
Hitman (2016)
Tharsis (2016)
SpellTower (2011)
Hearthstone (2014)
Shadow Warrior 2 (2016)
Castlevania (1986)
Castlevania: Lords of Shadow (2010)
Ghost of Tsushima (2020)
Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice (2017)
Persona 5 (2016)
Inside (2016)
Firewatch (2016)
Dead Space (2008)
Fallout 4 (2015)
Metroid Prime (2002)
Metroid Prime 2: Echoes (2004)
Far Cry 2 (2008)
Alien: Isolation (2014)
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019)
Journey (2012)
Wreckfest (2018)
The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (2017)
Super Mario Bros. (1985)
The Last of Us Part II (2020)
Loop Hero (2021)
Reigns (2016)
Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain (2015)
Kingdom Hearts III (2019)
Gears of War 4 (2016)
Halo 5: Guardians (2015)
John Wick Hex (2019)
Mark of the Ninja (2012)
Katana Zero (2019)
Peggle (2007)
Shadow of the Tomb Raider (2018)
Forza Horizon 4 (2018)
Into the Breach (2018)
Immortals Fenyx Rising (2020)
Mirror’s Edge (2008)
Room to Grow (2021)

=== Credits ===

Music by…
Music provided by Uppbeat – https://uppbeat.io
License codes: PC3D3JQOFKHA7FNZ | 0X6GO4104801KFOE | H6D2IULHUG0BH7F7

Why I Work at Insomniac: Abdul Bezrati | Insomniac Games
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a-DPaSzQk0&ucbcb=1

Eyetracking while playing Overwatch | Jon Matthis
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_BalnBOcpk&ucbcb=1

=== Subtitles ===

Contribute translated subtitles – https://amara.org/en/videos/izVGIyScVfOY

Source

Categories N4G

24 thoughts on “The Power of Video Game HUDs”

  1. I always thought of health bars and stamina etc not as gauges, but as displaying information the player would know if they were embodied in their player character. If you were actually running around as Aloy in Horizon (or whatever game) you would know if you were running out of breath/stamina or if you were half dead with your arms cut to shreds. Since you are not in fact embodied in your player character you need the hud to tell you the information that you would otherwise physically know. The same with magic/mana meters too, though they do not have a direct real world counterpart.

    Reply
  2. Always thought Far Cry 2's diegetic hud was what made it more immersive without being obnoxious. Not only that but not all of it is diegetic. Hud elements that you'll need while you're in the heat of the moment are always present, such as the health bar and ammo reserve. But things like your map or diamond tracker, which you won't be typically using during gunfights, is in the physical gameworld to further immerse you

    Reply
  3. I'm sad you didn't bring up Fighting Game UI and the way the present some of the more "important" meters and such to look out for

    The GRD Gauge in UNIST has always been a big one for me

    Reply
  4. breath of the wild is so much better with the pro hud that the standard hud always looks weird to me, now. and it's for the reasons you mentioned, the game gives you a lot of that information in other ways. some of it also seems unnecessary, like the sound meter. controlling your noise quickly becomes pretty intuitive.

    Reply

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