Create a Graphical User Interface That Is Simple and Clean
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The primary objective of the graphical user interface (GUI) is to assist players in achieving their goals by presenting useful visual elements. Since achieving these goals can be inherently challenging, players must maintain a high level of focus on the tasks required to progress. Therefore, the GUI should serve a supportive role, remaining unobtrusive to allow for deeper immersion in the game world.
At certain points during gameplay, your game may require players to interact with the GUI. When presenting the GUI, aim to make it simple, clean, and easy to understand. Drawing inspiration from successful games may be helpful in this regard. However, if you choose to design a unique interface, exercise caution, as players may find an unconventional interface uncomfortable or confusing.
To progress effectively, players depend on timely and relevant feedback from the game to understand its current state. Every piece of information displayed must be worth presenting, as this helps maintain a low cognitive load for players. Avoid displaying unnecessary information that does not support players in completing their tasks. If you do choose to display some information, ensure that it is contextually useful.
Your objective is to prevent players from becoming overwhelmed by an excess of information, ensuring that minimal effort and time are required to locate feedback—especially when they are seeking critical information such as:
Current objectives.
The status of the player character, including health, stamina, magic, or leaderboard position.
Active modes and gameplay regimes.
Remaining time or number of laps.
In-game currency.
Elements that support spatial awareness, such as mini-maps, compasses, or danger indicators.
Names of items and non-player characters.
Subtitles and closed captions.
Any critical message that significantly affects gameplay, such as:
Examples:
The player’s ally becoming an enemy.
An opponent being defeated.
A change in the player’s wanted level.
In Sniper Elite 4, players are presented by default with all essential information about the game state, including gear statistics, mission objectives, a mini-map, and an icon indicating when the game is auto-saving. However, players are also able to customize the amount of information displayed according to their preferences.
Credit: Rebellion Developments. Screenshot captured by the author.
Make Interactive Elements Highly Accessible
Interactive elements refer to clickable items with which players can engage. To ensure accessibility, these elements must be easy to identify and operate using an input device. The following strategies may help improve the accessibility of interactive elements:
Minimize the eye movement required to locate them.
Design them to resemble buttons.
Apply bold and distinguishable colors.
Incorporate animations to attract attention.
Use visual contrast to make them more prominent relative to non-interactive elements.
Increase their size to make them more visible and easily selectable.
Reduce the physical effort required for interaction, for example:
Minimize the distance a player must move the cursor to reach the element.
Provide sufficient spacing between interactive elements to prevent accidental selection when using a cursor.
In Frostpunk, even the smallest buttons used for time control in the upper-left corner are spaced far enough apart to ensure that players can select the correct button without mistakenly clicking an adjacent one.
Credit: 11 bit studios S.A.. Screenshot captured by the author.