Graphics What are guidelines to making GUI?

J

jb skaggs

Guest
I read as many articles as I can on making GUI, and I understand even big companies like FB fail sometimes.

I also understand when possible reuse. But I also know that BAD GUI will kill a game, ruin a mood, etc.

Here is my question: Is there a resource that discusses how gui affects the mood and theme of the game, and is still clear and clean?

Or how do you go about making the GUI or choosing the GUI for your game?

I know how to make GUI mechanically, I cn see something and copy it and code it. I am talking about what separates great GUI from bleh. How does one think about it to create it? And what are the universal aspects?

I mean there was billion dollar lawsuits over the rounded rectangles on cell phones, Yet I don't see so much discussion on this.

Thanks
jb
 
There is no magic bullet list of things you should do. You could (and sounds like you have) spend some time googling "UX Design" and find literally thousands of articles discussing what is best. This is a good idea, it will help you appreciate a variety of approaches to tons of different situations. Narrow the search to include "video games" too.

But, barring a mini-schooling on design concepts, my recommendation is to just keep it as simple as possible to start with. Only include the most important elements with your UI and present them in an easy to read as possible. No tiny fonts that are hard to read. If you have buttons, make sure they look like buttons and that their placement makes sense with where the mouse will typically reside (i.e. don't put two buttons used a lot on opposite sides of the screen).

Another thing I would recommend is use your experience as a gamer to your advantage. If there is a particular game that you play a lot, analyze what you like (Or don't like) about that game's UI.

One last idea that I use with EVERYTHING (not just UI, game dev, etc...): "When in doubt, it's out". I don't mean throw everything out immediately, but if you are implementing ideas and something just isn't making sense, isn't needed, isn't panning out like you thought... just get rid of it and move on (with a different approach or just onto other things).
 

RangerX

Member
In my opinion, a GUI or a HUD must be explicite, useful (especially that) and not feel obstructing.
Giving the right info at the right moment with the right amount is key.
I also like when the GUI or HUD is NOT part of the game but in the player's reality. This way it doesn't kill the immersion you can have with the game and the character. I mean, who's having their health gauge in their back like in Dead Space? First of all it doesn't make sense to see our health as a gauge + if its on my back I need a mirror to see if I am healthy? I always though it was silly and stupid you see.
 

Rayek

Member
Even knowing all the UX design principles in the world may not yield the best GUI - it's really very simple: test, test, test. With real users. You only need around 6-7 test users to figure out the main 85% of issues - that includes both GUI and game play.
Having said that, basic UX design and interaction design theory should be part of your research.
 
G

Guest User

Guest
The best GUI is one you have the option in-game to turn off, and look at the glorious game without the GUI obstructing everything.
it is especially enjoyable when the menus disappear with the GUI as well, so you have to navigate invisible settings menu to turn it back on. :D
 
T

Thunder Lion

Guest
I feel the GUI needs to always be simple and clear, never displaying information unnecessarily. I think it is best to be put in the corners of the window or directly along the top and bottom of the screen of course dependent on the information being displayed in a HUD while in-game playing. I made a few projects which had very different styles of HUD and all used a concept as I described, I feel it is standard. Look at Halo CE and Super Metroid, the information is all their but it is also not in the way.
 
E

EternalStudio

Guest
Like most people have said, less is more when it comes to UI. If the user does not NEED the information, then don't have it up there. Say, for example, you have in-game currency they is rewarded to users at various points in the game. When they receive the currency, have that UI element pop in to let them know the total currency, but have it fade away after a period of time. Then when they go into the store, have it come back.

From what I've found, simple/minimal is better!
 
M

MadZenno

Guest
The problem with comparing bigger companies such as Facebook and others is they need to cater for millions of people.

If the game isn't complex then don't make the UI complex.

Some games NEED as much information as possible, MMOs, strategy games in like Paradox games.

Other games do not, like Candy Crush and so forth.

It all depends on a number of factors.
 
S

Storyteller

Guest
let your grandmother (or mom, or aunt, or older teacher, someone over 50). see if they can figure out what everything is, give them time.
even if they dont like the game, see if they can sort out the icons and behaviors of your UI
if they get stuck, you need to fix it.
this is called 'the grandmother test' and is a common usability test for small studios
the idea is, if grandma, or some other person not interested or versed in the application can figure it out, you reached 'intuitive'
if not, you need to refine it.
G/L
 

Yal

šŸ§ *penguin noises*
GMC Elder
The most useful rule of thumb I've heard is "the GUI should show the player what they need to know, but only when they need to know it". Too much information will add clutter and visual noise (and make the game harder to learn), too little information will frustrate players and force them to spend too much time in menus (or even miss out on vital information so they can't progress properly). Many games hide the health/stamina/mana/ammo indicator if it's full, which is part of a "only show the player when something is out of the ordinary state" style of information approach. Some games hide all GUI elements if they've not been unused for a while, like the collectibles counters in Banjo-Kazooie. (Yes, this has been a common GUI design principle for decades).

I guess the general idea there is that if everything is in a "ordinary" state (nothing is happening, there are no current problems), there is no need to show any information. If either of those conditions aren't met, you should show information.

I guess that does it for resource management, but there's other types of GUI as well. For instance "<button> DO ACTION" style prompts. Some games show these all the time (Super Mario Odyssey is the first example off the top of my head, but even Dark Souls does it). You can use those in two types of situations: where the player has no idea what the buttons does (which is a common thing that happen if you change gameplay modes unexpectedly a lot - e.g. vehicle sections, or posessing an enemy), or the player knows what the button does but it only works given certain conditions that aren't necessarily apparent (e.g., you can't quite tell which doors you can open until you see an OPEN DOOR prompt). The former case reduces the amount of memorization the player needs to do, but it can get annoying if you keep getting reminded of stuff you already know... but that's a very player-dependent variable, so I guess it's not worth risking it. The latter case... I'd say it's mostly there to reduce "pixel hunting". If the player gets a "you can DO THING X here!" prompt when they're near a context-specific-action context, it's much harder to miss it and get stuck. And some context-specific actions are so specific it might be the only time in the game you do them, which could make them VERY easy to miss if the game doesn't tell you about them. It's a bit of a cheap way out to outright tell the player to do something, but sometimes (e.g., all the effing time) it's better than the alternative, telling them nothing in any way.

Another thing worth mentioning about prompts: they help keeping information proximal. If you give players information right when they need it, you force them to memorize less, and also encourage learning by doing. If you give them info in a textbox during the exposition dump and then assume they remember it 2 hours later when they're gonna do something new, chances are they aren't in fact gonna remember it. Very common newbie mistake, but it still pops up in big-budget titles like Xenoblade 2.
 
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