User Interfaces in Video Games – The quest for genre-appropriate and usable game UI

Over the last nine blog posts, I’ve went from the oscilloscope screens of 1958 to visual representations of game UI to the modular, accessible hardware of today. Now I’d like to wrap up my journey with a short reflection.

Final Thoughts

This research diary started with a fairly open topic that I had no idea how to navigate. After my research, I can safely say that I’ve learned a lot about games, their interfaces and the interaction design behind it.

I learned that game UI has a history worth respecting. Going back to the oscilloscope screens of the 50s and the early arcade days of Space Invaders was interesting because I realised that the simple high score was an innovation at the time and was the start of the complex feedback loops we have now.

I learned how to categorise the visual representations of game UI. Breaking down the four types of UI completely changed how I look at game screens. I now see how a UI can either be overlayed on top of a game or be woven directly into the world, with the player character being aware of it.

I learned that style can actually drive usability. Exploring the Aesthetic-Usability Effect showed me that when a game aesthetic, it isn’t just for show. I learned that if a menu feels like it belongs in the game’s world, players are more likely to find it intuitive and engaging, which holds water with my personal gaming journey.

I learned that accessibility is a fundamental responsibility. From my struggle with tiny subtitles to the impact of the QuadStick, I learned that game UI design isn’t just an aesthetic choice but also about inclusion. This coincides with the fact that I’d like games to be enjoyed as many people since they made my life much better.

In the end, through all these learnings and this, to be honest, hard journey I realised that designing a game user interface is a way, way, way, way more complicated and diverse topic than I anticipated. When I picked this topic I was mostly just focusing on the simple thought of “cool, stylish UI that also respects users” and kept a narrow focus on the visual part, the user interface design of it all.

However, through this research diary and through a conversation with the Senior UX/UI Designer at Bongfish, I’ve realised that game user interface designers are responsible for way more than the graphical menus and HUDs. The 60 accessibility options of The Last of Us Part II kind of blew me away with the use haptics, audio cues and difficulty settings.

If I continued with this (now daunting) topic, I’d have to consider narrowing down the research to specific devices (PC, console, mobile or VR/AR etc.). Placing emphasis on just the visuals doesn’t really work for this topic, as evidenced by this extensive journey of many sub-topics, so finding a focus area could be hard. Either way, I’d say it was a valuable journey and I’ve collected some actual knowledge on my newfound love: games.