In this post I will be dissecting the different elements of user interface design regarding three different video games all hailing from separate genres, including: Hollow Knight, Borderlands 2, and Among Us. There are many design choices that go into the User Interface that help make a more immersive experience that bridges the gap between reality and the limitations of our control in a distant digital world; the goal being to keep our awareness and frustrations of our inherent disconnection at a subliminal level. It is important to the player that controlling their character feels as natural, and within a similar threshold of capability, as moving in real life. A poor UI design will become confusing or demotivating to a player, and will disrupt their immersion, resulting in a dissonance between the them and the gameplay itself. Playing the game should feel like second-nature, placing emphasis on the interface being intuitive, simplistic and not overly complicated/crowded, and able to assist gameplay where needed. To start, I will analyze Hollow Knight. Albeit a minimalistic UI, it is undoubtedly well developed. Everything is portrayed in an easy-to-understand manner, with only the bare necessities presented, such as: number of lives, health, currency, and ability charge, with alternative menus for more in-depth mechanics such as inventory, dialogue (interacting with other characters), etc.. This allows the player to ease in and not be overwhelmed, while still providing the deeper mechanics and options that are needed for such a game. It explains and details things where it needs to, but is otherwise intuitive and not overbearing; leaving a clean and sleek user interface as a result. This is where the UI really boils down to the genre. Already, the stark differences between them are dramatic. Although, if you look closer, there are still the same essential components such as level, health, ability charge, map, and objectives. It just looks a lot different because it is overlaying a different view point. The UI typically accompanies the mechanics of the game, which a game like Borderlands definitely has more of. However, you can definitely find a pattern: there are always alternative menus for the nitty-gritty information and specs versus the bare necessities displayed on the main-view UI. Borderlands does a fantastic job at blending the UI to the 3d environment without excessive contrast, and at presenting the needed information in an intuitive way. Lastly, is Among Us, which is a bit harder top ascribe into a particular "type of game" category. It is a 2D game with some 3D aspects. The Among Us user interface revolves around the game mechanics, such as movement controls, action commands, objectives, and a progress bar. What makes the UI unique is that its designed for cross-platform gameplay and uses more buttons keeping in mind mobile players, whereas other games would not typically have a setting button in a corner since it is usually a designated button on the keyboard or controller. This also makes it a little more convenient and less hands-on with focus towards casualty. Among Us has the extra touch of outlining every task in the top left corner, which can be seen as a bit rudimentary in terms of design choice; on one hand, it is intuitive, but on the other it is a bit congested and superfluous. This could be better incorporated in an alternative pop-out menu or in an abbreviated way that takes up less screen space and time to read. Overall takeaways:
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I'm sure everyone has played or heard of Among Us. Recently it has blown up as people are looking for ways to stay in touch with their friends and family during quarantine. In my opinion, this is one of the best games to play for family gamenights and for staying in touch with friends due to the customization, social interaction, simplicity, exhilarating gameplay, and casual demeanor. Among Us has grown so popular do to its casual genre and how easy it is to learn, yet it can delve into pretty advanced strategic gameplay as well, helping to keep more experienced players continually challenged and entertained. To begin, players each chose a different color avatar, and can also personalize with hats or skins. They then wait in the lobby for more people to join, which can be random strangers if the server is set to public, or just friends/family members you invite with a given code. Anyone can create a server and customize it to their liking, making it great for people with different preferences or levels of experience. The ideal number of players to play with is 6 with 1 assigned as imposter or 10 (the max amount) with 2 people as imposter in order to make it the most balanced. The host can then start the match after they get enough people. Once the game begins, one or two people, depending on how many people are in the server, will randomly be assigned the imposter role. The imposter's role is to blend in with the crewmates and silently kill them without being seen or given away. They have more abilities than the crewmates, such as being able to use vents to quickly travel between spaces, as well as kill or sabotage. The rest of the players will be assigned as crewmates who simply go around trying to complete tasks or hoping to catch the imposter without being killed. Each role has a different objective and opposing goals in mind. The job of the imposter is to kill all the crewmates or sabotage the ship and prevent the crewmates from fixing it in time. The crewmates on the other hand must complete their individual assortment of tasks to collectively get through the taskbar. They can also win by catching and voting out all of the imposters. An interesting twist is that players can only talk after meetings are called or dead bodies are reported. This way its harder for players to team up without the imposter knowing and they cannot discuss behind their back. The meetings add a great social element and allow for social skill to come in. Good communication can help prove your innocence and it is important to share information with others in order to collectively reach a good conclusion on who to vote. For example tasks can be used to prove innocence such as by saying which ones you have done or by having others clear you by seeing your visual tasks (such as medbay scan which proves innocence). Players can also communicate who they were with and those people could be cleared if they were together and someone died in a different location. Also, if someone saw the imposter or suspects a certain person, it could take some convincing and good argumentative skills, along with proper evidence. The imposter on the other hand must be adept at lying and deception or good at shifting the blame to other people. If a player dies, they become a ghost and can continue doing tasks and spectate the game however can no longer physically interact with others or take part in meetings. The mechanics and overall gameplay of Among Us is very intuitive. It also incorporates the perfect balance between challenge and fun, so the game does not feel too competitive, yet also takes skill and attention. The combination of tasks and trying to stay alive also make it more tricky and force players to be even more strategic about when and where they do things, and doing tasks efficiently is crucial. The graphics and characters are also very stylistic and visually appealing due to the simplicity. The murder-mystery aspect of the game keeps players on their toes, wary of being killed or being caught if they're the imposter, helping the game engage players and be very exhilarating. The customization of the settings can also give more advanced players added challenge such as by changing the vision of the crewmates to lower or by making there be more challenging tasks. Additionally they can add anonymity for voting and the game will not reveal the role of someone who was ejected or how many imposters are left. Furthermore, there are currently two other maps that require completely different gameplay. The ease of joining and finding servers also makes the game more appealing, and matches are relatively short. This way people can play something even if they dont have much time or do not want a large commitment. Since the game is compatible with mobile, it can also be easily played anywhere and doesnt require a fancy setup. There is no penalty for leaving so it isn't super pressureful either, and you can easily drop out. Although Among us is great, there are definitely some drawbacks. For one, there is virtually nothing you gain except experience and having a good time. Playing in random servers can feel pointless because there is no reward for winning and there is also no friends system for adding new people you meet. Also, there are many technical glitches and malfunctions. For example servers often show they have room but it will say "Failed to join. Server is full" when players try to join them. People often randomly disconnect or are kicked as well from a glitch. Lastly, there is no moderation system. This way people who leave often, because they do not get imposter, are not punished. The same applies to people who are toxic to others, although they can be kicked through the vote system or by the host. Overall I would rank Among us a 4.9/5 for playing with friends or family since it is easy to learn, well balanced, exciting, and involves a lot of social interaction all bottled up in a very casual, friendly experience. However drawbacks such as the glitches and lack of reward system hold it back slightly. For playing in random servers I would rank it a 3/5 simply because there is no friend system, poor moderation, and no real reward, making it feel like a waste of time. Conclusion:
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AuthorMy name is Quinn Peterson! I will be reflecting about my art work in this blog! Archives
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