In an age where many AAA games are filled with pre-designed menus full of numbers and weird details, Destiny’s UI is extremely clean and easy to understand, making it a real surprise.
Although the original game was console-less, Bungie was able to create a user interface in a similar style to PC games, allowing players to quickly navigate through a wide range of options using the controller.
Instead of navigating through options in a strict order, using a free cursor allowed players to quickly navigate to the option they wanted, reducing unnecessary menu work and ensuring players spent so little time in them.
It’s a great balance that won’t alienate traditional console gamers or those used to navigating menus with a computer mouse. Over the years, Bungie has talked about the great amount of time they put into perfecting the UI, and it’s very clear from the intuitive and beautiful end result.
8. Fire watch
Over the past decade, “digital” user interfaces (ie those located within the game world itself) have become more common, a prime example of which is the 2016 adventure game Great at Campo Santo Firewatch.
Players control the character Henry, a fire keeper in the Shoshone National Forest, who spends almost the entire game alone while performing various tasks around the a forest
To enhance the feeling of loneliness and isolation that Henry experiences, the game abandons the traditional HUD user interface in favor of an interface that relies heavily on the world inside the game, that is, a “digital” interface.
For example, the game map is an actual map that Henry pulls out for you to read when you decide to look at it. Instead of constantly adding waypoints to the screen, everything you need to navigate the game is displayed within the game world itself – signs guide you, and Henry flags useful information on the map as you go.
Although Firewatch is not the first game to use this method – Far Cry 2, which relied heavily on it in 2008, was recommended – the user interface in Firewatch seems to be very neat, with that it contributes to crystallizing the basic themes and general feeling of the game in a unique way.
7. Metroid Prime
It cannot be understated how influential and revolutionary the UI in Metroid Prime was when the game was first released in 2002. At the time, it was an incredibly unique idea. that the player’s UI could be the same way the game’s heroine saw the world. .
In the game, all the information the player needs is displayed as holographic projections on Samus’ helmet, providing an unprecedented level of immersion and forcing players to feel like they’re wearing Samus’s own Power Suit.
And that was not enough creativity, the experience was enhanced thanks to the different wearable helmets, such as thermal helmet, x-ray helmet, and examination helmet, which made the UI feel like an integral part of Samus’ needs to get the job done. done, rather than just a way to serve the player.
Even more creatively, if players pay close attention, they may notice a glimpse of Samus’ face reflected in her helmet when the lighting is just right. This level of detail was unprecedented in 2002, and since then, many games have taken inspiration from this idea.
With the recent resurgence in VR robot games, this type of user interface has become popular and very effective in this field.
6. The Mirror’s Edge
Mirror’s Edge and its late sequel Mirror’s Edge Catalyst took the concept of a tight user interface to a surprising new creative level by abandoning the traditional interface to a great extent.
Instead, players were guided through the game’s elevated locations using the “Runner Vision” feature, which highlights routes and climbable objects in red, allowing players to pull off spectacular stunts. easily without the need for excessive guidance from external signs and images.
In addition, players were able to turn off Runner Vision completely if they wanted a more challenging experience. But no matter how you choose to play, without annoying icons and warnings the roof jumping experience will be more interesting and focused.
While EA hasn’t added official VR support for either game yet, a version inspired by Mirror’s Edge in VR is currently in development, and it looks pretty amazing.
