Now, onto some food for thought.
An aspect that lately I've been paying attention to in general gaming is the HUD, our ever-present head-up display.
Certainly one of the most useful tools that the player has at his/her disposition, where the constant feed of information auxiliates in split second decisions, specially when we're talking about the frenetic hack'n, slash'n, curs'n and swear'n of the ARPG style, which seems to be the general direction DHS is following.
However I'd like to take a moment to reflect with you on different takes on HUD's across the industry.
In the last decade, we saw the release of many titles which work on the concept of No Hud, in many cases they are there, just not how we tipically expect, and that's where I'm trying to address here.
Having a HUD that's not ever present can really benefit in the game's immersion.
One of the games that's outstandingly does that is the Deadspace series, where info such as HP, ammo, objects where scene objects that the character actively interacted with. You wanna know how much HP you've got? Check your spine RIG. Objective? Look no further, there is the guiding hologram!
In this brilliant interview, Deadspace director's James Schofield elaborates on that. (I've bookmarked the video where the subject starts, no need to browse. Viewer discretion might be advised)
Going further, we also have Metro game series, where the player could opt to forfeit said ammenities and go all in.
How much oxygen you've got left? Check your watch, blyat!
In the realm of Braveheart's facepaint we also have Senua, who had to make do with what skill she's got. Apart from some indicator flashes, she doesn't really have much elso to rely on.
I could go on citing many other games we know well, but I think that's fine for the point I'm trying to make.
Do I mean that the HUD is a pariah when it comes to immersion? Of course not.
We don't have to look far, if we just look at DHS's inspiring muse, Blood Omen.
I mean, once I had to put a guy in suit in a coffin and that was already tough, just imagine the hassle it is with someone dressed in spiked armour. Kudos to this guy for immersion.
It might be a little outdated for today's standards, since we've got gamers that play with 2 monitors, let alone let them admit a HUD that takes a 1/4 of your screen.
But we've everything we need there, HP, mana, roundworms (??), sword, and even better, even his armor would change. So atmosphere-wise, at least for me, it went along pretty well.
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All in all, obviously it's a balance to strike.
• On one side, the game has to be immersive, that's why we have so many other discussions on music, visuals, lore, etc;
• But it also has to be accessible, after all it's a commercial product, that has to gather an audience and, some gauges and indicators might have to make it in so as to not create a steep curve of adaptation.
But at what level? Would it be possible to strike a balance between accessibility and immersion?
What are your thoughts on it? What HUD philosophy (is that a thing?) would you like to see in DHS? Is there any unthought approach to it?
Or which you think would be the most feasible?
Please share your thoughts,leave a like and press the bell button.
An aspect that lately I've been paying attention to in general gaming is the HUD, our ever-present head-up display.
Certainly one of the most useful tools that the player has at his/her disposition, where the constant feed of information auxiliates in split second decisions, specially when we're talking about the frenetic hack'n, slash'n, curs'n and swear'n of the ARPG style, which seems to be the general direction DHS is following.
However I'd like to take a moment to reflect with you on different takes on HUD's across the industry.
In the last decade, we saw the release of many titles which work on the concept of No Hud, in many cases they are there, just not how we tipically expect, and that's where I'm trying to address here.
Having a HUD that's not ever present can really benefit in the game's immersion.
One of the games that's outstandingly does that is the Deadspace series, where info such as HP, ammo, objects where scene objects that the character actively interacted with. You wanna know how much HP you've got? Check your spine RIG. Objective? Look no further, there is the guiding hologram!
In this brilliant interview, Deadspace director's James Schofield elaborates on that. (I've bookmarked the video where the subject starts, no need to browse. Viewer discretion might be advised)
Going further, we also have Metro game series, where the player could opt to forfeit said ammenities and go all in.
How much oxygen you've got left? Check your watch, blyat!
In the realm of Braveheart's facepaint we also have Senua, who had to make do with what skill she's got. Apart from some indicator flashes, she doesn't really have much elso to rely on.
I could go on citing many other games we know well, but I think that's fine for the point I'm trying to make.
Do I mean that the HUD is a pariah when it comes to immersion? Of course not.
We don't have to look far, if we just look at DHS's inspiring muse, Blood Omen.
I mean, once I had to put a guy in suit in a coffin and that was already tough, just imagine the hassle it is with someone dressed in spiked armour. Kudos to this guy for immersion.
It might be a little outdated for today's standards, since we've got gamers that play with 2 monitors, let alone let them admit a HUD that takes a 1/4 of your screen.
But we've everything we need there, HP, mana, roundworms (??), sword, and even better, even his armor would change. So atmosphere-wise, at least for me, it went along pretty well.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
All in all, obviously it's a balance to strike.
• On one side, the game has to be immersive, that's why we have so many other discussions on music, visuals, lore, etc;
• But it also has to be accessible, after all it's a commercial product, that has to gather an audience and, some gauges and indicators might have to make it in so as to not create a steep curve of adaptation.
But at what level? Would it be possible to strike a balance between accessibility and immersion?
What are your thoughts on it? What HUD philosophy (is that a thing?) would you like to see in DHS? Is there any unthought approach to it?
Or which you think would be the most feasible?
Please share your thoughts,
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