The importance of user interface and design in online games

The user design and interface are fundamental in the gamer feedback and in its loyalty, leading it to the choice of numerous repeated mechanisms.

In the experience of the game, the user interface has a fundamental role as an instrument that mediates and puts the man and the machine in , allowing the perfect interaction. The techniques are many and each influences the relationship between the interface and its user, also based on the choice of the chosen design. The impact of graphics, in fact, can be decisive.

The interface and well -kept graphics that puts the user at ease, is also fundamental for online gambling portals.

Among the most well -kept and quality are that of Starvegas, with an interface optimized for devices of all kinds (PC, Mac, tablet, smartphone) that allows easy betting, games, meetings and tournaments. In any place, in a few clicks it is possible to access the general overview and the most important information. Also via app, live streams and interfaces are programmed for all browsers and operating systems in use, in a comfortable and intuitive way.

Unlike the previous one, the interface of Betfair It appears less rich, with light colors and from the very simple and intuitive menu. Analyzing the home, on the left the complete list of prices available for the match selected with the cash out indicated by a special graphics symbol. The prices are instead divided by color: in blue the "tip" with the highest share available at the moment, followed by the lower ones. In the squad there are instead the shares of the "bank", a functionality that allows you to play against a certain outcome. Also in this case, as Starvegas, confirming the game is very simple and a simple click will be enough before the review of the data entered.

Below we analyze some examples of game, which will allow us to go to deepen different options.

Astroneer

Let's start with Astroneer, a well -known indie game on exploration characterized by round colors and shapes. Start with a vision from the outside of an astronaut with its own ships, controlled by the player. The goal is survival by creating military bases, with simple and familiar elements. L'inventory is certainly the strength: a backpack full of elements that can make the difference on the scene, designed in several ways and in various wraps, starting from the Iuta as in doing Cry 3, practical for hunting sessions. The same reappears and disappears if necessary and Its role still changes in outward: The same backpacks are clearly visible and also condition the player in the movements and in the battle with an interface that takes up an adventure scenario. The inventory is therefore intertwined synergistically in the game and with the user, conditioning what he wants to buy and insert, with the possibility of boring even the user. Also in Zelda: Botw The backpack is accessible and fun albeit bulky, limiting the freedom to regularly change game styles.

In order not to run into forgetfulness, Astroner constantly shows the backpack and its content from behind. Objects can be tidy up, collect them and arrange them according to various criteria, through the simple mouse click. For those who are not used to this mode, it could be less intuitive and slower but absolutely ingenious, An extra skill to show offnull Obviously, the number of transportable elements is limited and this does not create confusion for example as Skyrimnull In this regard, already in 1994 System Shock was experimenting with a fascinating mode that convoys the elements in the backpack at the bottom. In this way the user is involved even more actively, giving it increasing power within the game, through the screen and the surrounding environment.

In astroneer the interactive mode extends beyond the inventory and backpack, with interactive and information implementationsnull The search for the project, for example, is performed on a player's basic module. The advanced creation is performed in a control panel connected to a 3D printing station and the processing can instead be performed via the backpack. The physical construction of objects simplifies the task, thanks to a larger 3D printer that must be sought. Oxygen and powerThey are always visible on the player's back, the power levels are instead positioned outside the buildings and batteries, the direction and strength of the power race are on the cables.

All improvements will take place through the 3D printer and its reference interface, which if it were abstract, would distort the game by creating a trivial and disconnected effect. Remains marked, in fact, tactility: lower to collect objects, touch them, move them, with all the sounds and noises connected to them, for a particularly real effect that recalls that of Lego bricks.

Alien Isolation

Another example of the game we tried is Alien Isolation, game inspired by the 1979 film by combining art, high quality, design and sound interface. The interactions are innumerable and very important but above all never banal, anchored to a marked resemblance to the real world. The programming panels are deliberately obsolete, sometimes confusing and want to magnify this sense of inadequacy. The same can make the player commit a lethal false step.

It is intentionally the Reproduction of primitive software, also clumsy in use: an ambitious choice of programmers but winning, who found the taste of the gamers. This technique that prefers intuitive use compared to excessive realism, was then adopted by numerous successors: the best solution is always the middle ground, between a more advanced and more classic interface. Realism always represents a divisive topic in the gamers and professionals. Alien isolation designers set a high level with the realistic representation of computers, rescue and motion tracker terminals. The player becomes vulnerable and catapulted into that precise world instead with maps, which represent the safety of a 2D menu.

Horizon: Zero Dawn

Speaking of hyper realism, it is impossible not to mention Horizon: Zero Dawn, with plausible superpowers and of very high quality thanks to the interface inserted perfectly in the narrative. However, all that the real world represents is not fascinating for the user who, in the world of videogames, wants to dream big. There is therefore also a balance to be found in the various aspects. The user is thus immersed in the new universe that he is not annoyed by the contents that differ from reality and interacts there in every phase, even when the protagonist deepens information within the same interface.

Details that work together to relieve the player's frustration, without compromising its credibility or diving of the experience. However, not all elements have this sensitivity: the bestiary is a bad copy of a diary, a perfect element instead in Green Hell, directory useful for replacing the guide in the game and strengthens the synergy between player and character.

Red Dead Redemption 2

In Red Dead Redemption 2, unlike the case described above, the reality was faithfully reproduced but the synergy with the user, however, forgotten in a deep well without the possibility of drawing on it. The reproduction of the snow really affected everyone for its precision, a result obtained thanks to the work of hundreds of people who have created an exceptional development of development, technical art and narration.

The Gaming experience, however, is extraordinarily not immersive And too complex checks record an ever growing number of accidents and errors, which derive from simple but clumsy situations. In a hyper realist universe, each element should perform this choice, leaving no detail to chance: an incredible own goal that gamers do not miss.

Outer Wilds

A fitting example is the one concerning Outer Wilds, a unique and stimulating game that always starts from the entrance to a ship, which so familiarizes with the user. The menu areas are rich, less interactive but more information, joining the best with the characteristics of the universe it represents. This will always tell a story, versatile, in evolution. This is the perfect choice, with a graphic interface that must act as a connection and bridge and not from a barrier in the relationship between user and game.

As designer, The support goes to the quality and fluidity of each element, making the experience unique and loyal.