With games becoming more immersive today one may wonder why interfaces seems to be lagging a good decade behind. We now have breathtaking FPS games with gorgeous animated arsenals, but for some reasons the interface remain the typical “glued on” 2D HUD.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there ARE games where the 2D interface is justified, but in many immersive FPS games, you can see some of your character, it’s weapon, it’s hands, sometimes it’s feets.

Obviously, fading out the interface is not easy, and in many cases it isn’t as practical as a 2D interface, but this isn’t about being practical, if your game is all about the experience of the player, freeing the “glass window” from the usual clutter (health bars, ammo count, etc), that’s also part of creating an immersive game.

It seems to be easier in futuristic games, mainly because the game objects can be tailored to this effect:

DOOMIII:
-the machine gun has a little liquid crystal display under the sight to track ammo count.
-Most computers and keypads are drawn in 3D directly on the object and let you interact with them with your cursor as soon as you are close enough.

METRO2033:
-The gas mask filter level is symbolised by your wrist watch, which you can bring up (colored dials show you how long you have left and the character set the watch each time he puts his mask on), your breathing also becomes more and more laborious as your filter gets depleted.
-Likewise, your gas mask glass show impacts and scratches as it degrade in combat.
-You wear a set of 3 LED lights on your watch that tells you if you are hidden in the dark.
-There is no life bar, your character vision and sounds give you a rough evaluation of your health.
-most weapons have “open” clips and magazines, while not always giving you an exact count you can clearly see when you are about to run out of ammo.

Strangely these two games STILL have a 2D HUD for some information, which tend to support my theory that those attempts at fading the interface are nothing more than gimmicks or “failed” attempts.

I feel that having subtle, vague indicators instead of precise gauges and counters slightly change the player dynamic in an interesting way. Evaluating your vital signs and the current state of your equipment becoming a game of it’s own.

“Will you take this painkiller syringe right now or would you rather wait?”

Right now I’m waiting for a game that heighten this concept way past the level of a simple gimmick, here is an example, but keep in mind it’s an extreme case:

As soon as the start up screens/intro movie are gone you are sent directly in the game, maybe in some kind of little shack, if there is a tutorial on the controls it would be a good moment to play it.

There would be a bed offering you to exit the game, a tape player to see the game credits, a stack of radio equipment with dials to adjust your sound, video settings and controls. And the door of the shack would let you start a new game/continue to your last save point (if there is such a thing), a pile of files on a disk would represent your save files and let you manage them.

In the game itself, accessing your inventory would make your character take a knee, and unroll his backpack in front of him, where you could see all the stuffs you are currently carrying, the game wouldn’t pause during backpack time (this is in many games, and i can understand the reasons, but lets stick to our immersive fps concept), but you could stand back up immediately without packing up if a threat present itself (you would still have to pack up later).

Facial equipments (glasses, masks, night vision equipment) would restrict your vision in a more subtle way than the plain “cardboard cutout”, scratches in the glass, warping of the peripheral view, an actual “3D” frame that would shake lightly when running, maybe some frosting on the side (if the game is in a cold climate)

I got a little carried away, but i think i presented my point. It’s 2010, interfaces shouldn’t take screen space anymore. Make us forget that we are playing a game!

Link to the original post on Torquepowered.com

With games becoming more immersive today one may wonder why interfaces seems to be lagging a good decade behind. We now have breathtaking FPS games with gorgeous animated arsenals, but for some reasons the interface remain the typical "glued on" 2D HUD.Now, don't get me wrong, there ARE games where the 2D interface is justified, but in many immersive FPS games, you can see some of your character, it's weapon, it's hands, sometimes it's feets.Obviously, fading out the interface is not easy, and in many cases it isn't as practical as a 2D interface, but this isn't about being practical, if your game is all about the experience of the player, freeing the "glass window" from the usual clutter (health bars, ammo count, etc), that's also part of creating an immersive game.It seems to be easier in futuristic games, mainly because the game objects can be tailored to this effect:DOOMIII: -the machine gun has a little liquid crystal display under the sight to track ammo count. -Most computers and keypads are drawn in 3D directly on the object and let you interact with them with your cursor as soon as you are close enough.METRO2033: -The gas mask filter level is symbolised by your wrist watch, which you can bring up (colored dials show you how long you have left and the character set the watch each time he puts his mask on), your breathing also becomes more and more laborious as your filter gets depleted. -Likewise, your gas mask glass show impacts and scratches as it degrade in combat. -You wear a set of 3 LED lights on your watch that tells you if you are hidden in the dark. -There is no life bar, your character vision and sounds give you a rough evaluation of your health. -most weapons have "open" clips and magazines, while not always giving you an exact count you can clearly see when you are about to run out of ammo.Strangely these two games STILL have a 2D HUD for some information, which tend to support my theory that those attempts at fading the interface are nothing more than gimmicks or "failed" attempts.I feel that having subtle, vague indicators instead of precise gauges and counters slightly change the player dynamic in an interesting way. Evaluating your vital signs and the current state of your equipment becoming a game of it's own."Will you take this painkiller syringe right now or would you rather wait?"Right now I'm waiting for a game that heighten this concept way past the level of a simple gimmick, here is an example, but keep in mind it's an extreme case:As soon as the start up screens/intro movie are gone you are sent directly in the game, maybe in some kind of little shack, if there is a tutorial on the controls it would be a good moment to play it.There would be a bed offering you to exit the game, a tape player to see the game credits, a stack of radio equipment with dials to adjust your sound, video settings and controls. And the door of the shack would let you start a new game/continue to your last save point (if there is such a thing), a pile of files on a disk would represent your save files and let you manage them.In the game itself, accessing your inventory would make your character take a knee, and unroll his backpack in front of him, where you could see all the stuffs you are currently carrying, the game wouldn't pause during backpack time (this is in many games, and i can understand the reasons, but lets stick to our immersive fps concept), but you could stand back up immediately without packing up if a threat present itself (you would still have to pack up later).Facial equipments (glasses, masks, night vision equipment) would restrict your vision in a more subtle way than the plain "cardboard cutout", scratches in the glass, warping of the peripheral view, an actual "3D" frame that would shake lightly when running, maybe some frosting on the side (if the game is in a cold climate)I got a little carried away, but i think i presented my point. It's 2010, interfaces shouldn't take screen space anymore. Make us forget that we are playing a game!Link to the original post on Torquepowered.com