‘Making it Pop: The Art and Psychology behind Game UI’ with Gon Vazquez
Dec 11, 2023
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UI/UX Designer Gon Vazquez discusses the art and psychology behind game UI design, exploring the UX design process, tools and techniques for designers, the psychology of color choices, the importance of gathering feedback, and building an ideal portfolio for UI artists.
A functional and appealing UI is crucial for a great gaming experience, playing a vital role in designing the overall experience that the game provides to players.
Game UIs can be broadly classified as generic or thematic, and the decision between the two depends on factors like immersion, readability, information complexity, and scalability.
Updating and evolving the UI in an ongoing game requires a careful approach to balance continuity and innovation, with open communication among art directors, game designers, and UI artists being vital for making informed decisions and addressing conflicts.
Deep dives
The importance of functional and appealing UI
A functional and appealing UI is crucial for a great gaming experience. Just like the art and animation in games, the user interface is comparable to typography, layout, and the meaningful presentation of visual materials. It plays a vital role in designing the experience that the game provides to players. UI design is a shared responsibility among the game team, but having a dedicated UI artist helps ensure a cohesive and effective user experience. The UI design process involves agreeing on objectives, conducting research, creating wireframes, collaborating with stakeholders, refining the design, and testing it with players.
The balance between generic and thematic UI
Game UIs can be broadly classified as generic or thematic. A generic UI is flexible, easy to use, and adaptable to different games, while a thematic UI is consistent with the game's visuals, characters, and scenes. The decision between the two depends on factors like immersion, readability, information complexity, and scalability. Balancing the thematic elements with usability and accessibility is essential. While a thematic UI can enhance immersion and consistency, it should not compromise usability or overshadow necessary information. The best approach is to ensure that the UI style aligns with the overall game experience and supports the goals of the players.
Dealing with UI challenges in ongoing games
Updating and evolving the UI in an ongoing game can be challenging. When major UI or UX overhauls are required, a careful approach is needed to avoid disrupting the player experience. It is common to allocate separate time for restyling the UI while continuing to provide regular content updates. By prioritizing specific features for restyling and considering player feedback, UI artists can gradually implement the changes. Balancing continuity and innovation is crucial to maintain players' engagement and ensure a smooth transition from the old UI to the new one. Open communication among the art directors, game designers, and UI artists is vital to make informed decisions and address any potential conflicts or inconsistencies.
Building a Strong UI Portfolio
When creating a UI portfolio, it is important to showcase a passion for games and a deep understanding of how games are experienced by players. It is recommended to include a variety of projects that demonstrate different aspects of UI design, such as icon creation, flow design, and animation. Portfolios should focus on the process, highlighting sketches, references, and the different stages of project development. It is also valuable to include animations to showcase skills in motion design. Aspiring UI artists without professional experience can create mock-up projects based on existing games, develop fantasy projects to demonstrate their design abilities, or participate in game jams to showcase prototyping and innovation.
Key Considerations in UI Design and Tools
In UI design, it is important to consider the psychology of colors and their cultural associations. For example, red often conveys an alert or cancellation, while green is commonly associated with acceptance. Understanding how colors are perceived by players is crucial in designing effective UI elements. When building a portfolio, it is recommended to include examples that reflect this understanding. Additionally, a portfolio should demonstrate proficiency in art fundamentals, such as proportion, perspective, color management, and information architecture. As for tools, popular ones include Figma for designing overall UI/UX flows, Illustrator and Photoshop for creating specific assets, and Adobe Animate or Unity for implementation. The choice of tools should align with project requirements and personal preferences.
No game can be truly great in experience and feel without a functional and appealing UI. If the art and animations in games are equivalent to the contents of a book, then the User Interface is comparable to the typography, layout, and the meaningful presentation of visual materials. Today, we uncover the art and psychology behind Game UI with a very special guest, Gon Vazquez (UI/UX Designer for Brawl Stars at Supercell).
