#gamedesigngrimoire #gamedesign #hades #hollowknight #sekiro #videogames #indiegames
00:00 – Intro
00:40 – UI Matrix
02:30 – Hades
06:32 – Hollow Knight
08:40 – Sekiro – Shadows Die Twice
10:35 – Conclusion
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How can UI design support a game at driving immersion for the player? In this first chapter of Game Design Grimoire, we will have a look on how Hades and other games found solutions to this question through an approach driven by story and world-building.
If you enjoyed this chapter, leave a like and look forward to a follow-up episode on the topic. And if you want to make sure to not miss it, consider subscribing! 🙂 __________________________________________________________________________________
Gameography (in order of appearance):
Hades (2018/ v1.0 2020, Supergiant Games)
Hollow Knight (2017, Team Cherry)
Sekiro : Shadows Die Twice (2017, FromSoftware)
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Sources:
Bowers, Micah. Level Up – A Guide to Game UI (featuring a concise Infographic)
https://www.toptal.com/designers/gui/game-ui
Extra Credits (2019). Diegetic UI – Realistic, or Distracting? – Extra Credits, URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-auyB19Mc6U&ab_channel=ExtraCredits
Fagerholt, Erik and Magnus Lorentzon (2009). Beyond the HUD – User Interfaces for Increased Player Immersion in FPS Games, URL: https://odr.chalmers.se/bitstream/20.500.12380/111921/1/111921.pdf
Hanson, Ben (2019). “Inside The Creation Of Sekiro’s Soundtrack”, in
Gameinformer (Interview with From Software’s Sound Designer Yuka Kitamura), URL: https://www.gameinformer.com/exclusive-video/2019/01/21/inside-the-creation-of-sekiros-soundtrack
Stonehouse, Anthony (2014). “User interface design in video games”, in Gamasutra, URL: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AnthonyStonehouse/20140227/211823/User_interface_design_in_video_games.php
Wakugawa, Gabriela (2015). “The Taiko in the Battlefield”, in Estoestaiko, URL: https://estoestaiko.com/2015/08/28/taiko-in-the-battlefield/
Deep Dive:
The UI Design of Sekiro by Veselekov (2020) – an interesting take on the semiotics of UI design: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x31ExwchPdw
A Collection of Articles on Sekiro by Gameinformer: https://www.gameinformer.com/sekiro
Wikipedia/Taiko – All about Taiko Drums, their Origin, and role during the Warring States Period (Sengoku Jidai 戦国時代): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Taiko
Noclip Documentary on Hades’ Development: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxmyMaBZ-Mo&list=PL-THgg8QnvU4JEVov1tMlFThNYS92F8uC
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Credits:
“Daily” by Lukrembo (here on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcUuUhBChMXm-irdwoFT-vg)
Icons by Freepik & Pixelmeetup on Flaticon:
https://www.flaticon.com/
© All rights reserved to the copyright owners of the games and original soundtracks used.
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awesome!
Love the in-depth explanations & insights! Looking forward to the next video 😀
Nice video! Thanks for the German subtitles too
Bonsoir! Thanks a bunch for your support, I'm really happy to see so many of you hopping on board for this journey! 🙂
Cool to witness the birth of a new channel 🙂
Don't be afraid to do longer videos if you want to, I know youtube metrics are tempting but us narrative and UI freaks are some thirsty boys and girls !
The UI that opened my eyes the most in recent years was probably Persona 5. It oscillates between meta and diegetic most of the time. The game was initially developed for PS3 and got delayed so it released on PS4. Even for a cell shading 3D environment, the animations (during narrative segments) and modelizations are pretty underwhelming. Yet the game has probably the most recognizable, stylished aesthetic of the console, thanks to its UI.
The interface of the game is obviously important for the genre (menu based combat turn JRPG) but it serves another purpose: deliver as much juice and identity as possible. From the character portraits to the combat feedbacks, everything is pinpoint focused on delivering the themes of the game in the most satisfying and seductive manner. Not even mentioning the deeper levels, like how the main color and UI layout throughout the game is mimicking the underground fanzines of the Punk era in the UK to express the themes of self identity, spirit of rebellion towards society and youth angst.
great video, hope the channel takes off!
Got here through the Hades community page on Steam, really good vid! Hope to see more like it.
Great video! I love the amount of research you've done for this video 🙂 I wanna add a criticism for your video title (which is important because that's 1 important aspect in getting views, by communicating the goal of your video essay effectively). You should proooobably not name the video "Why Hades Has One Hell Of A Good UI", if you wanna talk about other games on the same level too. I say on the same level (even tho the duration for the last 2 was shorter than Hades), because the difference between all 3 of them was the number of UI elements being discussed, but the depth you went into for each of the discussed UI element seemed the same. More importantly, when you were talking about Hollow Knight and Sekiro, it sounded like you weren't using them to support the idea that Hades has one hell of a good UI, but rather saying that those 2 games are another good examples of good general UI design. So I wanna suggest you keeping the title generic, or mention all 3 games, but I wouldn't put just Hades in there.
Oh, thank you for this.
learned a lot, ty
This is very well done and has given me a better understanding of how UI affects the game as a whole, alongside with the subtle things that albeit small can make a huge difference in the players experience, even if they themselves don't realize it. I loved how you used Hades as an example and delved into how the design and UI went hand in hand to create a visually appealing interface, and how it also has a hand in the story. It makes sense why I love the style of the game so much, it wasn't just the art, but the use of the design alongside everything else too!
I'll be graduating this December from College with a Bachelor's in Graphics, but I decided that I want to create a portfolio focused on UI Design considering that I always wanted to work within the game industry. So this video helps me a lot, and now I have a better idea on how UI affects the games we play, and how we can enhance the users experience.
Awesome work Game Design Grimoire, I look forward to seeing Part II.