User Interface and Menus
The collection of visual information and components laid out across the screen of a video game is known as the User Interface (UI). An intuitive UI and menu system creates an opportunity for your players to have quality experiences. This interactivity and direct influence of a game’s playable outcome is called player agency. Designing for this agency is crucial to creating an intuitive and successful interactive experience within your game world. This agency allows players to interact with the game’s narrative and engage within that game space accurately.
User interfaces and menu systems throughout your game also provide player affordances. Player affordances are the communication with your player about how to use an object within the game, conveying controls, and navigating your game world from start to finish.
Game menu systems specifically give the player agency over the various modes of gameplay. These gameplay modes signal to a...
