Clive Thompson over at Wired sees things differently. In a piece entitled "Tunnel Vision," Thompson argues that HUDs are "a deeply impressive achievement--gaming's contribution to the art of information delivery." He cites King Kong as a title where he was irritated not knowing how much ammo he had left in his pistol--a scenario where having a HUD would have actually, he feels, contributed to a more immersive game. Stephen Totilo of MTV concurs, using the recent hot-seller Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter as an example of next-generation HUD at its finest. In GRAW, Ubisoft developers implemented what they call "multi-windowing," where a character's screen will display multiple views of the battle (and other videos of information) during your missions.
We are not taking sides on the issue. The intrusiveness (or even the presence) of a heads-up display should be dependent upon the game itself. A science fiction game like GRAW or Metroid Prime can (and should) get away with a massive heads-up display because your character actually has a visor that includes all that information. In the absence of contextual appropriateness, we tend to side with Wilson's suggestion of an 'optional' HUD--a system where the player is allowed to change (via menu options) the extent which the HUD is visible on screen. Many games have cleverly pulled off a hidden health bar, or one that shows up only when appropriate (e.g. Goldeneye for Nintendo 64). It's a give-and-take struggle between the need for a game to be immersive and for a game to be fun and not frustrating.
Can you think of some games that have effectively used the heads-up display? How bouts some titles in which the HUD has hindered the enjoyment?
[via GameSetWatch]
Read [Off with their HUDs!]
Read [Tunnel Vision]
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(Page 1) Reader Comments
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...Then we come to another argument when it comes to multiplayer, but that's another story.
Forgive me for sound silly if I do.
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"And don't come to me with the immersion reason: nobody loses immersion because of a well-done HUD. Following the same logic, we should find a way to remove players, too. Their constant need for food and sleep actually breaks immersion, too.
[...]
We should stop thinking that 'movies don't have HUDs, so I want to make a game without one so I can win an Oscar and my mommy will love me much much more because of it'. We should be working on making more compelling games and not trying to remove the car's dashboard because it distracts drivers from admiring the view."
http://ludology.org/article.php?story=20060205101247488
Personally, the HUD has never broken the immersion in any game I've played. But if some feel it does than the best option is giving players a choice, I guess.
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I like both when implemented correctly and I think GRAW does a pretty decent job of creating a sense of immersion.
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Now when HUDs start adding objective info and such, there begins to get too much cluter.
GTA for example, the only info you need is on the display, Tasks tucked neatly aside..
Now I think EA had done a Great job with Nascar for PC, Letting you open and close only the info you want to see when you want to see it while still in the action.. As far as it goes not only does the type of game matter, but so does the hardware.. Having many more keys to map on a PC lets devs be creative in which many dont take advantage of..
Hats off to GRAW - Just right but I could do without the extra bars on the top and bottom but thats just me..
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I completely agree with that. I think a good example of a game which could be used to oppose that point of view is Condemned for Xbox360. If you wanted to know how much ammo you had left in your gun, you'd have to press a button which would make your character manually check! This entailed physically pulling out the clip of your gun (or popping open the chamber for a shotgun, etc) and having your character visually check how much ammo you had left.
I thought this helped add to the immersion... but maybe that's just me.
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Just a thought.
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HUD's arent fake. They have them in real life for fighter pilots, etc. So why take them out? I would think there would only be more HUD's in upcoming games because we the people have yet to see practical applications of them. Hell, I'm sure a lot of people think a real life HUD doesnt even exist, so I would think that it's just a new technology that people just need to accept.
I think HUD's are very immersive as well as the opposite. I mean, HUD's have practical uses like health and the such, but if you need a little icon of a guy in different positions (standing, crouch, etc.) when you can just tell by the position of the character on screen, I think you have gone too far.
Sorry for the rant.
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I'd like to see more driving games with functional dashboards, more action games with working clocks and mirrors. If I want to know how many bullets I have, I push a button that ejects my clip and I look.
Optional HUD would be nice too, though.
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Do I want to clean my gun all the time, or have it jam up (America's Army kiss my ass), be able to trip over rocks and then limp around the rest of the game because I hurt my leg, have to go to the bathroom (everyone needs to do it), at the end of the day sit down for a nice supper, wait for your character to finish sleeping, get up, have a shower, eat breakfast, read the newspaper, and then go kill some more people?
In GTA do I want to immediatly be shot down by the police before I can have fun? Should the next Quake have you die on one bullet, even on the standard pistol?
etc etc
Realism isn't always fun. If I wanted reality, I would go outside. Immersion is not realism. One of the fucking games was Kong, where you control a gigantic gorilla and fight dinosaurs. But no, what breaks the immersion for you is the visual feedback of your ammo count. I'm sorry, but if I'm handicapped by not knowing such useful things, then I will get irritated when I suffer in some way because of it, it will break the bubble of perception around me and I'll forget about being in the game, and Ill want to go punch some game designer in the face.
Thank you.
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Several games show ammo loads through a readout on the gun itself -- "Halo" and "Doom 3" are maybe the best examples.
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i prefer refined HUDs. displays that are compact and minimal but extremely useful at the same time. three examples come from 3 of my favorite games of this gen:
-Resident Evil 4 (health and ammo for Leon and health for Ashley all in a handy little circular readout in the bottom right corner)
-God of War (health, magic, etc. displayed in a compact symbol next to small bars at the top left corner)
-Prince of Persia series, esp. Warrior Within (health, sand tanks, durability of secondary weapon, and sand power timer in what's probably an even smaller space than the GoW HUD, all in a compact and stylish circle located in the top left corner of the screen. NOTE: the PoP HUD even disappears when it's not needed, leaving your screen clean during sections where you aren't losing health or sand tanks)
it would be incredibly frustrating to play RE4 sans HUD. if you weren't aware of the ammount of health you had left, the game would be be so irritating to play that i would almost guarantee a drop in the average review score.
in games like 'The Getaway', however, which strive for an overwhelmingly movie-like quality, the lack of an HUD and the way the developers chose to make the game for realistic are interesting, and should continue to be built upon. the way that your blinkers come on when you're supposed to turn a certain way is very cool and creative.
i guess, if anything, i'd opt for a PoP-like HUD, or an optional one that i could summon with my 'select' button, so that i can choose to play bar and readout free. but i will never say that HUDs aren't necessary. i think they're a very important part of the game experience, seeing as how one lacks the advantage of actually being in the character's body.
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Tetris and most puzzle games do require an HUD, but I am glad they left it out in King Kong. That is what I left the demo being most impressed about. I felt fully immersed, with the only drawback being the choppiness of the framrate relative to the graphic detail.
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It's possible to make a good game where the HUD makes it even better, and it's possible for the lack of a HUD to make the game worse. Like everything else, it just needs to be well designed and consistent with the rest of the game's design. There are as many wrong ways to have a HUD as there are to have one.
For instance, if a game makes you check your clip to see how many bullets you have left, and there's no way to take cover, and not leave yourself vulnerable, not having a HUD could be quite frustrating. However, if the ammo indicator is in size 72 font in the middle of the screen, you might get shot by enemies you can't see. It has to be done right either way.
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i am a fan of the HUD. i really have trouble wit games that dont have 1 and find myself lost and confused alot (not literally but not knowing how many more shots i can take and watnot). but at the same time, nothing frustrates me more than when i cant see something because it was hidden behind the map or sumtin.
bottom line is, i like the HUD and think that a button click that lets the player physically check their status is the ideal solution that would add to the immersion and realism.
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HUDs SHOULD be included, but they shouldn't be overrly large unless there is a reason. I LOVED it in Star Wars: Republic Commando how the HUD was implemented. Sure it was huge, but it was actually immersive, as it was your character's helment. The ammo count and ammo left in clip was stored right on your gun- another neat touch.
Still, I do like how games like Metal Gear Solid, or Shadow of the Colossus use it. Small, neat, and tucked away into a corner. If you can't make it apart of the gameplay (see previous paragraph), that is how it should be done.
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HUDs that pop up are okay as long as they don't interfere with what is going on (when the health gauge pops up, it shouldn't cover up my attacker). A real revolution in HUDs would allow the player to shut off INDIVIDUAL ASPECTS of the HUDs. I don't neccessarily need to see how many bullets I have for a gun in total, just what's in the clip now. In an RPG game where I have different races, I don't need to see the magic bar for a warrior who never casts magic. This kind of control over the elements of a HUD would please everybody, since you could keep everything, shut off everything, or have any combination in between.
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A story-driven game is all about forgetting reality for a while and becoming part of the game's world. In my opinion, HUDs are a big obstacle in that. Often, they're just an annoying distraction from the events of the game. I think games like King Kong have it right in ditching the HUD, or at least minimizing it's intrusion.
Granted, the display is often necessary. But I think it's often used more as a crutch for game designers than an integral part of the gaming experience. Developers should look for new, more immersive ways to let players know what's going on. Sure, an HUD could possibly be explained by a futuristic helmet or PDA or something, but that doesn't really work beyond the Sci-Fi genre. It's much more suspenseful to see a character show visible signs of pain and weakness than to see a little flashing red bar on the side of the screen, just as the uncertainty of not knowing for sure how many more shots you can get off before you have to reload might add a layer of atmosphere as well as helping to get players more engaged in the role of their characters. It's touches like this that allow a game to seperate itself from reality and make the player feel like they are having a truly unique experience.
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NFS: Most Wanted's graphics and gamedesign/play make up for is loss, sorta same goes with G.T. , otherwise no damage, no me-play..
As far as real HUDs go.. Many people Im sure know that they DOO exist, Cars have been displaying Speedo on the windshield for Years.. Not many, but its not just in the Planes as noted way above..
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theres a lot going on in GRAW on screen, youve got the picture in picture, then sometimes two of them. i really think its one of the greatest huds ive ever used.
then theres FNR3 on the 360. ive only played the demo (but intend on buying it this weekend) and it was fantastic. we had to rely on our boxers faces and the way the camera was moving about (anyone notice it getting lower and bashed about?), we all really enjoyed it. fantastic game, immersive and realistic. just a shame im giving the money to EA, but i suppose theyve actually put some effort into this game
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Having the HUD pop up on a button press is interesting, but ultimatly I think that there is more value with having a HUD up the whole time.
After all, a game is not going to be 100 percent realistic anyway. You don't acually feel pain when you get hurt, you have no peripreal(sp?) vision, and You can take a 20 rounds to the chest and still be alive.
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