4 Week Diagnostic Project Conclusion

What I Found 

I learnt so much about what makes interfaces look good. I learnt that friction within UI can make or break a game. From matching UI to the game art style in order to maintain immersion; to altering the scale and shape of buttons proportionally to their function; to colour palettes and how they can seriously effect playability as well as player wellbeing; and to animations potentially ruining the pacing of a game. 

I also learnt about what makes interfaces work well. I learnt that UI can be organised into categories depending on their involvement in game story and game space. I also learnt that these categories work better or worse depending on game genre and that I should pay close attention the function based on genre in the future. 

What I Need to Research Further 

Having spent a lot of time looking at the sensory implications of UI, I would like to further explore accessibility in interfaces. I feel that this should always be a major consideration when designing interfaces in the future. 

I would like to research into the effects of colourblindness on colour differentiation in games and how this can be considered when designing UI to be more inclusive. I feel that a lot of games fail to take into account how visual issues like sensitivity or colourblindness affect the player's ability to connect with the game - especially when those elements can inflict physical pain. 

How My Understanding of UI Has Evolved 

I now have a basic understanding of how aesthetics and function have to be balanced when making an interface. After making my own version of The Sims 4 main menu, I also appreciate how difficult it can be to make everyone in your player base happy as satisfaction with an interface is largely subjective. Pleasing the majority of users is a difficult goal but one that must be achieved as it is impossible to make every player happy with a single design. 

Summary 

Overall, I have really enjoyed this project. Although challenging at times, I have learnt a lot and am looking forward to researching more into this field of game design. 

(314 words)