Game HUD Design: Match Information to the Decision

Start with a decision you can describe

Game HUD design becomes easier to discuss when the question names an action. Ammo counters and health displays can be compared against decisions such as replacing an empty resource or judging whether another attempt is safe. A screenshot can show where information sits. It cannot, by itself, show how well somebody uses that information while playing.

Imagine a fictional rescue-drone game. Its operator can see the battery charge on a corner panel or on the drone’s casing. Before choosing either presentation, write the decision beside it: return to base now, or finish collecting one more package? That invented scenario gives a comparison something specific to investigate.

Read the older experiment as a comparison of tasks

Peacocke and colleagues’ 2018 paper reported four FPS display experiments. Its ammunition and health tasks involved 20 and 24 regular gamers, respectively. Each person tried all displays, with counterbalanced ammunition order and randomized health order, using a PC prototype and Xbox One controller.

A repeated comparison lets the same person encounter several presentations. It also requires attention to order: someone may become familiar with a task before reaching the next version. Keep the physical setup attached to the result when considering a different screen, viewing distance or control scheme.

An empty magazine created a particular test

In the ammunition task, clips contained 7–16 rounds and reloading was permitted only after emptying them. A number beside the weapon yielded significantly fewer empty trigger presses and shorter reload delays than all four other displays.

The rescue-drone example could ask a different question: can the player predict whether the remaining charge covers a planned route? Detecting an empty battery would miss that decision entirely. A test can measure its own event precisely while leaving another intended use unanswered. Name the event before borrowing its result.

Successful escape and preferred appearance diverged

The health task required escape at 20% or less, before reaching zero. Numeric HUDs had significantly higher escape success than other displays except in-game icons. Participants nevertheless preferred HUD bars despite their lower success rate.

For the fictional drone, separately ask whether an operator completes the return and whether they like reading the panel. If a tester favors a compact gauge but repeatedly returns too late, retain both observations. Changing the scoring goal could also change what counts as a useful decision. A preference should not silently replace that goal.

Keep the unexplained parts visible

The prototype lacked story fiction, limiting claims about diegetic UI. Displays were isolated, without eye tracking. The weapon-matching task found no significant display main effect on wrong-weapon shots or switching time.

An isolated indicator cannot reveal every conflict in a busy dashboard. In the proposed drone game, a package warning might cover the battery panel just as the operator turns toward base. That new interaction deserves its own observation. Likewise, a faster response does not identify where someone looked; explaining a movement requires evidence about that movement.

Give a proposed HUD test a usable outcome

For an original drone prototype, specify the route, energy costs and return rule before comparing panels. Record successful returns, unnecessary early returns and reports of readability separately. Keep those measures visible if one version trades spare battery for more collected packages. This protocol is hypothetical; ProjectGAMR has not carried it out.

The linked PDF and author record concern the same older paper. Consider the intended rescue-drone session: its operator must read the charge, judge a route and carry out the return. A useful comparison would identify which of those steps changed before recommending another display for the next version.

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