Part

Presentation

You might say: what you see

The visible game state and its signs—scene, controls, HUD and feedback—are what the player perceives while acting.

What it does

Makes the system legible enough for the player to act and learn.

Ask

Can the player tell what changed and what can be done next?

What to look for

1. Scene, controls and HUD in one view
2. Feedback beside the changing state
3. A next action the player can identify

Parts

• Game state on screen: The scene, board or playfield is a view of the current state, not the whole game system.
• Feedback signals: Visual, audio or haptic signals show the consequence of an action and the direction of change.
• Interface layout: The arrangement of scene, controls and readouts determines what the player can notice without searching.

Sources

1. Celia Hodent, Cognitive Psychology Applied to User Experience in Video Games, author article: Definition; Considering the player's mind; Perception; Signs and feedbackThe signs in a video game refer to all the perceptible cues that either urge the player to execute a specific action or inform the player of a system status.
2. Celia Hodent, Cognitive Psychology Applied to User Experience in Video Games, Definition; Perception; Signs and feedbackThe signs in a video game refer to all the perceptible cues that either urge the player to execute a specific action or inform the player of a system status.
3. Daniel Cook, Building Tight Game Systems of Cause and Effect, Strength of Feedback; Noisiness; Sensory typeTight visual feedback is highly functional; it communicates the effect to the player in an elegant efficient fashion.
4. Steve Swink, Game Feel: The Secret Ingredient, Polish: screen shake, view-angle shifts, animation, sound and effectsThe tactile sensation of manipulating a digital agent.
5. Christopher W. Totten, An Architectural Approach to Level Design, Introduction, p. xxxva good level can utilize environment art assets as part of its system of visual communication—communicating to the player through the repetition of specific assets

Use it on your project

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Paste it into a coding agent that has the teardown skills.

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