HUDs [UI]

[@Morgil27]

I never noticed before those moving backgrounds behind the character heads in Smash. Neat.

[@Blanco8x8]

Metroid Prime has one of the best HUDs, I like how it tilts with the helmet as you turn Samus around.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

While I agree that the helmet immersion is well executed, one major drawback I found is that it was difficult for me to get used to the limited field of vision due to parts of the helmet obstructing thre top and sides of the screen.

[@Blanco8x8]

@@_Just_Another_Guy Fortunately there is an option to remove all that.

[@Canama139]

Though the criticisms of the aesthetic changes in Halo 4 and 5 were pretty fair, and I much prefer the more classic style that Infinite went with, I do wish they had kept the Prime-style helmet edges.

[@artagle_14]

@@_Just_Another_GuyI found the helmet parts to be really cool. It felt like I was the one wearing Samus’ helmet back in the day.

[@ARGssszzz]

Metroid Prime's HUD has one element I particularly liked : the "danger" meter. It goes up and down depending on what you are doing, it's purely here for ambience ! So cool !

[@skyguysZ]

My favorite HUD design choice with Splatoon is having your ink tank be at the back of your inkling/octoling rather than it being a meter somewhere on screen. Knowing how much ink you have during a game is super important for crucial decision making and naturally, the eyes would look at the back of your player character before anything else onscreen.

[@mandisaw]

That's called diegetic UI :) More than just being in world-space, like a floating health bar, it's integrated as part of the characters' world.

[@skyguysZ]

@@mandisaw always wondered if that had a name. Now I know, thank you!

[@mandisaw]

@skyguysZ No problem! You might check out vids from DesignDoc, Architect of Games, and Extra Credits - they've all discussed diegetic vs non-diegetic UI. Also applies to sounds - like how a UI cue can be set up to sound like something in the environment.

[@Ayyfren]

You would absolutely love playing the original Dead space 1, I thought of that game when playing splatoon. You'll understand why

[@dynamicsketch]

Sakurai mentioned that the character images used in the Smash HUD help with the appeal of the characters since they would be too small to see. Appealing character designs is something more games need to utilize these days.

[@broccoliben7961]

I appreciate HUDs when they are capable of showing a lot of different information and I'm able to learn to understand and utalize it more effectively. You never notice how well designed a HUD is until you notice how effective it is in giving information to the player. PS: Sakurai is so cool

[@qrowing]

Nearly as cool as friend of Nintendo, Chris Pratt.

[@SapphireDuke92]

Really appreciate the thought involved when games give characters designs that lessen the HUD clutter, like how Isaac Clarke’s health bar is on his back, or how Wander’s sword is also the compass.

[@Colopty]

Diegetic HUD elements are fun like that. Tricky to get right and not always appropriate but it does strike a good balance between providing useful information and keeping things immersive.

[@Tiwill]

I like that in survival horror games, when your character is low on health they have a different idle/walking animation to show that they're pretty badly injured.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

​@@Tiwill Not just survival horror games but pretty much a lot of modern shooter games does this. The soldier will limp or move more slowly when injured.

[@YoshiAngemon]

I'm surprised no one is bringing up Deadpool's gratuitous use of the HUD in his Level 3 Hyper Combo in Marvel vs. Capcom 3! He starts things off by hitting the opponent with the Health Bar! "HEALTH BAR IN YOUR FACE!" Then sends them flying with the Hyper Combo gauge! "Feel the LOVE of the Hyper Combo! And it's a HOOOME RUN! 🎵This is the Hyper Combo!🎵" It's beautiful!

[@Minty_Meeo]

The final boss in Kirby Triple Deluxe is also a great fourth-wall break regarding health bars. With the Hypernova ability, Kirby sucks up even the HUD while absorbing Queen Sectonia's final attack!

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

Well Deadpool's main schtick is breaking the 4th wall so....

[@SadFace229]

If there's one thing I'd like to see Smash Bros take from the Kingdom Hearts series regarding the fighter portraits in the HUD is if the faces would show emotion when taking a hit. Probably not feasible given how those are renders used in the Smash series but I really enjoyed the expressiveness of Sora's face in the HUD of the KH series. You'll see him flinch when he takes a hit and he looks visibly down when his HP is low. If the portraits were drawn out by the artist who did the "EVERYONE IS HERE" mural... that'd be crazy cool.

[@paperluigi6132]

That reminds me of a Kung Fu Panda game on DS where Po’s face is shown on the top screen alongside his health bar, and depending on how much health he has, his expression changes.

[@Suprapika]

The Tales series does this, and it's a cool feature, and not too distracting.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

X-men Legends 1 & 2 also does this with 3D face models of the characters. Their HUD face will even flash if receiving some damage and look down when KO'd.

[@BJGvideos]

Funny thing is even though I played KH, I associate that with DOOM...a series I've never played

[@SuperPistachio_]

Smash Ultimate uses the eye glints on the character portraits when executing perfect shields or certain specials, like fully charging Wii Fit Trainer's Sun Salutation.

[@MikeAruba69]

I've noticed that the HUD in modern Nintendo games look more plain and simple compared to the ones from the GameCube era with its large, decorative, colorful themed HUDs. For example, compare the HUD from Mario Party 5 with Super Mario Party, Super Mario Sunshine with Super Mario Odyssey, Mario Kart: Double Dash!! with Mario Kart 8 and Zelda: Wind Waker with Breath of the Wild.

[@Zen.Connection]

I really miss the more ornate UI in Zelda games in particular. They really leaned hard into the ancient tech thing for BOTW/TOTK so it makes sense for those games, but I'm really hoping they dial that aspect down for the next Zelda.

[@VonFirflirch]

I think I remember hearing something about "flat design" being more hip these days, or something like that. I... uh... I don't get it. Hopefully I've heard wrong.

[@mandisaw]

Most games (and TV/film content) have to accommodate a lot of different screen sizes & resolutions now. So most UI designers moved over to "cleaner" vector-based designs, since they can scale up & down easily without that pixelated look that raster-based graphics will get. There are "fashions" and design-trends as well, so as users get used to certain popular styles, more designers will mimic those. It's a balance between wanting to stand out, and wanting users to have an interface that makes sense and that they're familiar with.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

Minimalistic flat HUD design puts more focus on the gameplay field. While the overly colorful HUDs in past games were aesthetically fitting, they sometimes clashed with the visuals of the gameplay field.

[@nicocchi]

There's also the argument that the HUD is, unless otherwise justified, 100% purely a gameplay function, not an in-universe thing that the characters see and interact with. So at that point it doesn't make much sense to make it aesthetically fitting-just make it clean and readable, ergo turn it into an oversimplified logo. Of course, there's exceptions~ with Metroid Prime you're looking at the game through Samus' eyes, and the HUD is *her* actual HUD, displaying information through her visor. Xenoblade 3 also has a beautiful bright oranges and deep blues HUD, as the characters can pull up information in their eyes for… some reason? It's high tech fantasy but it's cool

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Powerwash Simulator features three times now. Sakurai-san really liked the game, it seems

[@jasonso2056]

One thing I really like about Xenoblade 3's HUD is how it resembles the in-universe Iris. A neat bonus is that since many of the elements are at least partially transparent, it doesn't take up as much of the screen as the HUDs of other Xenoblade games.

[@Neutra77]

1:52 Thousands of hours of smash, and this is the 1st I've ever seen that little upward pattern in the fighter portraits' background. The little details are always so hard to miss, but so nice when you learn about them

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

Playing on a large tv screen helps, lol. I've seen the background patterns on Smash Ultimate as soon as I started playing the game on a decent sized screen.

[@nicocchi]

For the record, if anything looks like a flat color in Smash, particularly Wii U and Ultimate, take a closer look. Chances are it actually has a scrolling texture instead of just being a flat color

[@kiwilord9628]

I remember that Sakurai said one of his favorite ui in a game was from persona 5. I'd say I agree as the hud and interface stand out when it needs to and doesn't distract when isn't needed

[@tailgrowth]

I really love how the Kingdom Hearts games will change the design of the HUD to match what world you're in. It's such a fun feature.

[@connordarvall8482]

Cool. I'm making a HUD for a game right now. The discipline I learned is don't show the player information they're not actively using, which is really popular in 3D platformers. For example, counters for the main collectibles in Banjo-Kazooie only appear on the screen for a couple of seconds when you collect the relevant collectible before panning offscreen, but you can see the totals at any time from the pause menu. Personally, I'm hoping to make one that doesn't put most of the HUD apart from health onscreen until you need it and puts the title of the area you're in onscreen if you stay in one place for 5 seconds, just in case you need to be reminded where you are.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

Ok, those HUDs in cars that display the speed and odometer needs to come to the West! They're cool and functional! Although they'd be next to impossible to see while driving on a bright sunny day.

[@BJGvideos]

I think they're everywhere but they're expensive

[@ryanschwartz4959]

I think they already have to some extent, as my mom’s Acura has one

[@robotcalus]

I have a Mazda 6 and it projects the speed and navigation details onto a little piece of plastic infront of the windshield. You never have to take your eyes off the road and I love it

[@ToonLink1672]

0:59 Sakurai saying this reminds me of what the HUD can look like in late-game Xenoblade 2 (+DLC)

[@gamefreakDX]

I feel like most Japanese devs rely more on style and aesthetic when it comes to art design, so having somewhat fancy HUDs also comes into the equation. Meanwhile, Western devs prefer to mimic realism, especially with the more mature titles, so trying to minimise game aspects like HUD is necessary. This is just what I think.

[@mandisaw]

Different styles for different genre conventions, too. Western games lean heavily into first-person, especially shooters and RPGs, but even for stuff like racing games. Too much stuff on the screen could make simulation sickness worse. I think there's also a weird "realism is better" attitude, particularly in the PC & Console space [except Nintendo]. It used to be totally fine to have some stylized aesthetic even in a mature, or hardcore game, but now it feels like some folks associate stylized with either mobile or "for casuals". Asian markets aren't quite as into that attitude as US & Europe, but it pops up more often there lately (recent Final Fantasy mainline games, maybe Forspoken, though that game was tryhard on multiple levels). It's not even about being a graphics showcase, since you can be stylized and still have technically-impressive graphics (like Genshin, or that Lego AR game).

[@CyberDragon10K]

The Diablo mana and health globes are iconic parts of its HUD. I'm pretty sure they're still flanked by an angel and demon respectively, even today in Diablo IV. By the time of these later sequels the massive 8-slots of the potion belt have been reduced to a single one on cooldown, MMO style though. Diablo II had the midway point with 4 potion slots that could stack 4 slots high depending on what belt you wore.

[@alandunaway3000]

Unlike the PC, D3 and D4 HUDs on consoles are quite smaller than the PC versions. D2 for Switch uses the classic D2 HUD.

[@BluishGreenPro]

One bit of feedback I give quite often is to make sure that info in your HUD is readable at a glance. The more frantic your game is, the less time a player can spare to focus on the edge of the screen to effectively parse the information. This usually means icons and numbers need to be much larger than you initially think; the more important the information, the larger it should be! Also, consider putting critical UI elements directly in the center of the screen, like the way Overwatch places some things around the reticle. It doesn’t have to be permanently on-screen either! For example, if you have an HP bar along the bottom of your screen, you could temporarily display the HP bar above the character’s head when they take damage or restore health. This mechanic can actually be seen in recent Kirby games, and I’ve used it effectively in my own games.

[@alandunaway3000]

Also, using Dings or good SFX/VFX to highlight achievements and general states, like the Overdrive sound in Rock Band and the track flashing when overdrive is ready(Guitar Hero also had this with Star Power). Rock Band and GH had several ways to communicate the state to the player, like: Blue/Yellow flashing when overdrive/sp was ready; Blue pattern on 4x/6x multipliers(highest for guitar/bass); Red track flash when your lifebar was low(coupled with screen flashing in red). DWI had a similar thing with states, but used announcer voices instead of VFX: "I know you can do this, come on!"=When your lifebar was extremely low(like in the low 20%); "I'm getting excited!!!"(lifebar in gold state[full]). Also the combo counts every 100 notes hit.

[@mmking9999]

The worst offenders of HUD clutter are MMOs and mobile games with gacha mechanics. Both have so many icons and buttons that take up so much screen space.

[@mandisaw]

Eye of the beholder. Apparently E. Asian players & devs prefer having everything all on one level/screen at once, while US players & devs prefer context-sensitive showing only what is relevant at the time. Not sure about Europe or other regions, and obvs this is a generalization. But a lot of those Korean PC MMOs and E. Asian mobile games are catering to that regional audience, so they look cluttered to a US eye.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

Even Final Fantasy XI and XIV MMOs had screens that looked very cluttered to me with tons of menus, sub-menus, status procs, and ability cooldowns all on screen at once.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

​@@mandisaw Ahem, World of Warcraft HUB is also cluttered and that MMO was developed by Blizzard, a western developer.

[@Artista_Frustrado]

the thing with MMOs is that you need all that information to be visible during combat from your Teammate's health to when you can use each ability

[@Artista_Frustrado]

and for Mobile Games is because the UI are the actual Inputs. Remember, you usually play those on a device that has no physical buttons unlike videogame consoles

[@9a3eedi]

Man this video made me remember meteos and how much fun it was to play 4 player on DS with a single cartridge. Miss those days. I hope the switch 2 can bring back this sort of feature

[@ExploDjinn]

I like the whole side and corners thing since that makes it easy to look at when you need to, but not so in your face that you're able to ignore it when you don't.

[@shawnheatherly]

Got to have that right balance, I love a HUD that feels part of the game but it still needs to be legible.

[@WolfPhoenix0]

I've been playing video games for over 20 years and I only just now learned that HUD stands for heads-up display. I've never seen anyone mention what the letters stand for until now. 😂

[@MisterHeroman]

Customizable HUDs would be the best.

[@laggalot1012]

2:39 Showing the enemies hit like this is something I've also always found rather satisfying, like when you use Mic and suddenly a whole bunch of enemies get shown there, it really makes the attack feel powerful, even though it says nothing about the actual impact the attack had. (Mic in Air Ride does fairly light damage, to offset its immense attack range.) It also helps communicate when you strike something you may not have even realised was there. Concrete feedback about what your actions do helps confer meaning to it.

[@aogami_yamazaki]

All the video provides a very important advice that shouldn’t be overlooked by any modern game. I appreciate good HUD design that keeps things simple and only show necessary information. Everything depends on the game but they should provide options to hide elements from the HUD too like the example we see on the video.

[@jedisquidward]

Sakurai-san talked about those cool hologram displays in cars years ago in his interview with Harada-san. It's so cool to see it in action!

[@ChrisCarlos64]

I miss the days of PS1/PS2 era HUDs. Games like those had a lot more character with how they showed their UI versus today. Many Western games especially just use very basic and minimalistic designs which robs a game of any personality. Japanese games still use fun designs to reflect the style of the game.

[@BryaStar]

"I could go on forever" is absolutely a mood when I wanna talk about things I enjoy for hours if I could!

[@BluishGreenPro]

While many modern games are made with a pixel art aesthetic, I would generally advise against developers making the HUD also be pixel art; mostly for legibility reasons. Pixelated text is especially hard to read, and makes your game inaccessible to many players. Most game engines can render the game itself at a reduced resolution like 640x360 while rendering a separate layer for UI elements which matches the user’s monitor resolution. While it may seem like the “cleaner” UI might clash with the pixel artwork, I believe good art direction can bridge this game and result in a highly accessible UI.

[@Belbecat]

I think my favourite is Dead Space - the no HUD, but still the same information provided anyway in ways that make sense in universe.

[@JorgeLopez-qj8pu]

Despite him taking about it in another video, It's kinda crazy he hasn't connected the dots of why, designers have to accommodate a lot of different screen sizes & resolutions now (Phones, tablets, Ultra wide multiple monitors, Gaming handhelds from big to small), and that's why most moved to cleaner and minimalist design.

[@CarbonRollerCaco]

The interface being the most "practical" part of a game is no excuse to forgo imbuing it with the game's personality. Perhaps more minimal's easier for ability-based gimmicks, multiplayer and smaller screens, but I miss Kirby's Adventure's and Kirby Super Star's little comic-style ability/helper/status pics compared to the basic icons of non-Sakurai Kirby entries. OUCH! That said, the pause screen text for the abilities did improve. I need my beauty sleep…

[@BlueKazuki]

I actually like RPGs having a lot of information in the HUD because it feels like strategic management. In other genres, all you might need is health, stamina, and items on screen.

[@JGuy97]

There are 3 levels of HUD clutter: 1. Western game HUD 2. Japanese game HUD 3. Monster Hunter HUD

[@zinkpopovitch9519]

0:22 he thought he could sneak in the heads up display of his Class-S and we wouldn't notice haha

[@luluskuy]

huh? What do you mean?

[@perinor1P84]

”What if Ubisoft made Elden Ring?”

[@DarkBloodbane]

Thank you for sharing this Mr Sakurai!

[@godofsquirrels494]

The ui for mhr can be hidden selectively so you don’t have to hide everything sometimes you just want the map to be hidden. That mechanic allowed me and my friends to play hide and seek in an action rpg.

[@DavisGSee]

AAA games tend to try to reduce the HUD as much as possible for the sake of immersion, but in games like turn-based RPGs where the player spends a lot of time actively interacting with the UI, this is a fool's errand. In these cases, rather than trying to make the HUD not very noticeable (impossible when it's something the player needs to look at a ton), it's best to make it stylish and appealing in its own right. Atlus are the kings of this with Persona.

[@SonnyO]

Dead Space is usually one popular game to mention when talking about HUDs

[@PhilipMurphy8]

Sakurai is back, gaming content is still great on KZbin

[@ドリフト180X]

One thing that bothers me with many recent games is how small the test is. This is also a problem in menu screens also. But yeah HUD that are too cluttered is unappealing looking also. Granblue ReLink had the clutter problem.

[@Nekotaku_TV]

I want as little HUD as possible, unless it's part of the immersion like with Metroid Prime. And love when stuff is put in the game like with Dead Space.

[@Anonymimus]

I love how both the Donkey Kong Country and Tomb Raider series only ever show your health bar, remaining extra lives, bananas or ammunition only when it's relevant.

[@alandunaway3000]

As Sakurai said, Immersion. Tomb Raider in recent installments is more immersive than the older entries due to the use of context-sensitive heads-up display.

[@RangoTheMercenary]

The first game that taught me about HUD was Metroid Prime. Either in the manual or the Nintendo Power preview, I was immersed learning about this new terminology and concept. Looking back, Metroid Prime had an incredibly smooth and intuitive HUD, especially for someone who's barely played a first-person title.

[@chaosmiles07]

Bonus points for the fact that it all looks diegetic, as well. That is to say, it looks like it would _actually_ be a useful display _in-universe,_ _to Samus,_ not just to the player.

[@Leopez02]

It's so nice to see you showed 2022 BEST game Pokémon Legends Arceus in this video and can't wait i'm so EXCITED for Legends ZA Pokémon Z has RISED from the Death Like AZ said in X&Y: It's been 3000 years! 😢❤

[@TeamSoraPresents]

As I've been dabbling in game design, I feel there needs to be a fine balance between "usability", "readability", and at times "personality" in HUD design... or rather, I've also watched videos from other channels talking about this. But that balance is never the same between any 2 games, even in the same series. I like it when games can let you adjust parts of the HUD, even the position and size of elements, in the Options menu. Or games with a diegetic HUD, like Dead Space or some FPS like Metroid Prime, which give the player critical gameplay information without breaking immersion. I do wonder, though, why some series seem to be moving away from really stylized HUDs in favor of more simplified or basic designs?

[@mandisaw]

It's mainly to accommodate different sizes & resolutions of screens, so you need simpler, vector-based images. Localization is a factor too, since your UI will have to be resizeable to fit different languages (incl those with taller or longer text boxes). Those older more complex, pixel-perfect (i.e. raster) designs assumed a classic 4:3 Standard TV (or computer monitor), and you were maybe only localizing to Japanese and English. Even then stuff was unreadable, like too-tiny Japanese kanji, or cut-off lengthy German phrases.

[@TheHylianBatman]

A good HUD can lead to a great game.

[@ArcRay20]

in terms of bad HUD, im reminded of Daemon X Machina. when i played the initial demo, all i could think half the time was "there is too much HUD in the center of the screen and none of it LOOKS like important info that need to be there."

[@dougggtheoof]

One interesting game in regards to UI is FF Dissidia NT. The original arcade UI takes up a lot of space, probably so it could have more appeal from a distance. The home port added a sleeker UI option for those who think the original is too cluttered.

[@keynanmartinez]

Dead Space series imo has an S+ Tier HUD in video games.

[@Gamer-yo6pr]

I was actually having issues with HUDs good to know the goat of gaming was right here with help

[@RealTomNook]

Multiversus needs to take notes.

[@ponderingForever]

Such a cute mockup UI

[@The-Zer0th-Law]

I like HUDs that have detail and personality, instead of being plain (of a solid color). So like... Zelda Breath of the Wild and Super Mario Odyssey for me had 0 appeal in the HUD, but past games got a lot of it.

[@Tiwill]

This is a good point tbh. It might be why I fully turned off the HUD in BotW even though I didn't mind the HUD in Ocarina of Time or Wind Waker for example. Though maybe part of it has to do with the fact that the controllers themselves had charm for those games. There isn't much you can do to turn the gray Joy-Con face buttons into an appealing HUD.

[@Big-Mic7878]

When I see this, I think of the many Sonic HUD's being brought up in conversation within the fandom some better than others but at least we get a general idea on WHAT a HUD even is This might come out of nowhere but my favorite HUD is the one from the Sonic Rush series (Don't Judge. I'm an analysis I don't mind a little clutter if it means knowing what's going on in the moment.)

[@mercifuldeath]

LOT of current AAA studios need to watch this video LOL

[@Flametix]

For some reason the P1 cursor appearing and disappearing at times made me think about watching a broadcasted event combined with the audience sounds and the camera zooms.

[@shujun89]

Ohh we get a sneak peek of Sakurai's driving.

[@GerardMenvussa]

Overcrowded layouts are common in Japanese games (and websites?), but they will never be as bad as Korean MMOs 😋 I do hope to see some flexibility in future Nintendo games, like the 2 HUD options for BotW.

[@GerardMenvussa]

1:14 So glad we had the option to hide the HUD here. Otherwise we would be missing out on the gorgeous visuals of modern Pokémon games 😈

[@NameNotNeeded]

I _really_ prefer how BotW had the stamina wheel right next to Link. I've lost fights in Souls/Elden Ring because I had to take my eye off the enemy to glance at the stamina meter.

[@dearthofdoohickeys4703]

I love a minimal hud. I’ve avoided some games entirely purely because the screen is too cluttered.

[@jedisquidward]

A perfect video as always. It's interesting; Western games definitely have a tendency toward less HUD overall, but are a lot more likely to show extra HUD for context-sensitive situations (Ex "Press X to Climb Ladder"), even when it's been well established. It's also amazing how the Player display arrows above the characters have evolved over the Smash games. It's funny how seamlessly it transitions; hardcore players don't even notice it!

[@dylanjoel4091]

Hi Sakurai, keep up the good work

[@xone_mi]

0:55 world first Horizon Zero Dawn gameplay reveal 😮

[@michaelstevenson5044]

I"I think that's a good place to stop" Why?! Give me more!

[@OFishNeo]

Unlike PC and console games, mobile games suffer from HUDs taking too much space, since they don't have separate screens and controllers, and the screens are typically small. Also, that level 81 Vulpix tho 1:14

[@matthiasr1523]

I wish Horizon Zero Dawn had integrated the HUD into the character's augmented reality tool, instead of screen overlays... Wasted opportunity to have a 100% immersive HUD :(

[@4Wilko]

Of course Monster Hunter Rise shows up when talking about cluttered screens!

[@cgyh68748]

HUDs for strategy games are usually tricky to balance

[@Ayyfren]

HUD in cars is amazing

[@Cashbans]

until its day time were you cant see them

[@FredWooo]

Sakurai says he could keep talking about this forever, well I'd love to hear him do that! Is there anywhere that Sakurai discusses game design, but in a longer format?

[@mandisaw]

Not Sakurai, but you could check out DesignDoc, he has an entire series on Good vs Bad UI

[@Tiwill]

Hmm. That comment about how Japanese games display a lot of info and Western games don't is a little odd. I mean, it depends entirely on the genre. Like 100%. There are many Japanese games with minimal UI during gameplay, like Silent Hill or Mario 64, and many western games that litter the entire screen with information, like WoW or Deadlock. I mean, I know this because my favorite games often come from Japan and I generally prefer a clean HUD for immersion, so this doesn't really add up to me. Maybe Sakurai is thinking about some obscure JP games that never came out in the west and I'm thinking about some western games that never really made a splash in Japan or something. I'm not sure.

[@sarerusoldone]

it might just be a general japanese preference. you can see the same difference with website designs from japan vs the west, where westerners consider good web design to be clean and minimalistic with only as much information displayed as absolutely needed, as opposed to good japanese web design where they display as much information as they can since this is apparently seen as a sign of being transparent to your customers and trustworthy. many japanese websites still look like they were designed before 2010

[@crows2808]

Honestly, I figure I could use at least one more video about HUD design, or at least a resource to follow up on. But since this is the last UI video ,I guess I need to find the next step on my own. Thank you for the quick overview.

[@GamerFunOriginallyAarush]

HUDS!

[@Artista_Frustrado]

yeah that's a very real Cultural difference, as Western High-Budget developers tend to prioritize the Cinematic aspects of Games & try to make them look more like Movies

[@Malhonn]

i dont know about non japenese having more discrete HUDs, some western games have 40% to 50% of the screen being covered by HUDs showing you the mission, each objective, the compass, the floating marker, the mini map with an marker on it, Cause they have no faith in the players ability to navigate themselves.

[@thelastgogeta]

I can see where he is coming from depending on the series since Trials of Mana does not allow you to turn off a lot of UI and has quite a bit, but it is more of a series problem in what they expect of players than a East vs West problem.

[@Malhonn]

@@thelastgogeta i dont think this is exactly a "east vs west" its more a game to game basis, or actually a more developer to developer basis, since i played games with less intrusive HUD from both west and east developers, although the more intrusive HUD seems to be more prevalent on western games, specifically AAA games from the big publishers. My theory is that the devs took cues from MMORPG's HUDs, hence the over clutter of needless information

[@herobrinesbestminion6766]

some RPG's overload the hud with 9-10 quickslots. and as I (I think) pointed out in the menu episode, having thousands of complicated looking points and possabilitys can toggle down the fun. skill trees with stuffing points into hunderts of possiblitys can be complicated. for point based I can recomment spellforce 1 (NOT 3) or the dragon quest monsters series. for tile based, take a look at smash Ultimates storymode (a bit small boosts for my likeing, but I see where it came from gamedesignwhise) or Final fantasy X. to make only a few examples. and to come back to the hud, maybe just look at final fantasy and how V made it.

[@gmcubed]

I miss the melee style hud to be honest. It just feels less, cheesy somehow.

[@altairkyeonu]

The minimalistic HUD trend is so boring. Like, there are some games that after 2 days not playing it, I have to read the guides again to understand what that freaking small bar on the right corner is... Like, at least make it so I can expand the HUD if I want or need.

[@_Just_Another_Guy]

I mean most games do a fairly good job of differentiating metered bars... like for example the Souls games (Dark Souls, Elden Ring, etc.). The 3 main meter bars are differentiated based on color: red for HP, blue for FP, and green for stamina despite that it's not explicitly labeled.

[@Brods11]

Excellent information!👍

[@Stratelier]

For me, if I don't need to know a piece of information _in real time_ then it doesn't belong on the HUD -- in most cases, it will be duplicated in a relevant menu somewhere. For example, I turned off about half the HUD when playing Monster Hunter Rise (crucially including the minimap -- the full map is still accessible through the pause menu and its own screen). I'm also fond of turning off floating objective markers. In Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I used the "Pro" setting which disables basically all the HUD elements except your lifebar. No regrets!

[@Gamer-m2x1v]

I wanted to ask Mr.Sakurai a question, is there any way I can reach him?

[@TramiNguyen-oi3kp]

Good morning!

[@TrueStormlore]

I prefer challenging games. I think he meant easy to understand what's going on and fun to play.

[@VonFirflirch]

Yeah, that's what I hope that sentence is about. I'm sick of the "Not every game has to be Dark Souls" crowd... where is the "Not every game has to be Kirby" or whatever? x)

[@Shadow8797_YT]

Thank you Mr Sakurai

[@WarioGBA]

awesome

[@undergroundhiphopfan6335]

Why dual screen gaming wins again.

[@hurricanexanax]

I play a lot of racing games, and I usually delete certain HUD elements as I get more familiar with the game

[@SobmicSSBB]

I turn off the HUD side- and rear-view mirrors in Euro Truck Simulator for the extra realism and ~immersion~

[@luckykaaby1629]

💖

[@nelsonmouatvergara]

❤❤❤❤❤🔥🔥🔥🔥🔥

[@Amonimus]

HUD needs to have information to make quick decisions. If some info isn't always relevant, it should not be in the HUD and can be moved to a pop-up.

[@MrRom92DAW]

I don’t like HUDs. I got scratched up real bad by one of those once

[@Schimnesthai]

I don't like "western huds", there, i said it. There are many more factors but once i see a game that has a HUD like the one in Horizon, i already feel like not playing, just a tiny bit. What makes me full stop however is when the game becomes a walking sim lol

[@thecunninlynguist]

nothing beats a good HUD....but funnily enough, one of my fave PS2 games, The Getaway, tried to be "realistic" and lacked any type of HUD.

[@HooFbauer]

I feel like a lot of Nintendos recent HUDs have lost a lot of charm and appeal compared to stylized HUDs like In Mario Sunshine or Metroid Prime. They kinda became more "corporate" in design. I think Mario Odyssey and Echoes of Wisdom are good examples of that.

[@blackmario1117]

Hello, Sakurai san!