The Power of Diegetic UI

[@merakimerakimeraki]

ch-ch-check me out! twitter.com/MerakiPlays

[@joshua238]

One of the greatest examples of playing a game with no HUD (and still play the game normally) is Breath of the Wild.

[@bogboys2k]

what about health, stamina, durability warnings and (in some cases) the sheikah slate powers

[@Quitbit]

@@bogboys2k They can all be inferred from the expressions and animations of Link, also health, stamina, and durability warnings are still left there.

[@Hornet-06]

With halo, the hud makes sense, because what you are seeing is what the master chief (or noble 6) would see on their inbuilt helmet hud

[@Arek15Arek]

Hmm, makes me think of Dead Space where all the HUD wasn't on screen but integrated into the gameplay. You could see the health on the character's suit and the gadgets you carry would display ammo and other things and the map, inventory, as well as video and text logs would be displayed as a hologram projection from the suit you can view on the go without the game ever stopping so you'd always be vulnerable to attacks. It made perfect sense for the universe and is a really immersive game because it would be the same way you'd view such things in real life in such scenario.

[@midgi2841]

goddamn bro this video is fucking great. seriously this video is so interesting with hella amounts of content in it and your commentary is very insightful.

[@merakimerakimeraki]

Damn, thanks so much! That made my day! I’ll keep it up, people like you are why I make videos!

[@aur9791]

Your hair style is nice.

[@merakimerakimeraki]

Thanks! I call it the “be too lazy to get a haircut for 8 months”

[@aur9791]

Low effort is sometimes good

[@larsfrommars]

Meraki I haven’t gotten a haircut in forever. It looks like something died in there.

[@Samuel_Rioux]

@@larsfrommars quarantine vibe

[@larsfrommars]

@@Samuel_Rioux It do be like that

[@epiccontrolzx2291]

A bit weird not to see any mention of Metro Exodus here. Easily one of the best examples of (almost) completely diegetic HUD in action. Sea of Thieves, Far Cry 2, Elite Dangerous, and Metroid Prime are great examples too

[@hogey14]

A game without a hud is such a drastic change from what we know. I don't know how to feel about it. Definitely open to it, but it would have to be done perfectly to work at all. Great video man

[@sutsujk8750]

What about the new cyberpunk 2077 ? In that game the hud is explained by having mulitple implants, that allow you to see yor ammo count and health bar and so on. I wouldnt say this is immersion breaking, since its part of the lore and world.

[@merakimerakimeraki]

It’s certainly an awesome way to do it. That’s definitely diegetic HUD, which is a great middle ground

[@lukalaa1764]

Ya want a battlefield game that feels real? Arma... Altought it might be odd seeing a bike strapped to a heli flying around at low altitude

[@bigbidensicecreamparlour6505]

Keep up the great vids man, love this channel and you, hope you can keep growing like you deserve to.

[@Casedilla73]

This is something I’ve been looking for for a while. Good job, I’m surprised how little views this has. I like the similarity to other KZbinrs like Razbuten.

[@realkingofantarctica]

One of the best HUD’s I’ve seen in a game is Dead Space. The HUD is integrated into your suit and in a third-person horror shooter, that is *p e r f e c t* and it integrates with the gameplay so so well.

[@bbrainstormer2036]

Good video, even if I am a bit late. A great example of a game with diegetic UI is Inscryption. Your "health" is represented by real weights on a scale, your items sit right beside you on a table, etc. This, combined with the amazing sound design, adds so much immersion.

[@GodRookie]

Dude, your videos are great! I hope that your channel grows up and keep up the good work!

[@Coppertopdude]

When you thank us for watching, I really feel it. I appreciate that Meraki. Thanks for making amazing content, you deserve so much more on here

[@BiggieCheeto]

I found your channel recently, and I've been bingeing all your videos and cant stop. Help.

[@mason2633]

just wanted to say I really appreciate your content and wanted to tell you to keep it up

[@xxredraven1992]

I really like how Dead Space handled the "HUD". One of the best in my opinion. I really like TPS games so that was one of my favourites.

[@noraeld5020]

Dude I just found you and watched a bunch of your videos - you're awesome and super underrated

[@TimelessTransience]

I played most of the new God of War without the HUD (somebody had reccomened it, idk who) and I found that it worked very well. There's an option to bring it up at any time w/ the touchpad in case someone wanted it off most of the time, but would like to see it at their discretion. The only time I found myself wanting the HUD up the whole time was the Sigrun fight and possibly the hardest difficulty, GMGOW. Otherwise, Atreus and Mimir' cues for attacks from behind work really well as an in-game way to make you aware of something the HUD would otherwise do.

[@RealSchmood]

LOVE your videos. How come you haven't blown up yet?

[@merakimerakimeraki]

Thanks man! And I don’t care as long as someone’s watching, but I’ll keep working at it!

[@PeterDuffII]

I really like your content style my man, keep it up

[@loaduscoolclipz5505]

I think a good example of a diagetic HUD is the health bar on the Dead Cells series.

[@jianettego2539]

Good job bro! Love from the Philippines ❤️

[@Zyrphox]

Bruh you should have more than 1M+ subs, you make quality content.

[@MoonBlinked13]

Halo also has the advantage of the HUD being a part of a Spartan's visor. You can imagine that's what it would actually look like to be wearing Mjolnir armor. It makes sense within the narrative.

[@seinorlemon]

An amazing game without a hud is Abzu, it fully immerses you in its world and only every now and then shows up with a button prompt when it introduces a new control.

[@schleem]

Destiny 2 does HUD really well, same with Insurgency and Insurgency Sandstorm do too

[@duzisparkz]

Yay another upload!

[@lukegraban9644]

Keep up the great work bro

[@Ma1q444]

Playing with no HUD is impossible in some games but makes the experience 100% better when you get used to it I just wish more games would give directions without holding your hand for example a game like Morrowind did it amazing.

[@edgarsxdwoo7417]

unironically got immersed in this video

[@lydierayn]

Green hell-s first aid healing system? Thats something every survival game should go for

[@richsturim133]

Great discussion, love the analysis.

[@FatNinjaWalrus]

Half-life Alyx was HUD-less in a spectacularly simple but effective way. And I'm pretty sure the Witcher or some other game like it had an adaptive HUD that only appeared when the information was relevant, and faded away as it was no konger needed. Or maybe it was Horizon: Zero Dawn

[@rayani5383]

During Tim’s when I play a game like persona 5, when I’m roaming through a palace all I do is just stare at the minimap, I don’t focus on. The actual area to navigate and my eyes are usually only on the minimap blindly following the directions, but in a game like BONELAB there is no hud, not even health as health is described as when your eyes slowly close in the game, you are almost dead unless you kill all the enemies in the area, the only hud that I would know about in bonelab is the pause menu and when it tells you how to sit in a seat

[@deoczidGONI]

One nice example is the map in Minecraft; with no minimap, you isntead have to craft it and look down at your paper between the hands to use it ✌✌

[@kadebethers7909]

Underrated video

[@merakimerakimeraki]

Thank you !

[@DrKEYZ]

Awesome video, my man! Keep up the good work, and thanks again for the feature! I have some new tracks available if you're interested. You're the only KZbinr I would let use my tracks.

[@merakimerakimeraki]

I’ll have to check em out! I love the animal crossing one so much. Listen to it while I study! Keep it up man, thanks again for letting me use your amazing songs!

[@pewnit]

I think Just Cause 3 does a pretty decent job at a reduced HUD game. I'd recommend you all check it out.

[@Kobold_Green]

Retro Studios managed diegetic HUD in 2001 with Metroid Prime, so modern devs can absolutely manage it.

[@patrickkielly]

You should give some suggestions about how fallout could incorporate the pip boy more with the HUD.

[@kadebethers7909]

Such a good vid

[@stm7810]

I want more specific audio health, perhaps where each progression to a lower health stage is a worse swear, from a hiss at 90% crap at 75%, shit at 50% fuck at 25% and them screaming at 10%. the question is what should represent health raising. going above 10 you just stop screaming, above 25% you hear a groan, 50% a gasp, getting above 75% sigh of relief, at full "that's better."

[@lydierayn]

Also. Every shooter should only have a small minimap and an ammo counter

[@catherinehernandez2935]

My g, are you taking up a major in comp/game development? Great analyses, just wondering if it’s related to what you’re focusing on in college too. Go man!

[@merakimerakimeraki]

Haha no! I’m majoring in finance with minors in film and Italian. Ma grazie !

[@catherinehernandez2935]

Meraki Damn dude, that’s a lot of units HAHAHA but cool to see you make time for these vids! Hope you get your hw done jk also, nessun problema! #googletranslategod

[@merakimerakimeraki]

Yeah it sure is! Just wish I had more time for videos, I love making em. Thanks for the support 😤

[@JADISTIC_]

It's worth the 1 month wait

[@arthurius_3022]

you should see escape from tarkov, most of the time there's no hud at all

[@ludwinc4951]

0:30 how does your Shadow Of Mordor have such good graphics Mine looks like a poorly rendered mobile RPG game

[@merakimerakimeraki]

My new pc runs it crazy well... I think it’s in 4K there?

[@adorab0wl]

I think Sea of Thieves actually does this very well. There is no hud and anything that would be part of the hud is a part of the game. Say what you will about the gameplay, the fact that there isn't even a crosshair in an FPS MMO adventure game is pretty impressive.

[@seanerzat]

hey nice vid bruh

[@Unrruly]

You want no HUD? Well try vr barely any vr game have HUDs and if they do it is on your hand

[@wachyfanning]

I fundamentally disagree. First of all, the presence of UI does not make a game unimersive. That would be to say that a book can never be immersive, as all you actually see are words on a page. Games are not films, and the presence of UI can actually aid in immersion by providing information which the characters logically would know, like how close they are to dying, how much stamina they have. I started playing The Witcher 3 recently, after buying into the idea that games should be less hand-holdy, removing minimaps and quest markers and making the player analyse the map in order to figure out where they're headed. The first few hourse I spent fantasising about an ideal version of the game, where you had to read books and talk to characters to figure out the strengths and weakenesses of monsters - where you couldn't automatically run across paths on your horse by simply holding a button, where a dotted line didn't tell you exactly the path you need to take to find your objective. Then I realised, reflecting on my brief time struggling to play Morrowind, where I arrived in that first town having completely forgotten who I was supposed to talk to and where I can find them. I would have to pull out my journal and read again. This is the second time I put down Morrowind, exactly in the same place. Geralt of Rivia doesn't have an attention defecit. He already knows all the strengths and weaknesses of the monsters. He remembers key details from the dialogue, checks the maps, does all that hard work, so I don't have to. It would be absurd if you had to play a shitting minigame twice an in-game day, where you had to carry around toilet paper and press B to wipe your ass. It would be a pain to have to return to Roach every time you wanted to get something from your inventory, and so the implication goes that Geralt has already done this, behind the scenes, in the hypothetical space which you don't actually have to watch. Just like books don't have to describe each and every step a character takes to let you know that character is walking. It would be just as immersive to press a button once and have your character manually walk to the objective. I'm not forced to engage in gameplay I find straining, but can still immerse myself in the aspects of being a witcher I actually find engaging. There is still a place for games like Morrowind, where you have to do all the hard work yourself. Many people love them, but if every single game made you read through books rather than just showing you where you need to go on a minimap, there would be no game which allows me to relax and unwind, no game which is accessible to those with disabilities. Ideally every game would allow both options, but frankly the two contradictory design philosophies are usually not compatible. Hence why Dark Souls with its very tailored experience doesn't have a difficulty slider, and how Skyrim is pretty much unplayable without quest markers. I'll also acknowledge that I got a little distracted here and focused more on gameplay itself rather than HUD. But the core idea is accessability, which HUDs directly serve.

[@kiirganara675]

your hair looks crunchy.

[@ShaunMjolnir]

Too bad he did this in 2020 as as Dead Space 2023 removed the Hud and designed the entire game around Diegetic UI.

[@siriusk1453]

*Sad mobile noises*

[@morgajoka838]

Views? modCheck

[@n.s.2690]

69th comment that no one cares about (nice)

[@noraeld5020]

nice

[@SirBear]

dude no homo but you have got a pair of eyes my guys, i bet half the people watching are girls just here for that haha

[@akbarkhantoru]

Minecraft will always be superior to other games (since the HUD never left)