HUD (video games)

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HUD (video gaming)
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The Nuclear Dawn HUD displays the character's health, weapon ammunition and compass heading, while also displaying the map of the area in the top-right corner, and a circular marker pointing to the player's destination.

In

video gaming, the HUD (heads-up display) or status bar is the method by which information is visually relayed to the player as part of a game's user interface.[1] It takes its name from the head-up displays used in modern aircraft
.

The HUD is frequently used to simultaneously display several pieces of information including the main character's health, items, and an indication of game progression (such as

level
).

Common elements

While the information that is displayed on the HUD depends greatly on the game, there are many features that players recognize across many games. Most of them are static onscreen so that they stay visible during gameplay. Common features include:

There are also trends common among genres and platforms. Many online games show player names and a chat text box for talking to the other players. RTS games tend to have complex user interfaces, with context-sensitive panels and a full-overview mini-map with fog of war.

How the HUD is displayed

The SuperTuxKart HUD displays speed as both a number and a filled speedometer bar.

Typically this information is represented numerically, with the health level being a number from 0–100 (percent): 100 representing full health and 0 representing empty, no health or

"health bar" which empties as the player becomes hurt such as Tekken, Street Fighter
, and many others.

Halo games use one recharging shield bar, acting as the health level. When this is depleted the player can only take a few more hits before their death. The same goes in Destroy All Humans!, but in the form of the player's shields. Traditionally, games used lives to represent health. Every time the main character was injured they would lose one of their limited lives. Another way to display the life in the HUD is demonstrated in Gears of War
, where the characters life is displayed only when they are taking damage, in which case a red cog known as the Crimson Omen appears in the center of the screen. The more visible the Crimson Omen is, the more damage the player has sustained and the closer they are to death. This health system is known as the 'Red Ring' system.

There is also a lot of variance with regards to the display of other information. Some games permanently display all the weapons a character is currently carrying, others rely on a pull up weapon selector. Inventory or storage space may also be permanently overlaid over the screen, or accessed via a menu. Alternatively, only a limited number of items stored in the inventory might be displayed at once, with the rest being rotated into view using the [ and ] keys.

In order to maintain the

point of view. A similar method is used in Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and Crysis. In some of these circumstances where the player and character within the game are meant to see the same "HUD" information, such as Halo, the term helmet-mounted display
(HMD) would technically be more accurate.

Some games, in an attempt to increase player immersion and reduce potential screen clutter, have most or all elements disappear when not needed (usually when the status they display is static), a method commonly referred to as a "dynamic HUD". In most cases, the player can display them all by pausing the game or pressing a button. Some games also give players control over the HUD, allowing them to hide elements and customize position, size, color, and opacity.

Lua scripting. Another example is Horizon Zero Dawn, which allows player to set the display of each element to always appear, show only when relevant, or never display.[2]

Despite the modern dominance of 3D graphics in games, HUDs are frequently rendered with a 2D look, often using sprites.

Reduction of elements

Sometimes, for the sake of narrative and spatial immersion, information normally displayed in the HUD is instead disguised as part of the scenery or part of the vehicle in which the player is traveling. For example, when the player is driving a car that can sustain a certain number of hits, a smoke trail might appear when the car can take only two more hits, fire might appear from the car to indicate that the next hit will be fatal. Wounds and bloodstains may sometimes appear on injured characters who may also limp, stagger, slouch over or breathe heavily to indicate they are injured, a notable example being Resident Evil 2.

In rare cases, no HUD is used at all, leaving the player to interpret the auditory and visual cues in the game-world.

Ico has no HUD, fitting with the game's calmer style by not including many traditional game-like elements.[3]

Another method of improving realism and immersion in games is through the implementation of dynamic HUDs such as the HUD in

Split/Second purposefully concentrated the HUD into just the lap counter, position counter and the game's "power play" meter, all floating within the car's rear bumper, and completely dropping out common racing game elements such as lap timers or speedometers to reduce clutter and distractions.[4]

Displaying the HUD on a second screen

Some console video games are able to display an HUD on

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U
.

Multi-screen gaming systems, particularly the Nintendo DS and Nintendo 3DS handheld systems, can also assign HUD information to one screen while showing gameplay in another.

Potential screen damage

Prolonged display (that stays on the screen in a fixed position, remaining static) of HUD elements on certain

burning
into the inner coating of the television sets, which is impossible to repair. Players who pause their games for long hours without turning off such televisions or putting them on standby risk harming their TV sets. Plasma TV screens are also at risk, although the effects are usually not as permanent.

See also

References

General
  • Wilson, Greg (2006). "Off With Their HUDs!: Rethinking the Heads-Up Display in Console Game Design".
    Gamasutra
    . Retrieved March 24, 2018.
Specific
  1. ^ "What is a HUD". Webopedia. QuinStreet Inc. 14 August 2007. Retrieved 15 December 2014.
  2. ^ "Horizon Zero Dawn's Custom HUD Options Revealed, Photo Mode Shown Off". GameSpot. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  3. ^ Siracusa, John (2010-11-02). "Masterpiece: Ico". Ars Technica. Retrieved 2024-01-09.
  4. ^ Tracey, John (2009-03-24). "'Split/Seconds Simple HUD". MTV.