Poll: HUDs On Screen

[Asclepion]

When playing games, I usually turn off or minimize the HUD for immersion unless there's some in-universe reason for it to be there (i.e. the player is a robot or cyborg, or is wearing a visor that overlays information into their view). While often useful, they can also be distracting: an ideal system is to be able to toggle the HUD on or off as needed. Even so, some games don't give any option of resizing an intrusive HUD, forcing the player to mod it out of the game lest the screen become filled with shit.

See the below images:

So Escapists, what do you think of HUDs?

 

[Muspelheim]

It depends on the game, really. As little clutter as possible is preferable, but it's not a deal breaker. I prefer it when games pushing immersion have as little HUDs as possible, myself. ArmA 2 did a good job, for example.

Another good example is the Misery mod from S.T.A.L.K.E.R. Call of Pripyat. The vanilla HUD wasn't the best, but the redesign really work. It just feels much... Closer with less clutter at the edges.

http://i.imgur.com/DT6myuQ.jpg

This is how it usually looks. The health and stamina bar is in the bottom left.

Another HUD feature I love that's modelled in Misery is headgear that have a cosmetic effect on your screen. If you wear a helmet or gasmask, you see the glass and have borders around the screen edges. If your headgear takes damage, cuts and cracks appear on the glasses. I love little effects like that.

The Metro series did the same thing, and it's nice to see things like mist or water droplets on the eyeglasses become more common in games.

 

[MysticSlayer]

For me the HUD does a good job of quickly giving me access to information I want. If it conveys the information I want and doesn't needlessly clutter the screen, then I don't really care how "game-y" it is. It draws me into the game more than not having it, as not having the HUD just annoys me due to lack of important information. I also rarely have a problem with the HUD being distracting. If anything, I find that I have more of problem of not checking it when I should, such as to see that I'm really low on health.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

When I play a game I like having as much useful information as possible. I don't care if the HUD isn't "immersive" I care that it's functional and helps me play the game. Some games allow you to have a fading HUD, but even then I don't use it. I hate going into a fight not knowing exactly how much health I have, or how much ammo and whether or not my gun is reloaded, etc. Some games don't really need a HUD, but I feel that most games greatly benefit from it.

Take for example Payday 2, a game I love. The default HUD is pretty cluttered with tons of information, but I use a mod called "hoxhud" which actually makes it even more cluttered and gives you more information. To me always knowing exactly what's going on and what people on my team are doing is way more important than pretending my character is a real person.

Here's the default HUD for Payday 2:

Spoiler

And here's Hoxhud:

Spoiler

 

[scorptatious]

I rarely have an issue with the HUD in most games. I don't know why. Two of my favorite games, (Shadow of the Colossus and ICO) either had no HUD or had a HUD that disappears when you're not doing anything that affects either your health or stamina.

 

[Shoggoth2588]

I don't mind huds so long as they aren't too intrusive. I like having the mini-map on screen but the gamepad nicely takes care of cleaning up the game screen. As for mission objectives, those fade away after a while and in larger games I don't mind having a nav-point/way-point.

 

[BathorysGraveland2]

It depends. Far Cry 3 is actually a really good example on what a shitty HUD is. A constant minimap always telling you where things are and tool tips always assaulting you and shit. Yuck. A good HUD is one that tells you essential things, such as how much health you have and maybe your hotkey bar, or such things. Bonus points if you give the option to switch them on and off.

In essence, I hate HUDs that hold your hand. Minimaps in particular. Just give me health/mana/stamina etc bars and maybe something that displays my current weapon and ammo, if applicable, and leave it at that please. And no tool tips that can't be turned off!

 

[kitabatake12]

I need the HUD only to check the ammo or my health in games... and don't forget about minimap

 

[DarkhoIlow]

I have a need for HUD to know my health ammo and minimap. It is paramount to me.

If the game in question is based on loot (like Borderlands, Diablo) then scrolling combat text aka damage numbers HAVE to be implemented to know when you crit or not and to see the progression of your attacks in terms of power.

I hated that ESO didn't have this from the get go and I had to get an addon for it.

 

[unindexedsearchengine]

I usually don't mind HUDs, however I do prefer the minimalist barely-even-there HUDs. However I have a weak spot for HUDs in sci-fi games which aren't layered on screen. A prime example of this is dead space, with the health meter being integrated into armor design, the ammo counter appearing on the weapon (something I particularly love), even the inventory works in an in-universe way that the character is looking at it, not just the player.
I really like these kinds of HUD executions where the HUD is present and visible but does not ruin immersion. Once again, I really have a thing for ammo counters being on the weapon, and am somewhat dissapointed that it isn't all that common. Even when it is present, usually there is an ammo counter HUD element separately.

 

[Velociferocks]

I really like it when the devs implement HUD elements into the design, like health meeter on Isaac's suit in Dead Space, or the amount of bullets left on the AR in Halo. Otherwise I prefer unobtrusive implementations i.e no permanent way points cluttering up the screen or blinking health bars that just distracts from what's actually happening in front of you.

 

[laggyteabag]

I realise that it is not always possible (ie with Jason Brody in FarCry 3, im mean, its not like he is running around with a see-through Oculus Rift strapped to his head), but I love it when they either implement HUD designs onto the environment or by explaining the HUD through the lore. Like OggeBogge said with the Halo ammo counters on the Assault Rifle, DMR or Battle Rifle, or how the HUD is integrated in to Isaac's equipment in Dead Space. There are other more vague methods too, like how many Needles are on top of the Needler in Halo, or how you can see every single bullet in the magazine on Metro's Bastard SMG. It would be pretty cool if some games started using magazines that had [a href="http://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0218/4260/products/PMAG_FDE_WINDOW_2c1f0535-6d2d-4209-8e54-37f7876fea4a_grande.jpg?v=1402352692"]windows(?)[/a] or were transparent like [a href="http://www.airsplat.com/Images/EL-DE-M85-MAG.jpg"]this G36 magazine[/a] so that you could take them out and examine them in-game instead of relying on a HUD ammo counter. Otherwise it would just be a case of counting bullets fired, like those in a revolver or a double barreled shotgun. However, I have always been more of a function over form kind of person. Whilst all of these methods are great ways of showing HUD elements without actually displaying a HUD, I have always felt that the more information that I had at my disposal, the safer I feel. For example, games with minimaps/ motion trackers always help my situational awareness, and I have always felt that a health bar (preferably numbers or percentages over a blank bar) is infinitely better than the "Your screen gets red/ blurry/ monochrome" method of health because I have always felt like I can judge how "alive" I am more so with some actual information as opposed to a perceived health.

 

[josemlopes]

Was I the only one to vote "no"?

I mean, I get it why its there but if the dev can make that same information through actual details in the game (Dead Space is a great example) then he should try to do it if its a game where it fits (a turn based game really doesnt need to try to hide the HUD). At least as an option.

 

[Spanglish Guy]

It depends. In some games it can be very useful to have that extra bit of info on screen, in others such as Skyrim I don't find as useful. I personally prefer the option of having it on or off depending on whether I want more of a challenge or maybe for a more immersive experience.

 

[BarkBarker]

Being a heads Up Display, I like having immediate access to the information that is critical to me. i don't mind incorporations into say the gun for ammo count or isaacs suit having a health indicator built it, but goddamn it better be effective or I'll forget in the heat of things.

 

[Vigormortis]

Depends on the game, the perspective, and the level of information I need at any given time.

For most games, some form of a HUD is virtually a must for me. It can be as minimal as you want to make it but I like to have my status information readily available.

If status info isn't crucial to the moment, then I would prefer as little clutter on the screen as possible.

Probably my favorite style of HUD is one that is both minimal in terms of screen space and that either fades in luminosity when not active or clears from the screen altogether.

The Half-Life series is a good example of this.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

It does depend on the game. Most FPSes I've played have so much going on (Health, shields/armor, current weapon's options, grenades, radar, etc) that if they can put all of that on the screen without blocking my view of the world, then I'm all for it. Likewise if a HUD isn't necessary all the time, as in a single player game of almost any kind, and the dev can hide it either by pulling it off the screen, lowering the opacity, or even putting the info in the environment (like the ammo count being on the rifle), then I would like them to go with that option.

One HUD I remember that was really obnoxious was Skyward Sword's default one. I like knowing what items are equipped to the hot keys in Zelda games, but I don't need the entire right hand side of the screen taken over by a Wii remote (complete with the cushiony "condom") and the bottom left's nunchuck diagram, telling me what every single button can do when its context come up. Even during the tutorial, it wasn't necessary, and thank goodness you can change it after a while. At least Majora's Mask's giant clock at the bottom of the screen faded out when you were moving, unlike this thing.

 

[Darth Rosenberg]

It obviously depends on the game - something more stylistic can get away with filling the screen up with crap.

But games where a sense of immersion or discovery is important? I loathe HUD's, and find they can be ruinous to the whole experience (Skyrim's a good example of a HUD essentially denying you any chance of discovering any location in the world by yourself, which seems a contemptuously odd choice of design in a completely open-world game).

Sure, some people don't mind HUD's, and it doesn't impact their experience one way or t'other. But I think it's the responsibility of all devs to provide a range of options for anyone who wants to tailor a HUD to suit their tastes. Disabling mini-maps and getting rid of map markers is always the first thing I do if given the chance, unless the gameplay is designed so lazily as to make such things essential for progress in some form.