I’m sure this has been brought up before, but because nothing has been done about it I’ll go ahead and reiterate the issues with the game’s HUD. The difference here is that I’ll argue it so well that you’ll have no choice but to stay up all night thinking about it. Get ready for a long, but compelling read.
The current HUD and why it’s bad
HUDs are generally used to relay information that otherwise couldn’t have been shown through the actions in game. For example the mini maps show the layout of the surrounding area that couldn’t be relayed through the player’s current perspective. Certain notifications placed around the player’s screen tell players the next step in their personal story quest, where dynamic events are taking place nearby, which heart quest have yet to be completed and so forth.
The game’s current HUD does this very well. In fact, it does this so well that it’s a detriment to the game’s aesthetics, most notably the aspect of exploration. Because one only need to rely on the notifications to complete maps and find events, they rely much less on the the actual happenings on the screen to gather information. With the layout, that currently allows no room for customization might I add, the information actively competes with on-screen events. If a player is looking for a nearby vista or POI, their eyes are drawn to look no further than the tiny bottom right portion of their HUD; there’s little to lead their eyes back to the beautifully crafted landscapes they try to highlight at all!
One of the worst things that stems from this is that it contributes to the check-list mentality, even for players who aren’t aiming for world completion. For players who aren’t interested in completing the map for their legendaries or the shiny icon on their map, the layout acts as an annoying entity plastered all over their screen. It constantly tells the players what they haven’t finished yet rather than remind them, and it doesn’t go away until they’ve completed what the game decides for them. This is blatant hand-holding. Worst is that it because map completion is per character, every character must suffer through the same thing every playthrough, and the deplorable thing that can happen to any game is for players to play simply for the sake of finishing what the game tells them to finish rather than them actually enjoying it.
Suggestion Time
In order to help alleviate the issue with the game’s HUD, I’m going to refer to a game that did it competently: Skyrim. Well, competently in only a few areas, but what it does do well with the HUD was that it complemented the experience rather than competed with it. It never shows information that wasn’t necessary (such as the health, stamina and magicka bars) and when it did show information the flow of attention is natural.
Nothing embodies the truimph’s of the game’s HUD more that its ingenious compass. Instead of an unwieldy and often-too-large mini-map, the players are given a compass with simple icons that lead them to points of interest. This compass is small and unobtrusive and it was positioned such that the player’s eyes would be led from the very top middle downwards, and this motion is very natural to the player. What would have made it even better is the option to turn it off, but alas.
Now I know what you’re thinking, but don’t you don’t have to put a compass in GW2 (although something as effective would be rad). Instead, follow Skyrim’s example. Make the HUD unobtrusive and make the flow of visual information intuitive. Hide whatever is unnecessary for the player to enjoy their current experience (or at least allow the players do it themselves) and allow for them to re-position information to their liking. Less is more and what little there is needs to be effective.
*Allow players to toggle them on and off the constant daily, personal story, heart quest, and dynamic event notifications. I suggest turning these off by default as well because they can hamper a new player’s experience. when they’re exploring
*The same can be said about the skillbar. The skillbar is only useful in combat, and even then, players have their keys and combo strings down to muscle memory after a while. An option to toggle the skillbar off outside of combat will free up screen clutter and help the players enjoy the scenery outside of combat.
*Allow players to toggle the mini-map and re-position it. The mini-map constantly draws attention away from the screen, even when it’s not useful. An option to adjust the map’s opacity will help to make it less obtrusive should the player keep it on.
*Icons (hearts, POIs, Vistas, etc) on the map need to stand out more. This is especially true for POIs which often blend into the map to the point where they’re invisible. On the same note, there should be an option to turn these icons off as well, because they can clutter the map once players are done with them.
(edited by TwoBit.5903)