UI Design – Creation and Refinement


User Interface (UI) is a critical part of game design because it helps players understand the world around them through icons and text. While many people assume UI to be a simple addition as the game is nearing completion which can be done in a day, UI is far more time intensive and involved in other aspects than people may imagine. Creating a good UI requires fundamental prerequisites in critical design thinking and an understanding of graphic design principles. In addition, the designer must be constantly reviewing player feedback from people who playtest the game to find the ideal user experience which is one factor leading to an enjoyable experience.

The 6 basic UI Design Principles https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/5-ui-design-principles-sadiq-hussain/

The first step to creating a good UI is just sketching some possible ideas for what you think may work or seem interesting. This is very helpful to get at least a few ideas and prevents you from getting locked into a single idea of what the UI must be and gives you room to be flexible while picking and choosing what you like. After this step is wireframing, which is the process of getting these sketches onto the preferred medium and representing parts using basic shapes and colors. This is perhaps the most important step because it allows you to test the layout and adjust according to feedback to create a solid foundation.

The next few steps focus on taking the ideas from the wireframe and elevating them by getting feedback from players and teammates which get distilled into actionable ideas that get tested to enhance the user experience. The final step of UI design is the final draft where you take the greatest hits from previous iterations and combine them to clear as many issues as possible while having a strong design. Through these steps you can take time to create a user interface perfect for anything you need.