HUD Prototype Update!

Added GPS Functionality because I forgot about it and saw it in the trailer Steph was producing

Prototype of HUD 1

Hey guys! Just posting up the first prototype of the HUD for a demonstration! It’s pretty rapid so it is missing specific elements but there are placeholders for them!

Examples of HUD’s

Terminator HUD from Terminator Salvation

HUD from the game of the same name
(notice the white highlight on the other terminator, feedback for the player that, no… this is not a live life form)

The Blog which features this by Daniel Etherington brings up an interesting point. It is completely daft for a robot to have  HUD (it’s like us needing a hud to activate our motor skills), however, it IS an effective dramatic device (as he said!). However, in a gaming environment it is incredibly important for us to allow these actions and functions, which may seem as inherent as motor skills in reality feel just as natural… which sucks… because you only have a mouse and fiddly keyboard and this screen to do so in. Just something to mill over, if this is a HUD that the main character, the player’s avatar, uses to supplement interactions with stuff around her… how… do you make something unnatural in the first place feel natural… Hmmmm… Also RPG’s have not traditionally used a POV HUD… How will mechanics of an RPG mesh for a mechanic previously reserved for FPS’s and, at closest, hack and slash adventure games (which gave me motion sickness).

Metroid Prime

Classic Nintendo franchise hits the 3D world! Metroid prime was lauded for its intuitive HUD. Personally, I was just confused, but I suppose if I played it more it would make sense. What I can see here is a complete coherent use of spatial awareness devices. The map requires spatial awareness similar to what you are viewing in the primary view (so as not to disorient the player). Also, there is heavy use of symbols to indicate functions and a discrete radar in the top left to indicate nearby bodies.

Elements which we could use in our game could include the use of coherent and self-explanatory symbols to convey function. A similarly discrete, but noticeable targeting reticle aaaaaand… maybe the blueness… yes…. blueness (the border, as with Ghost recon below is purely aesthetic).

HUD from Ghost Recon: Advanced War Fighter

Notice the highlight on friendly targets (similar mechanic to the Terminator Salvation game) and the red diamond showing enemy bodies, which are reflected in your inner radar (huh?), but also the mini Picture in Picture frame in the top left to provide a different angle on the targeted unit. In reality… how the hell would this even work without another camera located from that vantage point… I suppose in the Advanced War Fighter universe Big Brother is alive and well and there are a bajillion camera’s located everywhere to see anything from any angle… So… Then it would be logical to assume to enemy can also see you from any angle (assuming they are intelligent enough to access the system, which… if American soldiers can use it then a small Albanian policeman or even afghan freedom fighter could access it)… So, while the buttons on the bottom left, which allow you to access and exit cover are very nice, in reality cover does not hide you from anything because more than likely they will be trying to flank you, while you attempt to flank them…

OK, back to the point. Elements which pertain to our game are the fact that highlighted targets allow a player to more easily differentiate detail and also draws the focus of the user. Maybe the top left panel can be used to present the player with further information on who he, or she, has targeted (it is totally feasible for this technology to be in use in todays HUDs, facial recognition? wireless internet access? There). Also, the green border, totally aesthetic, but gives the player a sense of focus and futurism (dramatic device?) and it is extremely important for us to create a HUD which reflects the times… which brings me to the next HUD under investigation…

Robocop!

Funny this, I was watching this movie 2 weeks ago, CLASSIC! Anyway, this is probably the most likely to occur in a real life HUD, despite its dated look it is completely contextual (i.e. it will only pop up with the required information at the time it is needed, no excess). It reflects the times of which this movie was made i.e. futurist 1980s (completely unmistakable). However, for a player, there would not be enough information to provide an engaging game play experience. So… Somehow we need to strike a balance between Terminator and Robocop with elements of Ghost Recon. It is about as basic as Predator’s HUD:

Predator

Targeting reticle and heat sensing…. voila. Pro Alien. OK… So this has no reason to be here… But Predator is also a cool movie! So, lastly, and probably most technically advanced and user friendly HUDs (if they existed).

Star Kid

Iron Man Suit Mach III (Above and Below)

Probably the most appealing HUD’s Star Kid and Iron Man Suit Mach III are incredibly similar in that they have contextual targeting with attached additional information to save viewing time (efficiency!) as well depth perception similar to what is found in jet fighters (air to air), which is sensible considering the amount of time these guys spend flying and shooting simultaneously. Add to that the elements listed in my previous post and we could have something! Also, aesthetically, they are incredibly minimalist (less the distract the eye! I like it!) but still convey a sense of futurism, which is necessary to engage the audience (YES! You ARE viewing the absolute bleeding edge of technology!).

Anyway, back to the drawing board, I hope you guys have an idea of what we are going for, prototypes will be up soon! Any suggestions? feel free to comment.

In search of HUD

As previously stated, the deliverables we are aiming to show in November are twofold. A trailer and a tutorial HUD. Steph has been busily working on the trailer (also flash based) and we hope to present some material online soon for it.

I however, have been deliberating how to design such a HUD. Our agreed requirements was for it to be explicit (like a bike helmet on your head… only your head is the screen), futuristic (TERMINATOR!!!!!!! maybe Robocop), incorporating elements of current gameplay mechanics (i.e. the phone and messages function), explanatory (each function, when highlighted will explain and demonstrate function) and Interactive. While it does not have to be entirely functional, it does have to demonstrate function.

Traditionally RPG’s and Murder Mysteries have not used a First Person HUD, and, as such, creating such a HUD would require it to be uniquely specialized (amazing how we started with an idea to create a side scrolling Where in the World is Carmen Sandiago viewpoint, and end up at T-950 Terminators).

The choice for this, apart from being conveniently tied into the trailer, is because we felt it was the easiest way to demonstrate something at showtime in November (aesthetically), however, the design of it is proving to be difficult, due to very few games employing this mechanic without becoming an FPS or medieval sword fighting hack and slash.

Elements that need to be incorporated include:

- A Basic Menu System
- An Inventory System (housing evidence)
- Including and Inventory Analyzing system (i.e. when you click on evidence it will open another window explaining its function etc)
- A mode that allows the user to view the character
- A logging system with current missions or to-do lists
- A phone and messaging system (send and receive phone calls and sms’s) including contacts
- A viewing system, which identifies suspects explicitly
- A media viewing system (i.e. to open saved audio files and video files inhabiting the inventory)
- A help system (i.e. on mouse over it explains function)
- A conversing system (allowing the user to interact with NPC’s)

That’s about all I can think of for now, but if there are any that I have missed feel free to comment! Examples of the above will be included later (pssst I’m still researching)!!!

Meeting Adjourned! – 02/09/09

So, semester 2 started about 4 weeks ago and our brains started working 4 days ago. So, Team Mum’s the Word came to the agreement to meet up after our brains were suitably warmed up.

Minus 1 member (bye bye Son), we decided to come up with a slightly lower key outcome to this semester, mainly aimed at producing material for the November Ludo show (refer Christian, why it is called Ludo? – nfi).

We decided our outcomes would be:

1. A trailer demonstrating the visual aesthetic of the game and setting
2. An interactive tutorial on how to use the HUD that was to be the players conduit to interact with the game’s content.

The trailer will be a flash vector based trailer, hopefully I will have a storyboard and some assets to show soon. The interactive tutorial HUD will be based on (funnily enough) Terminator. This means we may have to advance the storyline along maybe 10 years but, what the heck, we’ll still be eating McDonalds and watching the Simpsons at that time anyway.

Hopefully, assets for this part of the project will be completed by week 6-7.

That’s it for now, cheerio
Chum