Game GUI is for showing information to player. It is for example mini map, compass, number of lives, user actions and so on.
We have to achieve several goals with GUI elements:
- Show, that player can do some action
- Show player stats (life, energy)
- Show dialogs with NPCs
On the pictures you can see GUI elements on the pieces of first location.
Show, that player can do some action
We needed to show player, that he can do something in some time, for example talk, open door or use item. We are doing it so that player doesn’t need to guess if he can do something.
We show these indications in the corner of the screen in form of key with action (Space – Jump). Key for actions will be customizable, unfortunately Unity default input system doesn’t have this function by default (only when you are starting application, not when running the game), and so there is a must to program it. It’s a pity and I think that this function should be integrated in Unity 3D. It is a standard!
Show players stats (life, energy)
This is clear, why to show these information. You have only 2 lives and energy is continuously recharging. If you lose one life, remaining life will start to indicate that you will die with another shot. Energy status is a work in progress and we will show you that with showcase of main character.
Show dialog with NPCs
It is required to show player with who can he talk and after that, who talks and what he/she says. There are different possibilities in answers and if they are long, there will be scrollbar. It is required to make it readable, nothing worse than non-readable text.
These are just prototypes of GUI and will be probably changed, but it is important to work with relative graphics. We’ve tried to make GUI to fit in the game and whole concept, for example in game terminals, about which we’ll talk later.