AndrewHaasACC

For this comparison I have chosen Baldur’s Gate Enhanced Edition for the iPhone along with Divinity Original Sin 2 for the PC.  Baldur’s Gate is a classic CRPG originally published in 1998.  It takes the classic rules of Dungeons and Dragons and tabletop rpgs to the computer and is a rather complicated game.  For the phone edition the UI has been streamlined into an easily readable menu based system.  On the left are different icons for your inventory, map, stats, etc. and on the right displays the health and members of your party.  Actions used for combat and interacting with the world are displayed at the bottom along with status text.  Through the use of symbols and icons, very little text needs to be displayed to convey information to the player.  A simple tap of the finger allows you to open different menus to access more complicated actions.  Movement is also controlled with touch.

Divinity Original Sin 2 is a modern example of the CRPG, complex in it’s gameplay and systems.  It’s UI is very similar to that of Baldur’s Gate but because it is on PC it allows for far more information to be displayed to the player at once.  Baldur’s Gate for the iPhone has done a fantastic job of streamlining it’s UI to be easily intuitive to the player.   With Divinity Original Sin 2, the UI can be very overwhelming.  The screen is bombarded with information given to the player and has been criticized for it’s overabundance in UI design.  If a game like Baldur’s Gate can reimagine it’s UI 20 years later and deliver the classic experience to mobile devices games like Divinity should take note when considering UI design elements.

 

For comparison purposes I have picked two games with very different UI elements.  First, Path of Exile, an action RPG that harkens back to classics such as Diablo in aesthetics as well as functionality of the User Interface.  Simple in its design it is sleek and compact, leaving mostly open screen space while still being able to convey crucial information to the player.  In the left and right bottom corners are two orbs, one for health and one for mana.  Along the bottom, potion slots sit to the left while the player characters’ skills and cooldowns are displayed to the right.  This allows a simple relay of crucial information to the player at a glance.  The only other UI element belongs in the upper right hand corner in the form of a buff/debuff bar.  This design allows the player to focus on the action element of the game.

The minimalist approach of Path of Exile is very different from that of Darkest Dungeon, a party based roguelike.  The UI consists of a myriad of icons, statistics, dungeon maps and more.  As it is turn based, there also menus used in the gameplay UI itself to allow the player more options in making crucial decisions such as which enemy to attack, what items to use and which abilities to cast.  While it may seem complicated it is not convoluted as all information needs to be displayed to properly play the game.  A very different approach to UI design but necessary nonetheless.

While both styles of interface are valid design decisions, I find myself to be more drawn to simplistic and minimalist UI.  Personally, it allows for more focus on gameplay and less time spent diving through menus and the frustration one can have when you know what you want to do but do not know how to do it.

is Action RPG…