The Ultimate SOMA Discussion Thread

[Googolplex]

I will only repeat myself once now as this is not worth of a fight:

Right.

HUDs are a tool to display information that we can`t access otherwise because a) we can`t pop into our protagonists/pawns head, b) it elevates some of the memory footprint and production costs as there is no need for dozen different models for an item or dozen different animations for a character status.

about a): Most of the information the HUD shows are already logical and not really needed to show by an elementary symbol in middle of the experience. When my character is hurted, I not need to know how much life energy exactly remains. It felt more realistic when it's like Penumbra or Amnesia hidden in the inventory screen, or even completely removed like in AAMFP. Not every information should given to the player. Otherwise HUD can even more destroy a game by showing a "quest map" where arrows will let you to the goal or show the direction you have to go. The meaning of a quest is not to show the player its solution on a map or compass. Same for "Quick Bars" which should help the player to manage items easier. But this will only destroy the nice looking environment and impact of the atmosphere and in this case it harms the immersion.

about b): What has a HUD todo with different models or character animations?

We can even use it to increase immersion as the HUD is logically implemented (FEAR2, DeadSpace, various racing games and flight simulators) or used as a shortcut to information wich would take time (that draws us out of faster paced games) to aquire. In the heat of a Vanquish battle, the last thing I want to do is to sit down and count the Ammo in my gun.

Which racing game has logically HUD? I don't even need to know how fast I drive. I also think to implement HUD elements directly into the world like in Dead Space is even more worse, because this would extremely ruin the credibility of an environment. I played the ego shooter "Call of Cthulhu" where you doesn't even have a feedback on how much ammo in the gun remains. And it played very well this way.

tlDr: Like with all tools of design and information display, HUDS need to be used wisely. You don`t shun a screwdriver or hammer, don`t you?

HUDs are okay for an inventory or trade screen, but an absolutely no-go to be visible during gameplay.

"My entertainment is better than yours!"

"Entertainment" is not the key word of quality. It depends on the form of it, how it's made and what a game will tell to the player.

I don't need entertainment with explosions and blood splatter. I want entertainment with intellectual story in a believable world. The first is probably more fun, but not that what I want.