Troglodyte In the Underbelly: Information Overload

   Author : Daniel Reder

Keeping the player informed as to what is actually happening in game is extremely important. However it can be very easy to cross the line by providing information in a manner that subtracts from the experience or from providing too much information to the player. This week I had to create a system that would inform the player that they had taken damage and communicate how in danger of death the player was. The were several options and approaches that I could have taken, but ultimately ended up taking the call of duty approach with the screen turning red.

I liked this approach as it does not directly tell the player their exact health, but they can figure it out with clues from how much of the screen is red, and by the sounds that play. I also preferred this over a health bar as the player does not need to look at their health bar to see when they take damage when using this approach, as the outer edges of the screen turning red are impossible to miss while playing the game