Red Dead Redemption II — A Quick Look (At the UI)

Released today is Rockstars’ sequel to the superb Red Dead Redemption — a Vyxl favourite from way back in 2010. As part of my own work, I regularly save out examples of UI and HUD designs from titles for reference and inspiration.

While RDR and RDR2 appear to have quite ‘minimal’ and unintrusive menu systems, they are anything but simple from a design point of view, and the quality and style achieved by Rockstars’ team is superb overall.

One standout piece of UI Design are the catalogues the protagonists can peruse at many of the games’ stores —

Not only do the page designs look period-authentic but the implementation is seamless. Here’s a link to a video showing the catalogue & UI in action —
(if the link doesn’t take you to the correct timestamp, jump to 1:13.45)

 

Below are more screenshots of the games various panels, radial menus and HUD elements (all images clickable for closer viewing) —

Designing a UI for Racing Games? Here’s 5 tips.

I’m always surprised by some key factors that are overlooked in Racing Game UI design. Here’s a few thoughts.

Available now: piffle – a cat puzzle ball adventure (Hipster Whale)

Always fun times when friends & colleagues have a new game release — especially so when it marries teh cute kittehz with classic puzzle-bobble gameplay. So much joys!

Hit one of the links below to ensue an immediate cat deluge :)

(づ｡◕‿‿◕｡)づ

Discover Piffle – a cute arcade puzzle game full of adorable characters and…cats! Put your cat onesie on, quest through colorful worlds, stop the nefarious Doc Block and craft adorable Piffle balls to collect.

There are too many video games. What now? (Polygon)

Hard-hitting article over at Polygon about the massive increase in game titles released every year, and the challenges facing smaller teams getting their work noticed.

One of the most eye-opening facts Polygon quote is the number of games on Steam nearly doubled year-on-year from 2014 onwards (1,772 in 2014 upto 7,672 in 2017); which equates to around 16 new titles a day currently. The number of games on Nintendo Switch’s eShop also multiplied by a factor of 5 in just a single year.

In a climate where every game is stuffed to the gills with five tiers of colored loot, massive open worlds, reams of optional content and a dozen content patches lurking on the schedule before the core package even hits store shelves, it seems that game developers are battering each other harder than ever before to compete for the attention of games worldwide — Polygon

Vyxl offers services such as Branding, UI and Graphic Design — that will really help your product stand out. That first impression; whether its’ your app store logo, or your UI, is all-important in engaging your players and customers. Get in touch!

Take a read of the full article over at Polygon:
There are too many video games. What now?

Rolling Stone logo updated

Established in 1967, Rolling Stone magazine covers popular culture (ie; not just Rock Music) and has recently updated its longstanding logo with a cleaner modern take, as shown below:

Will that be One Space or Two?

At Vyxl, well-chosen fonts need to perform and behave beyond design appeal and basic readability and that’s where we move into deeper areas of Typography (leading, kerning, tracking and layout design) as well as beyond into good copywriting.

Take a read of this superb Washington Post article and see if you feel strongly about either argument discussed.

It may be a nuanced subject (well, sure, it is) but for any content consumption, clearly messaged advertising, Brand acumen, solid UX or to help achieve plain language, the devil is in the details.

2 spaces?  I’m in!

The Washington Post