Presence in Practice: Affinity vs. Contrast in Video Game UX

In 3D games we see many types of user interfaces. From the 'Meta' & 'Diegetic' which are immersive player character facing interfaces grounded in our game's narrative, to the 'Abstract' which are non-diegetic interfaces presented directly to our players. These two interface types are complimented with 'Spatial' player facing interfaces shown in the player character's 3D space balancing both extremes.

In this talk I will describe a method of quantifying the player's 'Presence' with regards to second-to-second gameplay, I will then define the types of UI that are at our disposal, finally I will present a case study applied to a fictional game (created for this talk) to demonstrate how we can select the best type of UI to present to our player according to the context they are in.

You will see 2 case studies from popular games, as well a case study covering a fictional abstract AAA open world game created for this talk and how the UI is structured from the ground up while best respecting immersion in our game world and giving the game's core systems room to breathe.