Avatar isn’t going to just be a new movie from Titanic director James Cameron; it’s also going to be a new video game developed by Ubisoft. It’s gotten a significant amount of press for a movie tie-in, even dominating a sizeable space at PAX for a booth featuring a replica of the cockpit of one of the flying machines starring in the movie… er… game.

As this video posted on Kotaku shows the graphics are impressive, however I’m not awed by Ubisofts choices for HUD layout. Persistent elements are thrown in every corner, and numbers and icons fade in and out. I understand the idea of keeping action the center of attention, but with a display this scattered it takes a lot to check health, know where you’re going, what you’re fighting with, how much XP you have, and if an ability is ready to use.

Here’s my take, I’d group things differently and focus on making it easy for the player to get the information needed without spending too much time looking away from the action. There are four persistent elements on the screen, a combo health meter and ammo meter, an XP bar, a mini map, and a radial menu for abilities. Randomly things like weapon ammo, selected weapon, target’s heath and hits, will pop in and out as well. These could have been grouped in a much nicer manner giving the player one location to look at as opposed to scanning all edges of the screen to get the important information.

Grouping elements at the bottom

This example sets the grouping together at the bottom of the screen. The selection weapon is displayed below, and the users aren’t forced to scan every edge. The nonpersistent elements could easily be displayed between the radial menu and the Minimap, or above the various bars on the left or the right. I’ve done one other thing as well. I’ve grouped action related elements, ammo, health, abilities, on the right side of the screen, and bigger picture elements: mini-map, XP on the left. This gives the user one place to look for action and combat information, and a second area that can be ignored until needed during more exploratory moments.

Grouping elements on the sides.

Similarly Ubisoft could opt to group each set on the sides. This unclutters the bottom and provides the user only two locations to look at as opposed to four or five. Again as in the above example, I’ve split the grouping between necessary action related elements and more bigger picture elements.

The goal with any HUD design is to blend so seamlessly it’s unnoticed as a player interacts with a product. A few quick changes and a scattered HUD can be streamlined allowing an easier play experience. Easier play means more immersion and more immersion allows for better storytelling and ultimately a more memorable experience. With a few changes and Ubisoft could be well on their way to creating that memorable experience.

The popularity of themes seem to come in in waves on every medium: books, television, movies and games are no different. Sci-Fi is popular for a while and then Fantasy then World War Two games take the spotlight. Now it seems we have moved once again into the territory of the wild west. Rockstar’s Red Dead Revolver is getting a sequel with Red Dead Redemption and Ubisoft‘s Call of Juarez also getting the sequel treatment with Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood. Codemaster‘s is publishing the steampunk-ish Damnation which includes it’s own western overtones, and now Red Steel 2 is going to the wild west. That’s four all due to hit the market very soon.

So with all these western games looming what does this mean for the players and developers? Well it’s a underplayed theme in a lot of regards, it’s not another fantasy game nor a World War II shooter so it will feel fresh. It’s been a while since Gun, Call of Juarez, and Red Dead Revolver and even longer since my favorite western shooter LucasArts Outlaws. While not an original setting it’s definitely a good time for the market to see the wild west make a comeback. So I think the potential for some great gameplay his here.

Giving players a fresh new environment to explore is always a plus, but it also puts a lot of pressure on the game developers, your environment won’t add much to your appeal if you are just another wild west shooter. A player isn’t going to want to experience the same desert setting, with the same dried up ghost towns, the same weaponry and the same bad guys. Unlike fantasy and sci-fi where ranges are broader and pretty much anything goes, the westerns genre can’t be as capacious. It’ll be up the the developers to draw clear separation between their product and others coming to market.  A theme doesn’t guarantee results, you’ll need solid game play, a good story, excellent controls and UI, on top of that fresh theme to really pull it off, in other words, a solid user experience as a whole.

BioShock used a unique setting and rich story to engage players and move away from other horror-themed shooter. Gearbox‘s Borderlands is doing a good job as well. Being a pseudo-apocalyptic sci-fi wasn’t enough they went with a different art style and a new direction in co-op gameplay separating themselves from the approaching wave of apocalyptic MMOs. It’s a good direction and the distinct style and approach is separating them from the masses.

In a surge of western themed titles a developer has to work to standout or risk their title following into more of a me too spot. Oh… and yes, that is Freddie Pharkas: Frontier Pharmacist up above.