Crafting an Impactful Settings Menu
overview
Settings in a video game are important because they allow players to tailor their gaming experience to their individual preferences, optimize performance, enhance immersion and tune how UI may appear on screen. So what makes for an impact settings menu that empowers players to make choices that suits their needs best?
context is key 🔑
Context helps players understand what each setting does and how it affects their gaming experience. Without context, players may be unsure about the purpose or impact of certain settings, leading to confusion or frustration.
great examples
Player Stories:
"As a player. I want to know the meaning behind a setting and how it's going to effect my gameplay."
"As a player, I want to view a preview of the impact of my settings without having to go back in my game"
In A Plague Tale: Requiem the player is hovered over the Difficulty setting and can determine if Normal meets their gameplay expectations. How can the player determine the real core difference between the different difficulty modes without context to support each choice?
Clear descriptions provide the necessary information for players to make informed decisions about their preferences. This can help players narrow down their decisions before starting their adventure.
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In Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Display settings includes the Colorblind Type accessibility option, including the ability to customize player location on the map. Players can pick specific colors for each HUD market, which may make it useful for non-colorblind players as well or further assist those with Protanopia, Deuteranopia, and Tritanopia.
It shows a clear preview of what the player's map will look like as they browse through all their color options. This can help players understand the impact of their adjustments before applying them.
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How do these examples prove to be an effective settings menu?
✔ Empowerment: Context empowers players to customize their gaming experience effectively. When players understand the function of each setting, they can make changes confidently, knowing how those changes will affect their gameplay. This enhances player agency and allows them to tailor the game to their liking.
✔ Visual Confirmation: Allow players to visually confirm the changes they are making to settings. Instead of adjusting settings blindly and having to exit the menu to see the effects in the game, previews provide immediate feedback, helping players make informed decisions about their preferences.
✔ Efficiency: Save time by allowing players to quickly assess the impact of different settings without needing to toggle back and forth between the settings menu and the game. This streamlined process enhances the overall user experience, making it easier for players to customize their settings efficiently.
menu prototype
While analyzing the positive examples on how different games craft their settings menus, I was enthusiastic to bring to life these examples to the game Stray. This game, at the time of creating this project, does not provide any concrete context to help support the player in their decision making.
current menu design:
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my prototype:
In this prototype, I ensured to keep the visual theme that reflects the game’s identity while providing a preview followed by context to support each reticule setting the player is cycling through.
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💡 Providing an in game screenshot allows the player to better envision how they want their UI to appear in game.
conclusion
Empowering the player to make decisions that suits their needs best means providing guidance to support those decisions. Before the player begins their adventure, it's important to think about how to prepare the player and the settings menu is the first thing to pack. Context is the direct key to ensuring the player can optimize their experience and learn what works best.
