Discover how diegetic elements, like a small backpack that interacts with the game environment, can enhance immersion and creativity while presenting unique design challenges.
Really enjoyed your article, especially the breakdown of how diegetic interfaces aren’t just stylistic choices, but tools that shape the emotional and strategic tone of the experience.
Countless examples came to mind while reading, but the Dead Space and Alien: Isolation ones hit hard. There’s something inherently powerful about a UI that doesn’t interrupt the story, but becomes an integral part of it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how this applies outside of games too, especially in project management tools, where the interface often dictates behavior (sometimes unintentionally). So many communication missteps and team misunderstandings could be avoided if platforms were more intentionally tailored to the people using them.
Thanks for this deep dive! Subscribed and looking forward to more.
The fact that the interface should not interrupt the story is interesting. It is both complicated to make a beautiful interface - and to keep it discreet enough not to disturb the player in the long term.
Speaking of ‘outside’, we can think of Tinder where the interface embraces the experience with the swipe functionality.
Really enjoyed your article, especially the breakdown of how diegetic interfaces aren’t just stylistic choices, but tools that shape the emotional and strategic tone of the experience.
Countless examples came to mind while reading, but the Dead Space and Alien: Isolation ones hit hard. There’s something inherently powerful about a UI that doesn’t interrupt the story, but becomes an integral part of it.
I’ve been thinking a lot about how this applies outside of games too, especially in project management tools, where the interface often dictates behavior (sometimes unintentionally). So many communication missteps and team misunderstandings could be avoided if platforms were more intentionally tailored to the people using them.
Thanks for this deep dive! Subscribed and looking forward to more.
Thank you for your comments :)
The fact that the interface should not interrupt the story is interesting. It is both complicated to make a beautiful interface - and to keep it discreet enough not to disturb the player in the long term.
Speaking of ‘outside’, we can think of Tinder where the interface embraces the experience with the swipe functionality.