{"id":805,"date":"2026-08-12T16:44:26","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T16:44:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/?page_id=805"},"modified":"2026-08-13T05:14:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-13T05:14:06","slug":"ui-research","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/ui-research\/","title":{"rendered":"UI research"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Combined with my GDD, I don\u2018t think UI Research should refer to the complex games of HUD, because Echos of Luma has almost no traditional UI such as blood bars, backpacks, maps and skill bars. Your UI is closer to Journey, GRIS, Monument Valley and other designs that make the UI disappear as much as possible.<\/p>

Research 1\uff1a\u300aGRIS\u300b<\/strong><\/p>

Reference content\uff1aMinimal UI<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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When I first designed the UI of Echoes of Luma, I actually considered adding task lists, small maps or target prompts, because it would make it easier for players to know what to do next. But later I found that this will always occupy the player’s sight, and it is also easy for players to focus on the UI instead of observing the environment. But later when I experienced GRIS, I found that it hid almost all the UI. During the whole exploration process, players could hardly see any elements that interfered with the picture. This experience impressed me deeply, so I decided to take it as my main reference.<\/p>

UI design analysis<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

The biggest feature of the UI of GRIS is “less”. Except for the pause menu and a small number of operation prompts, the screen is clean most of the time, without blood bars, maps, taskbars or complicated buttons. When players need to interact, the UI will appear briefly and disappear immediately after completing the operation. In addition, its font and icon design are very restrained, and the colour will not be particularly bright, but consistent with the colour of the whole game, so even if UI appears, it will not destroy the beauty of the overall picture.<\/p>

My thoughts<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

I found that the UI of GRIS is more like helping players than reminding them all the time. This made me start to rethink my own game. Echoes of Luma itself is a slow-paced exploration game. If the goal is always displayed on the screen, players may not take the initiative to observe environmental details such as fountains, trees or street lamps, but keep following the task. So I hope to hide most of the UI and make the environment itself an important way to guide players to explore.<\/p>

Finally, I decided that Echoes of Luma would adopt a design similar to GRIS. The task list, small map or target arrow will not be displayed all the time during the game. Only when the player is close to the interactive object, a simple interactive prompt will appear in the centre of the screen, such as:<\/p>

Press E to Repair<\/p>

After completing the interaction, this prompt will disappear immediately, allowing the player to return to immersive exploration.<\/p>

Research 2\uff1a\u300aJourney\u300b<\/strong><\/p>

Reference content\uff1aEnvironmental Guidance<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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At the beginning, I also thought about adding task arrows to help players find puzzles quickly. But after trying to play Journey, I found that it had almost no navigation. Relying on architecture, light and colour, players can naturally know where to go. This way makes me feel more real and more in line with the exploration experience of Echoes of Luma.<\/p>

UI design analysis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

Journey almost put the \u201dnavigation system\u201c into the environment. The glowing buildings in the distance, warm lights and obvious landmarks are the best UI. There are few text instructions in the whole game, but it still won\u2018t let players get lost. Players will take the initiative to observe the world instead of looking down at the map all the time.<\/p>

My thoughts<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

I hope players can explore in the same way in Luma.<\/p>

For example, when the player is not active for a long time, the object to be taken next will flash gently, which can naturally tell the player where to go next. When it is really stuck, the prompt system will appear again.<\/p>

My application<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

The game will not use arrow navigation. Players mainly rely on: architectural landmarks or the glow of repairable objects to complete the exploration. Only when there is no progress for a long time will a simple text appear in the prompt system.
Research 3\uff1a\u300aMonument Valley\u300b<\/p>

Reference content\uff1aPuzzle UI<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Almost all of my games are made up of small games. Therefore, I hope the puzzle UI can be simple enough for players to know how to operate it when they see it for the first time. Monument Valley has inspired me a lot.<\/p>

UI design analysis<\/em><\/strong><\/p>

All organs are very intuitive. Things that can be rotated will be highlighted, and the organs that can be clicked will be slightly animated. Players hardly need to read the tutorial, and there are no extra elements in the whole interface except for the puzzle itself.<\/p>

My thoughts<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

I hope that players don’t need to relearn the new interface after entering the mini-game. Each puzzle maintains a unified style. When players see the organ, they know that they can click here to operate.<\/p>

My application<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Fountain, water pipe, street lamp, clock tower, puzzle.<\/p>

All of them adopt a unified UI. Except for the puzzle itself, there is no additional window, and the feedback animation will be played immediately after the operation is completed.<\/p>

Research 4\uff1a\u300aSeason: A Letter to the Future\u300b<\/strong><\/p>

Reference content\uff1aMemory Presentation<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t

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Memory Echo is the most important narrative of Echos of Luma. I’ve been thinking about how to show my memory, which can not only express emotions but also not interrupt the player. Later, after experiencing Season, I felt that the way it recorded memories was very comfortable.<\/p>

UI design analysis<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

The picture is always the main body of the picture. There is very little text and a lot of white time, the colour is soft, and the whole reading process is very quiet.<\/p>

My thoughts<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

I don’t want Memory Echo to be like a task pop-up window. It should be more like a player suddenly seeing an old photo. Therefore, I decided to weaken all UI and focus on pictures and sentences.<\/p>

My application<\/strong><\/em><\/p>

Memory Echo: A static picture \u2795 a short text, click any key to close, and then continue to explore.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Combined with my GDD, I don\u2018t think UI Research should refer to the complex games of HUD, because Echos of Luma has almost no traditional UI such as blood bars, backpacks, maps and skill bars. Your UI is closer to Journey, GRIS, Monument Valley and other designs that make the UI disappear as much as […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"full-width-container","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-805","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/805","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/37"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=805"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/805\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":874,"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/805\/revisions\/874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sites.wsagames.com\/yc3a24\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=805"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}