COMPARATIVE INTERFACE RESEARCH / Carleton University

Making tactical shooter HUDs easier to scan.

Studying visual clutter, hierarchy and feedback across three competitive game interfaces.

DESIGN ARTIFACT  /  WORKFLOW MODEL

01

Compare three existing game HUDs

02

Collect feedback and evaluate visual clutter

03

Prototype clearer hierarchy and placement

01 / CONTEXT

The project at a glance

MY ROLE

UX research and interface redesign · Heuristic analysis, user feedback, visual design

COLLABORATORS & TOOLS

Independent comparative study of commercial games

FIGMA · HEURISTIC EVALUATION · MICROSOFT WORD · MIRO

02 / CHALLENGE

The problem behind the interface

THE PROBLEM

Fast-paced shooters require players to notice objectives, health, abilities and combat cues with minimal interruption. Dense HUDs compete for the same limited attention.

WHY IT MATTERS

Information placement can affect the effort needed to locate critical status signals during play.

03 / PROCESS

How I approached it

01

AUDIT

Compared interface structures and recurring elements across three tactical shooters.

02

RESEARCH

Collected feedback and reviewed e-sports heuristics to identify congestion and hierarchy problems.

03

REDESIGN

Explored more consistent information grouping and reduced on-screen clutter.

04 / DESIGN JUDGMENT

The decisions and their rationale

DECISION 01

Prioritize glanceable information

WHAT I DID

Grouped high-priority combat and objective signals around predictable locations.

WHY IT HELPED

Aims to reduce visual search when attention is already split across gameplay.

DECISION 02

Remove clutter, not useful feedback

WHAT I DID

Reduced competing UI treatments while preserving status and ability information.

WHY IT HELPED

Maintains functional clarity without relying on purely minimalist aesthetics.

05 / OUTCOME

Outcome, evidence and limitations

3 games

Compared through UX heuristics

HUD concepts

Visual hierarchy and layout recommendations

SCALING

Post-redesign usability study, time-to-find measure or commercial deployment is the next step in formalizing this study.

06 / REFLECTION

Validate how interface layouts and information hierarchy affect player performance and usability. Further testing could help assess visual clarity, cognitive load, and how quickly players locate critical information during gameplay.