Hello adventurer! In today’s quest, we’re going to explore how to defeat the evilness of… yellow paint! I will do this by giving some examples used by different games, and how they guide the players without doing a sloppy paint job.
But what does this “Environmental Guidance” have to do with UX?
UX is not just about UI, HUD, and menus; it is also about guiding players where to go for the next step in the level towards their next quest!
This can be done in many ways, not just using yellow paint.
But why not use yellow paint? Because this has become quite common in the last 10 years, and some players are tired of seeing the same solution everywhere.
👉 This becomes a UX problem when playtests show that players don’t know where to go, and the only last-minute solution that there is time for is to add more UI (speaking from personal experience)… and that is not very fun or immersive.
So I urge all designers to come up with other smart solutions to solve this before it is discovered last minute before the game is supposed to launch.
But what to do? Fear not adventurer!
Today I’m giving you 5 examples of games NOT using yellow paint to guide players!
GUIDE THE PLAYER WITH…
Arrows & Patterns - Icons and arrows on the environment next to places the player should go. This works if it fits the game world and style, so it should be designed for the game’s world.
Game example: God of War, Stray, Alan Wake 2, Stray
God or War, using tribal patterns to mark paths
Magical line - When your game has complicated environments with paths and corridors, having a player-activated line pointing to their next objective can be a good solution.
Game examples: Dead Space, Hogwarts Legacy.
Dead Space holographic guiding line
Different color/texture: Make the ‘Paint‘ white instead and in a different texture (not paint), such as sand, the material being worn down, or golden on environmental pieces that can be climbed.
Game example: Expedition 33, Horizon Zero Dawn.
Expedition 33 having golden edges on environments you can climb
Light - Sunlight, candles, or lamps are some common ways games (literally) light the way. It is a good visible way to guide players and a good metaphor in a game with themes around light vs dark.
Game example: A Plague Tale and Alan Wake games.
Alan Wake 1 uses light to guide players
Road Signs - Perhaps the player doesn’t need to be guided the same way across the whole game, and that is ok too. It can be more intuitive to follow road signs that point the way to the objective when the player is driving a car or riding a horse.
Game example: the Mafia: DE, Mafia: The Old Country.
Road signs pointing the way in Mafia: DE
TLDR: There are a lot of ways a game can guide their players, and not only using (yellow) paint. Just find what fits your game and world the best.
Thank you for reading!
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