10 Best Practices on Mobile Game UI Design that Actual Gamers Love

Gamers are attracted to a game’s aesthetics just as much as its gameplay. That’s just one-half of Mobile Game UI Design, as it also pertains to the gaming experience (UX) at large as well. We hire Web Design Services left and right to ensure they get this one factor right, It’s safe to say that it’s one of the vital factors that allowed mobile games to account for 52% of total revenue in 2021 alone. It reached $93.2 billion in cumulative profits for that year with an increase of 7.3% in year-over-year growth. 

Why You Should Never Overlook Game UI Design?

When deliberating on the Importance Of UI/UX Design, particularly in the context of Mobile Game UI Design, think of a blueprint of a well-designed metropolis. 

As much as sleek skyscrapers and verdant parks please the eyes, the same can be said for how its roads, railways, and subways make going to and from one point easy. 

Once it’s built, people will instinctively discover and know how to make the most out of what it offers – and leave them wanting to come back for more. 

That analogy is where plenty of successful Game UI design tips are based on.

Outlining All the Best Practices and Theories on Mobile Game Design

If you’re ever looking for solid mobile game UI design guidelines, you should start with these ten simply because they’ve been tried and tested and continue to be adopted and honed over time. 

1. Before Anything Else, Do Your Research

Over 60% of consumers expect companies to know what they want, gamers included. This is why you should never approach mobile game UI design with the thought that just because you like it, your target gamers will inevitably do, too. As such you should, first and foremost, develop a user-centered design. 

You can do this by creating personas for your target customers. By doing this, you only understand their needs and behavior when interacting with your game. 

Other than that these are the other vital steps you need to do:

• Check out the Game UI design features being integrated by your competitors. As a gamer, what do you feel can be improved? What can be adopted and be given your own twist?
• Create prototypes of your ideas and get feedback for them. In turn, use what you gather to further improve it.

2. Prioritize Accessibility

Did you know that the average total yearly salary of a game UI designer is $91,401? That shouldn’t be surprising as ensuring that games have excellent accessibility to gamers is but one of their main goals in most projects. In the end, nothing beats a large, loyal player base. 

It’s important to account for different gaming styles and even handicaps your target customers may have (some may be hard of sight or hearing or are color-blind). 

3. Keep Distractions in Mind

Everyday activities inevitably figure into any gamer’s life. Whether it’s someone texting or calling them, you should include a function in your game to allow the player to decide whether he or she should answer it or not. The point is to keep them engaged as long and safely as possible, which a lot of other Website Design Tips online overlook. 

4. Opt for Minimalism When Adding Functions

Do you like a game interface design with a lot of options, features, and functions to choose and do? Of course not! They only make your game cluttery. It’s better to strive to keep a balance in the layout and features and only orient your players about necessary actions from the get-go. 

5. Aim for Simplicity

Candy Crush, Clash of Clans, and Angry Birds. What do these games have in common? They all have simple interfaces but are still massively successful. Even in its 10th year, Candy Crush still leads in generating the most revenue, $607 million in 2022, to be exact. 

Take it as an excellent Game UI design example of the philosophy of decluttering as much as possible to keep the player’s focus on what matters. 

6. Improve In-Game Navigation

When considering how users can get from one point to another in your game, look no further than these guidelines:

• Keep the in-game information organized so that players will only have to perform as few actions as possible to get the essentials done.
• Use intuitive icons, bars, and buttons to aid in navigation.
• The player should always know where they are in the interface.
• Aim for smooth integration with the entire Mobile Game UI Design without being distracting and unobtrusive. 
• Integrate navigation controls that will enable players to find what they need.
• Navigation options should be as uniform as possible to avoid confusion. 

7. Optimize Your UI Placement

You should pinpoint the exact clickable areas and users shouldn’t have a hard time knowing where they are. It’s worth noting that the recommended touch target size is at least 10x10mm, as it reduces the likelihood of misclicking. 

Knowing the correct placement also involves being aware of how you can cater to a right-handed gamer’s natural hand positioning. 

8. Impart Feedback for User Actions

Game UI elements often respond to players’ actions. As such, it’s important for users to receive feedback after they perform these actions as much as possible. How would you react if certain elements don’t provide it? Won’t it lead to ready confusion or doubt whether you clicked it properly or not? Feedback can take various creative forms like visual cues, highlights, or vibrations that appear once users perform the action. Decide which one suits your style best. 

9. Be Smart With Your Pop-Ups

Pop-ups enhance the overall user experience if done right and can provide timely information without disrupting the user. Here are some of the best practices for their integration:

• Place a darkened background under pop-ups to indicate the game is on pause while allowing users to easily return.
• Use the X symbol appropriately for closing windows, ensuring it is prominent and distinct from ad-related symbols.
• Connect UI elements with animations to provide visual continuity and enhance user understanding of pop-ups.

10. Bank on In-Game Ads

In hypercasual games, ads are responsible for more than 94% of their revenue. As a result, learning how to design game UI also involves how you should effectively perform app monetization through them.

You can integrate failproof reward ads, for example, that give users an essential buff or in-game item once they’re finished watching it. You have to know how you’re going to present them, though, and choose the right ad duration and frequency to keep a balance between mobile game revenue and engagement. 

Features That Make Game UI Special

1. Novel and Immersive Visual Experiences

Crafting stunning 2D and 3D visuals have proven to enhance players’ engagement. Similarly, visually captivating environments impart unprecedented immersion. Overall, there’s an evident trend of pushing the boundaries of visual designs in games.

2. ​​Intuitive and Interactive Controls

This, again, goes back to creating user-friendly interfaces that focus on optimal navigation. This can be achieved by designing intuitive gestures and controls that aid in keeping gameplay smooth. You can also opt to enhance the UX by integrating intuitive UI interactions. 

3. Simple and Engaging Gameplay Tutorials

Interactive guides not only teach the players about the game mechanics but boosts their engagement as well. Keep your tutorials as dynamic as they are informative to enhance onboarding further. 

4. Foster Addictiveness Experiences

It’s really all about keeping players hooked, which is why it’s vital to keep your UI design as captivating as possible. Utilize visuals and elements that pave the way to an immersive gameplay environment, and you’re halfway there. 

The Top  3 game UI design we highly recommend you should check out

While we don’t pick favorites, it’s hard to not recommend the following three games as ideal game user interface design examples for the sole reason that they all managed to tick most if not all the ten checkboxes above. They are: 

1. 1. 1. Apotheon
      2. Bad Piggies
      3. A Hat in Time

Check them out yourself or even give them a try to know what we’re talking about!

Conclusion

We hope you found our UI Design Tips helpful and have given you that much-needed push to start your own project for good. Overall, the Best Practices in Mobile App Design are focused on combining your vision and ideas with fundamentals that time and time again have proven to lead to mobile game success. 

Don’t forget about the Game App Development Cost and the subsequent monetization strategies that suit your game category.