UI Design
The user interface of Vengeance Incarnate aims to increase emotional immersion into the game. As a narrative-driven and emotionally heavy experience, the UI is minimalistic, diegetic where possible, and emotionally neutral, ensuring the player stays focused on the story and game world.
UI Pillars
Clear narrative readability
Text is legible, clear, and prioritized during key narrative moments.
Feedback without spoilers
Consequences are revealed after actions.
Consistency and accessibility
Clear separation of sections and cohesive layouts across all systems.
Adaptive to Reincarnation as Different Animals
UI elements subtly change depending on the animal the player currently plays as, increasing immersion.
Design Choices
hud (Heads-up display)
Exists only to enable survival and spatial awareness
Displays only essential information like health or stamina
Narrative & choice UI
Clear, legible font
No hints towards which choice is “better” or “worse”
Minimal icons with no aggressive animations or effects
Neutral color palette, important information highlighted with other color
Outcomes of choices visible through character reactions, environmental changes or endings
Memory Interface
Memories are possible to rewatch through the main menu / inventory
Presented as small thumbnails without descriptions
The player can choose whether they want to interact with memories or avoid them
Inventory & Collectibles UI
Simple grid layout with clear categorization and labels
Inspection mode allows for deeper examination and narrative context
Designed with neutral background textures and subtle highlight effect to indicate interactivity with items
UI Adaptation to Specific Animals
There are small changes in the UI such as icon shapes or proportions depending on the chosen animal
Core layout stays the same to prevent confusion in players
UI concepts
UI during the gameplay
Inventory Icon
Health and Stamina Bars
Mini Map
Quest Based on Animal the player plays as
Skill 1 (dependent on animal the player plays as)
Skill 2 (dependent on animal the player plays as)
UI during dialogue
Skip Button
Dialogue box
Continue Button
UI Development
UI Layout
The user interface of Vengeance Incarnate aims to increase emotional immersion into the game. As a narrative-driven and emotionally heavy experience, the UI is minimalistic, diegetic where possible, and emotionally neutral, ensuring the player stays focused on the story and game world.
Final version of the game's UI. It contains: circular space for the character's headshot, dialogue box, name box and settings button.
Animal Icons
UI icons designed for the animal choice screen. In the final version only raven icon appeared in the game as mouse and cat playthrough have not been developed.
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Player Menu
Player menu icon was designed in the place of inventory icon from the original UI concept. Upon pressing the button the player's inventory shows on screen with separate "items" and "memories" tabs. There is a total of six spaces for items found throughout the game, and undiscovered memories are marked with non-interactable question marks. The player can re-read already discovered memories at any time.
Custom cursor which loops a 4-frame animation in hover state. This ensures a clear communication of interactable elements (such as buttons, items, space rifts) to the player and increases visual appeal of the game.
Cursor
Change Scene
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Red arrow buttons which upon interaction simulate walking in pointed direction. A mechanism for movement around Afterlife.
Map
A map of Afterlife which can be accessed in-game by pressing M. In the beginning it is fully grey as it has not been explored yet. As the player discovers new places in Afterlife, the corresponding map sectors become visible when accessing it. The map contains locations of all discovered space rifts, collectibles and characters, as well as the current location of the player. The player is marked with a red arrow which is turned in the direction the player is currently facing.
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Concept vs Final UI
1. Mini map - in the final version of the game a full map can be accessed through pressing M, however, there is no map preview constantly present on the screen like in the original concept.
2. Inventory icon - in the final version of the game the inventory icon is replaced with player menu icon. Its primary function remains the same throughout the development.
3. Quests, animal skills, health and stamina bars - excluded from the final version of the game as they were not highest priority during the development.
4. Dialogue box - final version of the game contained a dialogue box with currently speaking character's headshot and their name. The skip option was moved from top right corner of the screen to bottom right corner of the dialogue box as it was a more convenient location.
