TW3 UI Aesthetics

[Jupiter_on_Mars]

TW3 UI Aesthetics

Sscreengrabs:

( @Marcin Momot and @Aegis_Kleais , I am very much looing forward reading your takes. )







The UI looks ghastly. It seems a baroque iteration on Tw2's. Lots of redundant gradients, fillets, shadows and ornaments. It's distracting when several areas in the same screen compete for the player's attention.


1. Colour scheme. Why brown, of all colours? It's horrible. Why so much colour blocking? CDProjekt has reportedly said they were aiming for an immersive UI, but say you're on an icy region, would that brown be a fitting focal point for the UI colour scheme? Why not go with a neutral colour instead?

2. Background image. What's it there for? Neither sufficiently patterned to function as a backdrop texture nor in focus enough to be discernible, it just hinders legibility. Terrible choice. Why not make the UI, at least in some areas, semi transparent and have the game itself as background?

3. So much precious real estate is going to waste with titles, boxes and ornaments. Why the need to clutter? Design should start at type and work from there. In that regard, I'm afraid there's an inherent and quite noticeable aesthetic contradiction between picking a sans serif font but then cramming up the screen with all sorts of overly sweet candy. It just does not add up.

The UI is a metaphor. It's outside the gameworld. Thus it's not required to adopt its aesthetics. A modern looking, much simpler, much flatter UI would be more fitting and appealing. As of now, it looks ugly as Shrek. It nowhere near adheres to TW3's otherwise high aesthetic standards.

 

[Totalimmortal]

As much as I like where this is going, I guess I will just have to come in peace with myself that there won't be the artsy, kinda unique UI style from TW1 in Witcher series anymore...
Thx Consoles :dead:

 

[GHOSTMD]

Yeah.... i would like to see the ART like UI from TW1 to in TW3....

please CDPR? at last for PC Version? Please?
the 3D like Medallion? the 3D like rest timer? .... the skilltree... and so on...

Still THIS UI looks better than TW2 UI but lacks the ART from TW1

so long

 

[Sephira]

Honestly, I like The Witcher 3 UI, so I won't complain

But here's a screen of the old TW1 UI, only for nostalgic.

Spoiler

Italian version of the game sorry

 

[DBag]

UI looks cool IMO. I especially liked Geralt's stance and the fact that he's moving. That was a nice touch.
W1 UI, on the other hand, is horrendous, and cannot be compared to the new one.

 

[GHOSTMD]

We don t mean the UI itself DBag ^^ only that ART what comes with it
and yes Geralts stand looks cool that what we said the UI does look better just lacks
the art background around the elements you know thats different

Keep the UI CDPR but surround the elements with a bit of art hehehe

 

[Jupiter_on_Mars]

We don t mean the UI itself DBag ^^ only that ART what comes with it
and yes Geralts stand looks cool that what we said the UI does look better just lacks
the art background around the elements you know thats different

Keep the UI CDPR but surround the elements with a bit of art hehehe

On the contrary, drop the UI and don't even think about further crowding the screen with artsy-oh-look-at-me elements, CDProjekt. A simpler, modern functional, mostly flat UI is what best serves the game.

 

[Kindo.824]

I agree that it needs some (or a lot of) work, but it already feels like a step up from TW2's interface. What's more important is to make it responsive and react more fluently to a mouse and keyboard set-up (for the PC version). And yes, TW1's interface is the best, hands down.

 

[StaGiors]

On the contrary, drop the UI and don't even think about further crowding the screen with artsy-oh-look-at-me elements, CDProjekt. A simpler, modern functional, mostly flat UI is what best serves the interests of the game.

I agree with this opinion, partly however, since the Journal tab is involved in the UI. If it is Dandelion's journal like TW2, I'm expecting it to be artsy.

 

[Guest 2686910]

It's clean. Does its job. And i never really cared for elaborate design of UI, so... I'm fine with what it is. It's not upsetting or offending me, not impressing me either.

 

[sidspyker]

I just want 2 things from the UI, any UI.
1. Clean
2. Functional

This screen seems rather... controller friendly so I'm not gonna say anything since that's not what I plan to use but it does seem functional, but I'd like it to be more clean, there's a lot of 'clutter' in the inventory etc that is. I'm fine with the HUD. It's barely a minor quip that I don't really care about though.

 

[dragonbird]

I'm hoping for a different UI for K&M vs Controller. Regarding the artistic design, no, not that keen. I've nothing against artistic backgrounds, but there's inadequate contrast between focal areas, text and background. I want my eyes to go automatically to those parts of the screen that I need to see.

 

[GHOSTMD]

Clean.... yeah that pretty much sums up my feeling for the non artsy UI elements you know...
CLEAN almost steril... suits maybe for better controller gamplay and navigation
but it lacks the feels you know

i don t say they should change it entirely... just a tiny bit of.... you know TW so the UI suits more
into the World bring in the DEM FEEEEELLLLZZZ

And if TW1 UI distracted you .... then i wonder how you managed to keep focused hehehe

 

[TheFawz]

I really like the look of it, it seems pretty intuitive. I'm not very fond of the color pallet for it though. I always felt like Orange was the color theme for Witcher 2 and TW3 would have more of a silver/flame red color theme just like the game's title lettering style.

 

[Jimbob_2.1]

I personally didn't like the aesthetic of W1 UI but i played it a lot more recently after i played W2. Maybe nostalgia has something to do with why people like it so much?

 

[PlanetDestroyer]

It's funny how some people want a more artsy look and others a cleaner one. I think the current UI is, from what little we've seen, a good 'compromise' between the two. I actually like the brown colour palette and the info on griffin in the preparation screen (+ the potion recommendations). It's pretty convenient that you don't have to go to the journal to see info on the one specific monster you're tracking just to see what potion or oil to use. As long as you need to read a book or something to gain that knowledge I think it's ok.

 

[Jupiter_on_Mars]

It's funny how some people want a more artsy look and others a cleaner one.

What's funny about it?
People have varying tastes, inclinations and personal preferences. Nothing seems more natural and likely that they'd disagree on this subject. There are considerations though that transcend personal taste alone and deal with design as craft. The issue of how sans serif type is inconsistent with the plethora of decorative elements is a good example.

 

[PlanetDestroyer]

What's funny about it?

Ah, I just mean that it's quite the task for the UI designers to create a UI that would be satisfactory for everybody. People in this thread have very different views of how the UI should look like and it must be hard for the devs to try to take all that feedback into account.

 

[KnightofPhoenix]

I like it aesthetically, gives off the mutant vibe well.

 

[Jupiter_on_Mars]

Ah, I just mean that it's quite the task for the UI designers to create a UI that would be satisfactory for everybody. People in this thread have very different views of how the UI should look like and it must be hard for the devs to try to take all that feedback into account.

But that's my whole point.
That there are reasons transcending taste alone why the UI is seriously flawed. I would never have CDProjekt design by plebiscite, be it the UI, story or any other element in the game. The colour palette, for example, revolves around the colour brown. I find it ugly as Shrek in that context. But I am not merely saying that. Does brown become icy scenarios, is it immersive, their self proclaimed goal for the UI?

So while personal taste is still involved, some issues transcend it.