The one thing all graphic designers know is that above all, despite all the bells and whistles, it is our core job to send a message of some sort. Communicate if you will. Whether it's the price of something, a product's functions, something new about a business, if someone is hiring, that a gathering of some sort is going to happen, etc. That being said, one of the applications of said communication can be found in video game design, mainly interface design.
This aspect of the project-I find- is very important. If it is difficult to navigate your weapons and gear in a game, it is easy to just give up or get frustrated. This can make or break a game. Here's a few examples of what I mean.
As a huge fan of Assassin's Creed (the second on being my favourite), I thought it appropriate to show the interfaces of the continuous games. I found the weapon interface from the second instalment to be the most comprehensible and simple. The two wheels are arranged to correspond to the L and R joysticks (PS3). When you bring up the interface, you simply rotate the L or R to which weapon you want. When you close this interface, a button correlates to each weapon (primary and secondary). Simple!
Another well-designed interface is that of Bioshock and Bioshock 2.
Much like the AC2 layout, each hand correlates to a different thing. Right hand (R)=weapon, Left hand (L)=plasmids. You never have to open a pause type menu like the one above, but can simply rotate through if you please. For each weapon there is the ammo type dial in the corner, if you run out of one kind, you simply switch to another until you're empty. Simple, to the point, and quite easy to get ahold of right off the bat.
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