HUD (video games)

The HUD is frequently used to simultaneously display several pieces of information including the player character's health points,[2] items, and an indication of game progression (such as score or level).

RTS games tend to have complex user interfaces, with context-sensitive panels and a full-overview mini-map with fog of war.

For instance, certain games employ a "health bar" which empties as the player becomes hurt such as Tekken, Street Fighter, and many others.

Alternatively, only a limited number of items stored in the inventory might be displayed at once, with the rest being rotated into view using the [ and ] keys.

In some of these circumstances where the player and character within the game are meant to see the same "HUD" information, such as Halo, the term helmet-mounted display (HMD) would technically be more accurate.

Some games, in an attempt to increase player immersion and reduce potential screen clutter, have most or all elements disappear when not needed (usually when the status they display is static), a method commonly referred to as a "dynamic HUD".

Some games also give players control over the HUD, allowing them to hide elements and customize position, size, color, and opacity.

[2] World of Warcraft is notable for allowing players to significantly modify and enhance the user interface through Lua scripting.

Ico has no HUD, fitting with the game's calmer style by not including many traditional game-like elements.

These types of HUDs reduce screen clutter by only displaying specific bits of information when the in-game situation calls for it.