Fallout 4: 10 Core Lessons It Must Learn From Skyrim

2. Don't Oversize The HUD

A criticism of Fallout 3 was actually that the HUD (Heads Up Display; but you knew that!) was naked and far too small to actually help players. Coupling this with previous assertions that the HUD of Bethesda's 'Oblivion' was invasive and unnatural, and it was clear that the developers faced a struggle when trying to find the correct balance with how they presented the player's screen in Skyrim. In the end, however, they nailed it. Skyrim's HUD was not fixed, and the important aspects of it that players would need to see were only there when necessary. During the majority of the gameplay it consisted merely of a crosshair to help direct players to what their character was facing, and a compass bar at the top of the screen to guide them to in-game destinations. A foe's HP bar will show up onscreen to show players how close they are to victory, and when skills are used and points gained this flashes onto the screen un-invasively, as well as when players lose health, magicka or fatigue these bars appear and update briefly. Despite appearing empty and unhelpful most of the time, the HUD in Skyrim is fluid and only shows information when it is useful to the player. Though similar to the minimalism of Fallout 3's own HUD, this is not a system that received any serious criticism and is one that definitely works for players. There is no reason this should be overlooked in Fallout 4.