The Evolution Of Video Game UI

Inventory

When PC gaming was becoming a bona fide phenomenon back in the 80's and 90's, the RPGs were the kings. Translated from the tabletop to the screen, dungeon crawling, slaying mythical beasts, and exploring lands of pure fantasy was all the rage. However, before the more modern incarnation of the RPG, with separate menus, skill trees, and usually minimalist UI, pretty much everything you needed to know was right there on the screen. There was a lot of real estate to be used, as having the sometimes 3D graphics take up the majority of the display could have been pretty taxing on even the most powerful systems at the time.

Usually featuring tabs to switch between your various items, spells, loadout, and armour, the concept of stacking menus, or switching away from the main action wasn't as present until the medium matured. Nowadays, you're switching to a whole new display to see what knick-knacks you've picked up whilst on your quest. Or, if you're wielding a weapon, you're seeing your ammunition statistics only when holding that particular weapon, unlike in Doom and Doom II. Speaking of devices of destruction...