-UI design for card games

Games research

-Balatro

-Slay The Spire

-Stacklands

-Cultist Somulator

↑Strategy games & Round-based card games

In most card games, cards have numerical values and characteristics, and are also played with different mechanics and strategies

Subjects-（brain storm）

·Ways of the interface of game enhance player clarity and control

·The UI aid player choices（？）

·How does the UI design in a game support strategic decision-making

·Principles of interaction design manifest in the UI

·How does the UI of a game apply key interaction design principles to create a readable and intuitive gameplay experience?

Compared to other games such as Balatro or Stacklands, Slay the Spire offers a more structured and symbolic UI, which makes it a strong candidate for studying visual clarity and player decision-making.

UI Elements

Top

Left: Player&Character, HP, Gold, Potions, Levels

(Below) Props

Right: Map, number of cards in hand

Center (game screen)

Character(left) Enermy(right)

Below character: HP, status (buffs)

Above enemie: actions taken this turn

Bottom

(in order from left to right)

Pile, Energy, cards available this turn, end of turn button, discard pile

1-Sylvester, T. (2013) Designing Games: A Guide to Engineering Experiences. Sebastopol, CA: O’Reilly Media.

2-Schell, J. (2015) The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses. 2nd edn. Boca Raton: CRC Press.

3-Adams, E. (2014) Fundamentals of game design. 3rd edn. Berkeley, CA: New Riders.

4-Norman, D. A. (2013) The Design of Everyday Things. Revised edn. New York: Basic Books.

Document：

1-Hunicke, R., LeBlanc, M. and Zubek, R. (2004) ‘MDA: A formal approach to game design and game research’, Proceedings of the Game Developers Conference. Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228884866 (Accessed: 13 May 2025).

2-Ahmad, I., Hamid, E., Abdullasim, N. and Jaafar, A. (2017) ‘Game interface design: Measuring the player’s gameplay experience’, Lecture Notes in Computer Science, pp. 539–551. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70010-6_46 (Accessed: 13 May 2025).

3-Zamri, K.Y. (2021) ‘The effect of 10 user interface (UI) elements on game design process’, International Conference on Research and Innovation in Science and Technology (I-CReST). Available at: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/354527166 (Accessed: 13 May 2025).

4-Vi, P.T., Mishra, S. and Nguyen, T. (2024) ‘User interface design and usability in information systems’, Bulletin of Electrical Engineering and Informatics, August. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1002/9781394272303.ch23 (Accessed: 13 May 2025).

Briefly introduce the game genre and introduce the topic: card games are highly dependent on the presentation of information and instant decision-making by players, so UI design plays a key role in it.

Body 1 — Game interface analysis
(Keyword: information hierarchy, iconography, feedback)

Body 2 — Player experience impact
(Keyword: immersion, pace, frustration reduction)

Conclusion

Summary: The UI successfully supports player decision-making and enhances the gameplay experience.

Reflection: Can it serve as an example of “non-glamorous but extremely functional” UI design for more card/strategy games?

Case: Slay the Spire

Final decision RQ: How does the UI support strategic decision-making and player clarity?

Sub-questions:

-How is information visually structured?

-How does the UI reduce cognitive load?

-How does it support fast-paced decision-making?

The game's card interface (how to support “quick recognition”)

How the UI affects the game experience: reduces frustration, enhances “sense of strategy”: players can more clearly plan their next move

Pace maintenance: UI is not “in the way” or redundant, supports fast-paced decision-making, and is an important pillar of the game's replayability ( Learning and feedback are accomplished quickly.)

- In card games, players rely heavily on immediate access to structured information—such as card attributes, energy, turn sequence, and enemy intentions—to make decisions under pressure.

- UI design plays a crucial role in reducing cognitive load, ensuring readability, and supporting game flow.

- The analysis draws upon theories of interaction design and game design frameworks , to examine how Slay the Spire achieves a balance between minimalism and information richness.

- By presenting essential information in a well-structured layout, the game enables players to plan ahead, react quickly, and maintain focus without distraction.

- The case study highlights how core UI principles—such as clarity, minimalism, and responsiveness—can directly influence player experience in card-based strategy games.

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