PlayerUX

The creative director - Maxime Beland - says that Man on Fire's subtitles were the inspiration for this projection system. If anyone can find an example of this from the film please post it in the comments. I've been unable to track it down online.

Title sequences that incorporate themselves into the environment have a long history in film. With the Saul Bass credits for Hitchcock film North By Northwest being the sequence that seems to have spawned this back in 1959. Panic Room is a more modern day take.

Color is a great way to capture peoples' attention. That human impulse is at the heart of the use of color as navigation in video games.

Color has been used to categorize player methods, help guide the player through the story and even present an enhanced view of the in-game environment.

Some games have refined this technique so well that they have reduced or even abandoned the heads up display that is common to most games. Usually a player is introduced to a navigational display that includes upcoming objectives, location in the map as well as direction they are moving in. The additional technique of color can help lead the player through the game and reduce the need for a heads up display.

The use of color is also a great method for showing not only navigation - but also choices and opportunity. You'll definitely see that in the videos below. I have four examples of games that use color as a primary navigational cue.

Mirror's Edge paints the town red

The use of color and shape in this game is exquisite. It makes my little design heart go pitter-pat with glee. I can go on and on about this game. Luckily for you I've decided to focus...for this article at least!

Red is the key. The color is used to show the player pathways they can use to move across and through obstacles. The player doesn't always have to use these pathways to navigate the game. Often it's just one of options the player can use.

This assistance can be turned off by the player, but it is a great aid during the first play through. In the video below you'll see that the red color paints objects as the camera gets closer and catches the player's attention. "Here, check me out - it'd be much easier if you went this way!" is what the color red is saying, though that option is not always the only way to get past the obstacle presented. Opportunities abound!

Shadow Complex uses color to categorize methods

Shadow Complex uses color to reveal blocked areas as well as the method the player uses to get past them.

Colors are mapped to weapons that the player earns by playing the game. The color is revealed by the use of a flashlight. However, the choice of whether to turn on the flashlight is up to the player. Besides being great fun to operate - it's also brilliant, as it gives ultimate control to player. The colorful hints are not omnipresent.

When the flashlight is pointed at an obstacle the item turns a color - and this is the cue that indicates which method to use to move on:

• Green: grenades
• Yellow: bullet
• Red: missile
• Blue: sonic run
• Purple: foam

At the beginning of the game the player only has a gun that shoots bullets. Yet they can see all the other colors indicating obstacles and techniques. This is a great way of indicating the breadth of the world that the player will later explore. In the video I'll show you how this all works.

Wolverine uses color to present the character's enhanced senses

In Wolverine the player can trigger a 'feral sense' that changes the environment to reflect what Wolverine would see.

This creates two things: a blue shaded temporary pathway and a green highlight of manipulable objects. The airy pathway disappears after a moment - meant only to generally indicate the direction the player should move. The green highlight stays on-screen longer. You'll see both used in the video below as a guide to climb cliffs.

Further in the game the green can also be used for any item that Wolverine can manipulate. And by manipulate I mean smash and kill. But this is Wolverine we are talking about here. He should get some slack, ya know.

This color cue is used for guidance, but also for unique disabling moves on enemies as well as collectibles.  (The subject of collectibles are for a future article. I call them donuts - don't ask why - but they are items you collect for achievement points. Crazy addictive.)

Batman uses color to detect

Batman is the premiere detective in the DC universe. The developers of Batman: Arkham Asylum used a technique similar to the game Wolverine to present how Batman would view the world.

In Arkham the player can trigger a 'detective view' in which everything from position and temperament of enemies to location of manipulable areas are indicated. Different colors indicate different situations - for example, Red is used to indicate enemies and orange outlines are used for the gargoyles Batman can use to move above the action.

The variety of information is navigation - but it's also opportunity. The player can use any series of events to pass a level. There are so many ways to disable an enemy or escape from an area that it is up to the player to use their wit to find their way of defeating the scum of Gotham City.

Color + Opportunity = Fun

These games take navigation beyond the simple task of knowing where to click or move. They make the point that navigation is also about opportunity, options and choices. These uses of color give the player more power over their experience and make it clear what they can do in the world. That is almost the ideal of navigation techniques for a user to experience: power, control and understanding.

For a web designer like myself it's an interesting concept that navigation should (and can) be fun. Navigation should not simply be something required and necessary to allow the user to find their way. And that is what is at the heart of what excites me about these games. That reminder that navigation can be great oodles of fun.