Okuzeka
Game Development vocabulary · Gameplay & Game Design

HUD

Meaning in game development, with examples

/hʌd/abbreviationCore term

In game development, HUD means: Short for heads-up display: the information shown on top of the game view while you play, such as health, ammo, a mini-map and the score.

In Turkish: HUD, ekran göstergeleri, oyun içi arayüz

How it is used

Usually pronounced as one word that rhymes with 'mud'. UI designers talk about a clean, cluttered or minimal HUD, and some games let players hide it. The term comes from aircraft displays that show data in front of the pilot.

Example sentences

  1. The HUD is too cluttered; players can't see the enemies behind all those icons.

  2. We added an option to hide the HUD in photo mode.

Common collocations

  • minimal HUD
  • cluttered HUD
  • hide the HUD
  • HUD element
  • onboardingThe first minutes or hours of a game, designed to teach new players the controls and rules step by step so they understand the game without feeling lost or bored.
  • game feelHow responsive and satisfying it feels to control a game moment to moment, created by things like input timing, animation, camera shake, sound and visual effects.
  • gameplayWhat the player actually does in a game and how it feels: the actions, rules, challenges and choices, as opposed to the story or the graphics.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Gameplay & Game Design

Practise with graded reading

Reading at the right level is the fastest way to make new words stick. Pick free English books by level: