This article discusses the relationship between the user interface (UI) and the game world in computer games, with point of departure in qualitative studies including players and game developers. The developers’ evaluation of the relationship from a design point of view will first be presented, before the article goes on to discuss the degree to which the players accept the presence of UI features within the game world. We will see that developers find it challenging to balance between functionality and fiction, but see system features as a necessity that must be present for usability purposes. From the point of departure of players, they rarely consider system features intrusive to the game world, but accept them as integrated to the conventions established within modern computer game aesthetics.
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