Communications in Humanities Research ISSN: 2753-7072
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Research Article

The Correlation Between Visual Complexity, Information Presentation and Game User Experience

Zining JinWenzhou-Kean University*

* Corresponding author: [email protected]

Abstract

With the growing market in the field of games and the accelerating polarization in game design towards little and a great deal, the theme of game UI design has become dual-sided and experienced two extremes, both of which are problematic, but in different ways: one causes harm to the player experience through over-visualization, and another through over-simplification. This paper identifies the joint impact of visual complexity and information presentation on three levels of game user experience based on a systematic literature review of a game UX body of research, game user interface design, and visual cognition research bodies, and augmented with case studies of Arknights and Deep Palace Melody. The results show that interfaces that are too complex lead to cognitive overload and thus hinder functional and hedonic experience whereas simplified interfaces lead to poor emotional investment and meaningful experience by not providing them with adequate visual expression. Both the information presentation and the visual style consistency make up a unified design system that regulates the experiential coherence. It is summed up that a successful game UI design is in a dynamic equilibrium between the visual richness and information visibility - and that this equilibrium depends on the type of game and the audience, and there is no single standard that can be universally applied. Game UI design can thus be identified as an essential layer within the development of full experiences of players.

Keywords: game user experience; user interface design; visual complexity; information presentation; game design.
Published: April 13, 2026
DOI: 10.54254/2753-7064/2026.32673
Volume: CHR Vol.107
pp. 7-14
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