Applying Gestalt Principles to User Experience Design in Computer Games

Abstract

The aim of the discussion is to explore how user experience design (UXD) in digital games can be shaped by applying the principles of Gestalt perceptual organisation theory. Starting from a definition of UXD as the process of building complex, immersive and emotionally engaging user experiences in digital environments, the paper develops the thesis that the effectiveness of this process in games is not limited to user interface design. Although the literature extensively describes the use of Gestalt principles in the context of graphic interface design, their potential as a tool for organising perception within gameplay and the visual environment of a game remains relatively inexhaustible. This paper proposes an extended perspective of UX in computer games as the synergistic effect of three components: gameplay mechanics, narrative and visual structures. In this theoretical framework, Gestalt principles are analysed as universal rules of perceptual organisation that can influence not only the ergonomics of the interface, but also the direction of the player’s attention, interpretation of the game world and understanding of its rules. Particular attention has been paid to games without a classic UI, such as Journey or Inside, which, despite dispensing with conventional UI elements, effectively construct deep user experiences through thoughtful visual and narrative structure. The text is both a review of selected aspects of the literature on UXD and Gestalt theory and an analysis of selected examples of computer games in which principles of perceptual organisation play a key role in the construction of the player experience. The article is cognitive and theoretical and applied, offering a new interpretative framework for the design of user experience in the medium of digital games.