The Last of Us Part II
On the Battle Formats picker, ask which existing rules the highlighted format will change and where a newcomer can inspect them. Format rules and optional access settings have different owners.
03
Player decisions and journeys
How to study a studio decision
Borrow the principle, adapt the mechanism, or keep the case as reference?
THE SNAKE EYES BASELINE
- An entry, not a promise about settings. Options is visible near the bottom of the list. The frame cannot tell you whether the next screen offers a preset. The two paper versions in this study begin at that same entry.
- What a still actually establishes. Campaign has a diamond beside it. The image tells us where the mark is, but cannot distinguish pointer hover from navigation focus. Record the cause only on your own device.
R32 / 02 NOV 2026 The estate menu
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Which part of this reference belongs in your game?
Follow one studio’s decision from the player’s question to the control they shipped. Start at the estate’s Options entry, then compare the reasons behind an adjustable preset, a team scoreboard and a touch puzzle.
A small diamond sits beside Campaign. Battle and the other destinations sit in a quiet column beside the lit serpent. The frame records the marker’s position; its input cause is unverified.
01 / RESEARCH SHORTLIST
CURATED FOR THIS QUESTIONThree for Snake Eyes
Battlefield 2042
For the 1v1 battle HUD, compare the same public fact for both sides. Keep either side’s private choices out. Record the same two questions against the existing capture and a grayscale variant.
Rytmos
On the Estate, let a visual state change and a sound refer to one known event. Ask what happened with audio on and off. Add another cue only if it answers an observed need.
02 / PRODUCTION CONTEXT
One question, different scales
Compare what the player can infer. The scale labels describe the production context of each example.
03 / COMPARATIVE GALLERY
STUDY OVERVIEW / EDITORIAL RANKINGThe top ten
How these examples were ranked
These editorial top tens compare eleven documented productions from 1990–2023, including later revisions. Each ordering weighs the stated problem, the visible mechanism or the applicability of the lesson according to the selected view. The three Snake Eyes picks can differ from the first three historical ranks. The pool favors traceable public sources with images. It underrepresents unpublished failures, older console documentation and games without English material. Award scope is reported separately, and the AA label describes an estimated production scale. A still records a visible state. A designer’s account records a reason. Neither measures how a Snake Eyes player will perform.
Each entry links to the image and the feature evidence. Award badges name the recognized category. The saved direction records the director’s own choices.
See how different genres answer this question
Multiplayer first-person shooterBattlefield 2042Compare the launch-era capture, the labeled proposal and the March release note.
Action adventureThe Last of Us Part IIRead the developer’s configuration problem alongside a capture of the actual control.
Musical path puzzleRytmosRead the two cofounders’ account of drawing a route to make music. Compare it with a photographed puzzle face.
Turn-based mech tacticsBATTLETECHPair the developer’s explicit turn-order goals with its beta explanation and a frame from the released game’s store gallery.
Superhero tactical RPGMarvel’s Midnight SunsCompare selecting a hero ability with Gonzales’s separate example of sharing functionality across screens.
Grid tactics puzzleInto the BreachCompare the desktop chasm explanation with the founders’ account of adapting crowded windows and a separately sourced phone image.
Survival horrorDead SpaceTrace a status readout from its fictional object to the position the camera usually gives it.
Turn-based tactical strategyXCOM: Enemy UnknownRead a Fire preview alongside producer Garth DeAngelis’s explanation of positioning decisions.
Investigative narrative / FMVHer StoryCompare the player’s query, the returned clips and the note attached to an individual clip.
Musical graphic adventureLoomRead the original design goal alongside the staff, selected target and note sequence.10 / 10 references
AAA · Multiplayer first-person shooter2021
Battlefield 2042
Compare the launch-era capture, the labeled proposal and the March release note.
March gives each team a player list and puts match totals and personal numbers in a separate block. The January drawing still combined all 128 entries. The November capture grouped squads and showed personal stats.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- A dated before-state, work in progress and release note let the reader independently check which request changed the shipped arrangement.
- Where it breaks down
- The three frames show different matches. The patch documents a response to requests. It offers no timed search results, and its end-of-round view was still scheduled for a later update.
- For Snake Eyes
- For the 1v1 battle HUD, compare the same public fact for both sides. Keep either side’s private choices out. Record the same two questions against the existing capture and a grayscale variant.
- Production
- DICE / Electronic Arts · Conquest · 12 November 2021 early access, 19 January 2022 proposal, 8 March 2022 update 3.3. DICE and EA identify the studio and large-publisher release. The bracket describes production context.
Other views of this game
DICE / Electronic Arts. November gameplay captured by Morgan Park for PC Gamer. January and March illustrations issued by Battlefield.AAA · Action adventure2020
The Last of Us Part II
Read the developer’s configuration problem alongside a capture of the actual control.
Vision, Hearing and Motor occupy three rows. Motor is focused and Off. Its panel lists consequences across menus, including changing repeated button presses to a hold. The lower-left hint gives the route to individual settings.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The designer states a precise discovery problem and the original-game capture lets readers inspect the proposed answer without relying on an award.
- Where it breaks down
- Focus is distinct from activation. The capture cannot establish that someone enabled the preset, changed a setting afterward or found the result comfortable.
- For Snake Eyes
- On the Battle Formats picker, ask which existing rules the highlighted format will change and where a newcomer can inspect them. Format rules and optional access settings have different owners.
- Production
- Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment · Original PS4 release · June 2020 developer description and July 2020 SpecialEffect captures. Naughty Dog’s lead systems designer describes this first-party PlayStation production and feature set.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source The Game Awards 2020 · Innovation in Accessibility, for the overall game
Other views of this game
Naughty Dog / Sony Interactive Entertainment. Original PS4 gameplay captured by SpecialEffect GameAccess.Indie · Musical path puzzle2023
Rytmos
Read the two cofounders’ account of drawing a route to make music. Compare it with a photographed puzzle face.
A path runs across an exposed cube face between visible markers. The creators explain that hitting emitters triggers sounds and solving levels adds layers. The still records the path geometry.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- A category-relevant award, named creators and an inspectable path make it possible to distinguish award scope, rationale and audiovisual behavior.
- Where it breaks down
- The image contains no audio or timing. The Interaction award is specific to Apple’s 2024 program for iPhone and iPad and supplies no measured error rate.
- For Snake Eyes
- On the Estate, let a visual state change and a sound refer to one known event. Ask what happened with audio on and off. Add another cue only if it answers an observed need.
- Production
- Floppy Club · Original 2023 game · Apple’s 2024 developer interview and iPhone/iPad Interaction award. Apple’s award profile identifies a five-person Floppy Club team.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source 2024 Apple Design Awards · Interaction, game winner on iPhone and iPad
Other views of this game
Floppy Club · game images reproduced in Apple Developer’s interview.AA · Turn-based mech tactics2018
BATTLETECH
Pair the developer’s explicit turn-order goals with its beta explanation and a frame from the released game’s store gallery.
A highlighted phase 3 sits between 5 and 1 at the top. Behemoth’s named portrait, her Shadow Hawk’s Front and Rear silhouettes and a separate weapon table occupy different parts of the screen.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The studio names conflicting goals and tested alternatives. A separate beta diagram and a store frame make it possible to check the visible result across development stages.
- Where it breaks down
- The 2016 diary and beta manual concern an evolving design. The store gallery does not give a capture patch or establish that every beta exception survived.
- For Snake Eyes
- For the battle HUD, use two public positions. Ask whose turn it is, whose remaining HP the player is reading and which unit an inspection describes. Count owner swaps separately from numeric errors.
- Production
- Harebrained Schemes / Paradox Interactive · 2018 PC game, publisher gallery · Backer Beta Manual page 11 and 2016 design diary are labeled separately. Editorial mid-scale estimate. Paradox documents the crowdfunding campaign, independent studio and publishing partnership. A production budget was not disclosed.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source Paradox publishing partnership Backer Beta Manual, initiative on page 11
Other views of this game
Harebrained Schemes / Paradox Interactive · publisher-supplied PC gameplay and page 11 of the Backer Beta Manual.AAA · Superhero tactical RPG2022
Marvel’s Midnight Suns
Compare selecting a hero ability with Gonzales’s separate example of sharing functionality across screens.
In the combat frame Knee Strike rises from a hand, a target marker remains on the battlefield and a corner displays the turn resources. The engineering slide places two menus together to illustrate sharing.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- Two named specialists in the same project offer a clean way to catch a design explanation attributed to the wrong source.
- Where it breaks down
- Joel Gonzales’s production account supports a claim about reusable screen functionality. Joe Weinhoffer supplies the combat rationale. Neither supplies a measured improvement in player comprehension.
- For Snake Eyes
- Let the architect investigate reuse between the Collection list and battle Inspect. Give each screen its own player question and test even if both use the same component.
- Production
- Firaxis Games / 2K · Publisher’s PC gallery · lead designer’s October 2022 account and UI engineer’s GDC 2023 slide 125. The lead designer describes a Firaxis and Marvel collaboration. The UI engineer separately describes the breadth of the production.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source Joel Gonzales, UI Engineering Patterns, original 2023 slides Unreal Engine, Joel Gonzales’s 2025 presentation
Other views of this game
Firaxis Games / 2K / Marvel. PC gameplay supplied by the publisher. Engineering slide by Joel Gonzales, GDC 2023.Indie · Grid tactics puzzle2018
Into the Breach
Compare the desktop chasm explanation with the founders’ account of adapting crowded windows and a separately sourced phone image.
The PC board shows a terrain tooltip explaining a fatal push for ground units alongside objectives. On the iPhone listing a snow-covered board has End Turn and an attack-order control at opposite sides.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The developers explicitly describe why screen size changed disclosure. Two edition-labeled images stop the desktop treatment from becoming a universal prescription.
- Where it breaks down
- The images show different missions. They cannot identify one specific panel removed during porting. The developers describe selective reduction across the conversion.
- For Snake Eyes
- Compare one public condition and its owner at normal desktop size. Move secondary facts behind Inspect only after checking that the first decision still works without opening it.
- Production
- Subset Games · Original design · PC storefront capture and Netflix iPhone listing for the later mobile edition. Cofounders Justin Ma and Matthew Davis describe the small team, its full-time collaborators and the mobile adaptation.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source Developer announcement for the mobile edition 2019 Game Developers Choice Awards · Best Design, for the game
Other views of this game
Subset Games · developer-supplied PC gallery. Mobile capture supplied by Netflix on Apple’s App Store.AAA · Survival horror2008
Dead Space
Trace a status readout from its fictional object to the position the camera usually gives it.
Isaac’s lit spine faces the camera during combat. In the inventory frame the display projects into open space to his right. Producer Chuck Beaver describes both the on-body health display and the use of that space for menus.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- A producer writing during development explains the decision in spatial terms that can be checked against the original game.
- Where it breaks down
- The images show particular angles. They illustrate placement, while visibility in other poses, peripheral vision and performance under attack require observation.
- For Snake Eyes
- At the Estate, check whether an in-world interaction remains identifiable when the camera or avatar moves. Keep a stable alternative where the world cue leaves the frame.
- Production
- EA Redwood Shores / Electronic Arts · 2008 original · EA’s gallery for the original PC product, capture hardware and patch unspecified. The original senior producer describes EA’s team and its production of the integrated interface.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source 2009 BAFTA Games Awards · Use of Audio, a separate craft from the pictured HUD
Other views of this game
EA Redwood Shores / Electronic Arts · publisher gallery for the 2008 original.AAA · Turn-based tactical strategy2012
XCOM: Enemy Unknown
Read a Fire preview alongside producer Garth DeAngelis’s explanation of positioning decisions.
The targeting panel gives an 83 percent chance to hit, up to 7 damage and a 50 percent critical chance. More Info and OK remain available. Another frame draws a grenade’s possible footprint.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The producer’s explanation about cover and flanking can be checked against visibly different quantities in an aim panel.
- Where it breaks down
- A preview cannot prove that the shot landed or that displayed chances match empirical results. No roll or damage receipt appears in this state.
- For Snake Eyes
- For a public battle value, label current HP, possible change and actual change distinctly. Leave an unavailable prediction unspecified. Ask players to identify what is guaranteed before they commit.
- Production
- Firaxis Games / 2K · 2012 PC original · publisher gallery and contemporaneous producer interview. Take-Two identifies the Firaxis studio and multiplatform 2K production. The scale bracket is editorial.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source Original PC manual 2013 BAFTA Games Awards · Strategy, for the game
Other views of this game
Firaxis Games / 2K · publisher-supplied PC screenshots.Indie · Investigative narrative / FMV2015
Her Story
Compare the player’s query, the returned clips and the note attached to an individual clip.
The computer shows MURDER in the search box, several results and a separate clip detail with a user tag. Barlow describes writing a layered story so that clips could be interpreted in different orders.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The same frame makes interpretation, system retrieval and user annotation visibly different activities.
- Where it breaks down
- A clip, query or speculative tag does not establish the truth of the investigation. The picture does not show a search performed or every match returned.
- For Snake Eyes
- In Collection, separate the player’s search/filter from the creature’s official facts. On the Estate, reveal uncertainties through the story while giving operational commands clear names.
- Production
- Sam Barlow · 2015 PC game · developer-supplied gallery and Sam Barlow’s account. The developer site identifies Barlow and the support of the Indie Fund.
Publisher-led · Musical graphic adventure1990
Loom
Read the original design goal alongside the staff, selected target and note sequence.
The forest screen names the shepherds and shows a lettered staff with colored notes. Lucasfilm documents that learned four-note drafts act on a chosen target and quotes the original manual’s wish for players to finish the adventure.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- A much earlier adventure makes a distinct interaction vocabulary visible and supplies a contemporary goal through the manual cited by the rights holder.
- Where it breaks down
- The staff shows what can be read in this edition. It does not play the melody or prove that every edition, difficulty mode or player relied on the displayed notation.
- For Snake Eyes
- Where a Snake Eyes object carries an interaction, name its target and action together. Keep a way to read the action when its sound is unavailable.
- Production
- Lucasfilm Games · 1990 design · publisher-distributed color PC edition, exact capture build unspecified. Lucasfilm’s retrospective identifies the original team and period. A modern budget tier cannot be reconstructed from these materials.
Other views of this game
Lucasfilm Games · publisher-distributed PC screenshots.Saved direction
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