Hi folks! My name is E, and I’d like to welcome you to jUIcy – a blog dedicated to dissecting Video Game User Interfaces (UI) and discussing relatively unknown games that happen to have amazing UI.
In the Game Industry, a great UI is sometimes referred to as being “juicy”. Think of it like you’re squeezing an orange – a paltry fruit when you squeeze it isn’t very exciting, but if you give it a good squeeze and a waterfall of juice comes out, man is that satisfying. If you click a button in an app and there’s no reaction whatsoever, that’s a bit lame, right? But, if you click a button and it changes to a darker color, plays a small sound effect, gets a bit bigger and then smaller as if you actually pressed it, that’s juicy!
My Background
As I said, my name is E, and I’m a college student majoring in Game Design & Production. My pronouns are They / Them, and while I currently reside in Pennsylvania, I’m actually originally from Texas. While Game Design might be my major, I have a background in all sorts of different things. I was a teaching assistant for 4+ years and I am currently a graphic designer for the club I’m president of on campus. This past year, I also had the opportunity to work as an icon / graphic artist for a large corporation. All this to say, I know a lot about good graphics, good icons, and how to make things both visually appealing and easily legible. Outside of official work, I dabble in art, writing, music, and more!
Now, I’ve also had a pretty eventful life for only being on this planet a couple decades. Some fun things that have happened to me are that I’ve been trapped in an elevator, been stabbed by a seagull (…indirectly), received a concussion from public transportation (yes, from), roller-bladed down a 45° ramp with a dislocated kneecap while practically blindfolded, and much, much, more.
Talking About Games
Since I’m a Game Designer, I’ve been playing many, many, MANY video games – a lot of which most people probably haven’t even heard of. Sometimes, I even play awful games because their user interfaces are actually really good, and vice versa. I find myself telling people constantly about these games and why they’re so great, so I feel putting everything in one place would be pretty fitting.
Of course, since this is a blog about video games, I can’t not talk about some of my own personal tastes and favorites. While I’ll save personal UI favorites for a post, I can of course share some of my favorite games. I’m a Nintendo fan, but I will play any game on any console as long as it appeals to me. My oldest console is an N64, which houses my favorite game of all time: Paper Mario. As you’ll be able to tell from my favorites, I am a big fan of traditional art and hand-drawn animation, 2D games, and stylized 3D games.
Top 10 Most Played Games of All Time, According to Steam (PC Gaming Store)
This Blog
This blog is designed for people both outside the games industry and those inside it to learn about Game UI and about games that might’ve flown under the radar and have been greatly underappreciated. I hope that by reading my content here, you find joy – whether it be through my writing, a new game to play, or nostalgia for games you might’ve played many years ago. This is a positive space, where I aim to constructively criticize some poor choices, praise others, and just have some fun.
Want More?
Does any of this sound interesting to you? Sweet, me too! To learn more about juicy UI, follow my blog and feel free to comment and I’ll do my best to answer any questions you might have. See you around!
jUIcy 