Designing UI for a VR Environment: Diegetic and Non-diegetic Approaches

The integration of effective user interfaces (UI) is critical in the rapidly evolving landscape of video games and particularly within virtual reality (VR). Poor UI design can have a negative impact on immersion by breaking such engagement, create cognitive overload, and detract from the overall experience of the player. This paper investigates a strategic implementation of two primary categories: diegetic interfaces, which are integrated into the game world, and non-diegetic interfaces, which exist outside the games fictional space. A simple VR game was created to test both diegetic and non-diegetic UI principles gaining feedback to assess the purpose and usability of the two methods for the application into future projects and research.