The UI in Journey of the Gnomes is fully integrated into the game’s narrative and visual theme. Designed to resemble pages of a well-worn traveler’s journal, the UI maintains a diegetic approach—where menu elements appear as in-world objects like handwritten notes, sketched icons, tabs, and clippings.

All menus are optimised for both controller and keyboard/mouse navigation, with an emphasis on accessibility, clarity, and thematic consistency.

HUD (Heads-Up Display)

Minimal HUD to retain immersion:

• Health:

• Shield:

• Magic:

Each level includes:

• Multi-layered parallax backgrounds (minimum of 3 layers):

  • Background (e.g., distant mountains, sky)

  • Midground (e.g., trees, clouds, large terrain features)

  • Interactive/Gameplay layer (e.g., platforms, hazards, NPCs)

• Foreground decoration layers for immersion and depth (e.g., tall grass, lighting filters)

• Animated environmental elements including:

  • Particle effects (falling leaves, pollen, spores, fireflies)

  • Weather systems (rain, mist, snow, wind streaks)

  • Interactive animations (swaying foliage, destructible objects, moving platforms)

Biome Diversity
Each biome’s variants include alterations in:

• Lighting and color grading

• Level geometry/layout complexity

• Obstacle/enemy placements

• Narrative set pieces or interactive lore objects

• Environmental mechanics (e.g., sliding ice, sticky mud, wind gust platforms)

Levels within each biome are unlocked sequentially. Completing all variants in a biome unlocks access to the next biome. Each level contains collectible lore entries and hidden items that encourage exploration and replayability.