Edd Coates | Game UI Database

Someone ran a poll on X, asking players if they would prefer "all games on Steam made by humans" or "all games on Epic made by AI". 139,568 people voted, with just 1.6% voting for AI and Epic. Faith in humanity restored!

Arguably, there’s nothing more political than the erasure of artists, composers and writers from this world, just so people like Tim can get even richer. Billionaires HATE art because it gives ordinary people a voice. That terrifies them.

Game UI Database is back in the news! Huge thanks to @verticalslice.news and @kerrblimey.bsky.social for this article on the ongoing issues I've had with AI bots scraping the site, and my efforts to push back against them: www.verticalslice.news/there-will-d...

This is wild, my name's in the credits for Silent Hill: Townfall!?! I know a lot of studios use the Game UI Database, but I think this is the first time anyone's actually put me in the credits because of it 😭 I'm so touched by this!!

Can't believe how close we're getting to the 2000 games mark... it only took six years! 😁 www.gameuidatabase.com

Yeah ok, maybe this feature isn't so pointless after all 😍

A HUGE Game UI Database update is looming on the horizon, which comes with an 'avalanche' of new features. Some game-changing, some completely pointless. Here's a pointless game-changer:

Unsurprisingly, if you're the creator of Dragon Quest, AI is a great tool for churning out content that makes headlines. But for the majority of people? Not a chance. I'll never get why Joe Everyman™️ defends this tech when it's clearly only designed to help the rich pull the ladder up behind them.

The Game UI Database YouTube channel has just reached 400 videos!! Featuring uninterrupted footage of various games, with all of their UI menus and elements featured: www.youtube.com/@gameuidatab... More initiatives are coming soon to the channel, including tutorials!

Knowing where so many creative tools (Rive, Adobe, etc) have ended up with their AI adoption, I dread to think what the Game UI Database could have become in the hands of someone with no respect for the creative process. The GUIDB is proudly anti-AI and will always champion humans, no matter what!

Excuse me??

Yet again, the Game UI Database is being scraped to the point that it's getting knocked offline. Even Cloudflare's "I'm under attack" mode isn't working. I just wanted to create a resource for real designers. I'm getting so fucking sick of this.

"We looked into your content and feel that you and your audience might enjoy our product" ...did he just call us stupid?

Denshattack! has been added to the Game UI Database! Another game in the vein of Persona, where the UI elevates the experience, giving it a distinctive visual identity of its own. Props to @chloehodgson.bsky.social for making a brilliant game even brilliant-er! www.gameuidatabase.com/gameData.php...

Tea and scones for lunch with my boyfriend 🥰 Very civilized!

Since a dev shared his game concept last month, Steam has been flooded with vibe-coded slop clones. This is what "democratising creativity" actually looks like. Even with AI, your ideas are worthless as long as they can be plagiarised at scale. Gen AI was designed for plagiarism, NOT creativity.

Resident Evil was fantastic. It does a shockingly good job of bringing the vibe of the games to film, from the humour to the camera angles, to the light puzzles and even the way it makes you keep track of how much ammo he's carrying. It's so well done. Hope we get a sequel!

The more I hear about the way they've treated their staff, the less I want to play this game 😕

Everything is terrible now yay

Back in 1994, I called the Nintendo Hotline to ask how to get to the Lost World in Donkey Kong Country 3. …then I took credit for their advice by submitting it to CVG Magazine, who printed it the following month. My secret shame 😭

Over the past couple of months, I've been grabbing a HUGE number of screenshots of game UI from various titles across multiple classic platforms. Some of these are already in the Game UI Database, and the rest will start appearing over the next few weeks! www.gameuidatabase.com

Six years ago, in the middle of covid, I was hard at work finishing the first iteration of the Game UI Database. These old WIP shots just came up in my memories feed, and wow I forgot how different the site looked back then! It's come a loooong way 😊

How it started (2022) / how it’s going (2026)

ROGUE ECLIPSE OFFICIALLY OUT NOW!! 🕹 Tight Flight Controls 💥 Merciless Armadas to Blast Through 👾 Epic Boss Fights to Overcome 🚀 A Roguelike Campaign ☪ An Arabesque Futurism inspired Cosmos Hope ya'll enjoy our launch trailer! bit.ly/4bRLumD 🥳😎🚀💥💥💥 #gaming #indiegames #gamedev

LEGO Party - The first LEGO game to have a UI almost entirely made of LEGO! It's about time!? Kudos to the excellent @smgstudio.bsky.social (who are also anti-AI and I love them for that) www.gameuidatabase.com/gameData.php...

Sorry for being so quiet lately, I've been absolutely exhausted since the book launched, and hiding myself away from the world for a bit. I think my body finally decided it needed a rest 😅 Thank you so much to everyone who helped make the launch a huge success. I'll try to reply to messages soon!

Nature is healing

Good. Right now this only applies to social media, but it's only a matter of time before it applies to products as well. That would mean that any game studio planning to sell in the EU - i.e all of them - would need to disclose their Gen AI use or risk some hefty fines. Bring it on.

Miguel is one of the best designers in the business (and a personal hero of mine), and it was a privilege to write about his approach towards UI and branding in such detail. There's so much gold in this piece!

LinkedIn added an "AI slop" button. The U-Turn is happening, expect to see a lot more of this from other tech companies.

Inside the Game UI Bible you'll read perspectives from some of the finest UI/UX designers across the industry, coupled with essays on topics ranging from Nintendo’s Switch branding to the relationship between game UI and meme culture 🎮🔗⤵️

Chatting to @eddcoates.bsky.social about the Game UI Bible has taught us a lot 🧠 Explore the deep history of the field, as well as some of the incredible innovations we’ve seen over the years across UI/UX Design 🔗👇

"I can comfortably say this is the most unashamedly comprehensive guide to game UI that has ever existed." But don't just take @eddcoates.bsky.social' word for it! Have a look for yourself at the Game UI bible to learn about the underexplored world of UI/UX Design 🔗👇

The response to this has completely blown me away. Thank you!!! Writing this book has been a dream come true for me, not to mention a MARATHON. Four years!! It all feels very unreal and I’m still waiting for it all to sink in. I did it!! I'm an author!! My book exists!!! 😭

This is probably the biggest moment of my life 😭 After 4 years, the Game UI Bible has finally launched for all the world to see. A 400+ page tome of Game UI/UX goodness, celebrating all the weird and wonderful intricacies of this field. I'm SO proud of this book, and for you all to read it!

Announcing The Game UI Bible by @eddcoates.bsky.social + @lostincult.co.uk! ✨ Years in the making, this 500+ page behemoth dives into the UI/UX of your favourite games, as well as the history and ethos behind UI. Cannot wait to read this beaut. ❤️ lostincult.co.uk/gameuibible

It's Wednesday at Develop! Come and say hello if you spot me, and grab some free Game UI Database merch! I'll be around the expo hall, at the UI/UX meet, Spill the tea with OMG, and the GI.biz party tonight! Or just send a DM 🙌

Hello Brighton! I'll be at Develop all week. Come say hello if you want to talk about UI/UX things, the Game UI Database (free merch ahoy!), or if you're interested in hiring me for a future project. Or MAYBE even my composition work? I should probably be talking about that more 👀

Epic. Spaceflight. Action. Roguelike. This is Rogue Eclipse, launching NEXT MONTH ON AUGUST 7th! 🕹 Arcade Flight Controls 💥 Merciless Armadas to Blast Through 👾 Epic Boss Fights to Overcome 🚀 A Story that unfolds over roguelike campaign Wishlist Here! bit.ly/4bRLumD #gaming #indiegames #gamedev

Some Persona 4 Revival UI made it into this week's trailers. And yes, it slaps.

Mission accomplished on my first international talk!! Beautiful venue, wonderful crowd. This was probably the most relaxed I've ever felt on stage, I even got them to give a shout-out to my boyfriend in the audience 😅