Engine – HUD

HUD

The game uses a visual HUD to show its various variables. There is a sketch-paper frame bordering a square picture portrait of the character. Below the portrait is the character’s name. In team matches, the paper frame is lightly hue’d in the player’s team color. In free-for-all matches, it is hue’d based on the player profile’s favourite color (or a darker shade, if another player has that hue already)

When accumulating Magic Meter, the paper frame gradually fills with color, from bottom to top (like ink filling a jar), slowly coloring the frame with a picture that represents the character being played (e.g. Maleficent would have a thorny frame background). Even when filling with color, the frame maintains its chosen hue (so a red team Maleficent would have red thorns). Once filled to the brim, the entire frame glows, indicating that MBlitz and MBlast can be used. During MBlitz and MBlast (i.e. when you use the meter), the frame drains of color, at a speed that matches the length of the chosen super attack. Once the frame is empty again, the MBlitz/MBlast has ended.

Damage is accumulated in the same way Smash Bros handles damage. However, there is no number or bar to show this. Instead, a picture portrait of the character on the HUD, becomes tattered and worn with the rising damage. The portrait itself also changes to become more glum, and its background becomes more red in hue. When a player is struck, the portrait winces and shudders briefly.

Once the player has suffered so much damage that their character can be KO’d easily, their portrait suddenly and audibly tears in several places, with little pieces of paper scattering out from it like confetti. The HUD then becomes static, with no further alterations based on damage (even though the player can still accumulate more damage)

A full visual reference, containing other things not mentioned in this summary, can be found here.