A HUD (heads-up display) is a transparent interface overlaying a game that communicates important information to the player without them having to pause the game or navigate menus. It is an essential part of the video game experience and is used to present the player with important information while not being distracting. HUDs are constantly progressing and changing along with the gaming industry. The information that is displayed on the HUD depends greatly on the game, but there are many features that players recognize across many games). Some common features include:

• Health bar
• Mini-map
• Score
• Level
• Items

Some games have most or all elements disappear when not needed, a method commonly referred to as a "dynamic HUD"). In most cases, the player can display them all by pausing the game or pressing a button. Some games also give players control over the HUD, allowing them to hide elements and customize position, size, color, and opacity). In rare cases, no HUD is used at all, leaving the player to interpret the auditory and visual cues in the game-world). The elimination of elements has hardly become a trend in game development, but can be witnessed in several titles as of late).