We have decided to keep track of information during gameplay that has value beyond calculating points and the end of game. The player will want to see this information as it tends to provide motivation and adds to the fun of the game. So, we will create a Heads-Up Display for the player, and dynamically update the data in the game.

Here is a mock-up of what our Heads-Up Display will look like in our Cucumber Beetle game:

As you can see, there are six components to our HUD. Each of these are explained in detail:

• Health: This will consist of a text label and a health meter.
• Lives: The icons underneath the Health text label signify how many lives remain. We will not add a label to this as its function will be clear to the player. We will use an image of the Cucumber Man as the icon.
• Score: The score will be presented in the top-right-hand corner of the screen.
• Cherries: We will show the number of cherries directly beneath the score.
• Cucumbers: The bottom left-hand-corner of the HUD contains two components. The first component is the number of cucumbers left in the game.
• Cucumber Beetles: The number of Cucumber Beetles currently left in the game will be displayed in the bottom-left-hand corner of the HUD, below the number of cucumbers.