Colour Psychology

Red

Red is an effective colour at grabbing our attention. It stimulates us, raising the pulse rate. Red induces a physical reaction, and as a result is good when used for call to actions, or when it is important that something is communicated above all else.

A great use of the colour red in video games is in the game Mirrors Edge. The game uses a mechanic called 'Runner Vision' in their level design, whereby important elements are highlighted in red. Red being the first colour we recognize, this has the effect of grabbing the player's attention and directing them in the right direction.

Blue

Blue is seen as the colour of the mind, and has soothing qualities. Whilst red gives us a physical reaction in terms of raising the pulse, blue allows us to think with more clarity and aids concentration.

A common use of blue in video games is in strategy games, where concentration and clarity of thought are important to achieving the optimal strategy. Developers will use blue in various UI elements, in order to help the player think more clearly.

Yellow 

Yellow is a colour that is linked to emotion, for better or for worse. Different tones of yellow can induce different emotions, ranging from confidence, optimism and improved self-esteem, down to other tones of yellow giving us feelings of fear and anxiety.

A game that uses a great range of yellows is Journey, a game about life and death. Naturally, this game is very emotional, and being set in a desert gives the developers a wide range of yellow tones to play with to illicit various emotions, ranging from hope and joy, to fear and loss.

Green

Green is a restful colour, the colour of balance. Green is a reassuring colour, which dates back to a primitive level where people would associate the colour green in vegetation with nearby water, indicating little risk of famine.

Green is used frequently in video games to reassure the player in the form of pickups. Whether it be health kits, more ammo, powerups, green is often the colour of choice in the instances. This is because it is a colour that the player will associate with help, a colour that will aid them in some way.

Day and Night Cycles

Whilst not necessarily different colours, having the same world in the day and the night will greatly impact the way that the player views the world, and will illicit different emotions dependent on that. The biggest impact on this is lighting, and the colours associated with this lighting. For example, a well lit scene could make the player feel quite calm, like they can explore freely. However, the same scene lit darkly for nighttime will make the player feel apprehensive, and will make them think twice about every move.