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I am currently on a game for windows phone 8.1 where the user can use items. If the user tries to use a item which he doesn't own a sound gets played. If now a user plays without sound or listens to music it might be that he doesn't realize that he tries to use it without realizing why it won't work.

Should I make a visual feedback?

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    \$\begingroup\$ Yes, you should. You should never rely solely on audio for feedback. \$\endgroup\$
    – Vaillancourt ♦
    Dec 2, 2015 at 15:06
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    \$\begingroup\$ as a side benefit, you will also make hearing impaired people able to play your game, which is nice by itself... \$\endgroup\$
    – R1ck77
    Dec 2, 2015 at 16:35
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    \$\begingroup\$ Better yet, provide a visual indication before they to try to use the item, e.g. change its icon to grayscale if it's not available for use. \$\endgroup\$
    – MooseBoys
    Dec 2, 2015 at 20:37

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You already answered your own question:

If now a user plays without sound or listens to music it might be that he doesn't realize that he tries to use it without realizing why it won't work.

That's the most important reason.

Games feel better when audio and visual feedback are combined.

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    \$\begingroup\$ Even more on mobile games, where people most play games with no sounds. This is important too with desktop games since the player maybe hearing his fav music while playing the game \$\endgroup\$
    – DH.
    Dec 2, 2015 at 16:39
  • \$\begingroup\$ And what would be the best way to do so ? It's a pretty small field so when the user presses the image he probably won't see the image. But I also don't want to cover the whole game screen. \$\endgroup\$
    – Lexu
    Dec 7, 2015 at 10:24
  • \$\begingroup\$ You could splash a red X over the item button in conjunction with a buzzer sound. \$\endgroup\$
    – Almo ♦
    Dec 7, 2015 at 14:25
  • \$\begingroup\$ @Lexu - You could simply do a short camera shake effect. That should get the user's attention that he did something wrong. Or a short duration transparent(ish) red screen overlay. \$\endgroup\$
    – Doug.McFarlane
    Dec 9, 2015 at 19:15

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