Day/Night Cycle Widget

Design a small in-game HUD widget that shows the current time of day and what comes next as the world moves through its day/night cycle. It should feel native to a game HUD: compact, readable at a glance, and out of the way during play.

The widget needs to communicate both status and forecast. Players should see where they are in the cycle now, plus the next meaningful change coming up, such as sunrise, sunset, a shop opening, a patrol shift, or a world event tied to time.

This is a world-and-narrative touchpoint, so the design should help players plan without pulling them out of the scene. The challenge is balancing clarity with minimal screen space, especially when the game is moving fast or the player is under pressure.

Make the timing feel alive rather than static. The UI can use icons, a ring, a timeline, or a simple text readout, but it must make the current phase and the upcoming event instantly legible.

Show the next event in the same visual unit as the current time, so players do not have to read two separate places to understand what time means right now.