Article by Katzushima
If you are anything like me, user interface is a vital core to the entire experience of an MMO. Information needs to be presented so that I can reach the things I need to in an efficient manner, and the way the UI interacts with the controls just has to make sense. In many MMOs on the market, they use a standardized format wrapped in genre-appropriate graphics. You have little doubt when playing in Warhammer Online, for example, that you are fighting for either Order or Destruction in an epic struggle for the Old World.
Notice the High Elven blades along the toolbar of the UI, inspired because the PC is a High Elf. Similar design decisions color every UI created for WAR.
In Star Trek Online, even playing a Romulan or Klingon, the familiar and iconic LCARS graphics can be seen.
Star Trek Online’s LCARS, the most iconic multi-media UI in creation. 
For an un-modded user interface to really work, it needs to be simultaneously capable, intuitive and adaptable. I have very rarely met a UI that was not capable of meeting the demands of the system, so I will leave to the commentary any exceptions to the capability role. My biggest focus here will be on both intuitiveness and adaptability, as they tend to vary wildly among games. Examples given are by no means a challenge to any copyright or trademark and are instead only listed for reference.
One cannot underestimate the importance in a user interface that reacts to the player and makes their experience easier. For this I can think of no better system than for Conan Unleashed, its melee control scheme tied to the interface in such a way that based on the combo you’ve arranged so far, other options will present themselves as replacements for normal options that can then be selected directly from the keyboard.
Age of Conan UI – As combat changes or combos become available, the
area above the 1-3 slots display optional chains you can start.
This is a trait shared with Star Trek Online (particularly when using melee weapons to build expose or exploit combos) and one that I feel falls a bit short in such games as The Lord of the Rings Online, whose Fellowship maneuvers make you bounce between keyboarding and mouse click.
The 4-way cross represents Fellowship Maneuvers, special attacks initiated by members of the Fellowship
(party) that each person weighs in on. Some may be group healing, MP refresh, damage to target, or debuff to the target.
The system knows what you’re potentially trying to achieve and works with you to make that attack or ability combo happen. That the interface speeds up your combat decision making and leads to more brutal combat would – I think – make Mr. Howard very proud that you walk in his Cimmerean Barbarian’s footsteps.
Just as it is ideal to have a user interface that will understand what you are trying to do and help you do it, the UIs that let you control every facet of what it does and then gets out of your way are just as good, and in some cases a good deal better. I can think of no better example than The Secret World.
Seven buttons on the bottom, your and your opponent’s health to either side, states simply rendered as four buttons that are lit up or not, minimap in the top corner, and the one mission you have decided is at the top of your stack. That’s it; no complicated multi-teir button rows, no crazy graphics to take away from the overall ascetic. Any additional buttons for consumables are created as virtual bagspace pinned to the UI at your decision. Only need one space visible? Make a 1-space bag! Need a 5×13 for crafting mats? Make it! Anything in TSW’s UI that is not immediately vital to the information you need right now is hidden away until you need it, and when you do, it makes it visible.
Here we see a number of separate windows (Inventory, Crafting, Talismans, Healing, Weapons, and “New Bag”) to hold all of the player’s gear. Note these aren’t separate physical ‘bags,’ but are instead user-definable segments of the player’s total number of inventory slots that can be modified on the fly to suit your individualized needs. The pushpins in the corner turn the window into a new toolbar for consumables and equipment. 
Now we’ve only covered a few user interfaces, and even then only in broad strokes. The point, dear reader, is to find aspects or facets of these various user interfaces that accentuate your gameplay, and perhaps discuss with the game’s development staff implementation. If the game accepts modding, perhaps you can find or help develop a mod that helps remedy these issues should they arise in your gameplay.
So what MMO has the best UI as it applies to you? Comment in the section below and let Holosuite know what’s on your mind!
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No thoughts about the post
Xander
The worst UI i even seen is in the Defiance Online game.
June 19, 2013 at 11:47 am
Katzushima
My understanding was that Defiance is an FPS, which apart from Health, Shield, Weapon, and Ammo, what more do you really need? Planetside 2 and Fallout have similar layouts to Defiance, from what the web shows me.
June 19, 2013 at 12:06 pm
Xander
It was built for a controller platform, so very clumsy on pc.
June 19, 2013 at 3:10 pm