Ten Ton Hammer - Taking MMO Gamers to the Next Level!

The first time a gamer logs into an MMOG, their initial impressions are what truly drives word of mouth purchases. Like any piece of entertainment, those opening moments - like the Fox Studios anthem before Star Wars or the first lines in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings - are the what those individuals remember the most. Brand new games operate the same way and there are a number of elements that catch our eyes. Graphics are certainly high on the list, a nice introductory sequence setting the scene is always appreciated, and superb character creation is a must. But perhaps most important of all - and perhaps least recognized - is the need for quality UI right out of the starting gate.

Irena Pereira, Senior UI Designer for 38 Studios

Few development studios have really put a lot of emphasis on their game’s UI construction, but future companies may finally be learning the lessons of previous games and are beginning to put a high focus on developing amazing UIs. With its recent hire of their new senior UI designer Irena Pereira, 38 Studios has announced that their team is dedicated to putting together a user interface that is functional and aesthetically appealing at the same time.When I finally got a chance to ask some questions of Irena, it was obvious that she put a lot of faith on 38 Studios and is incredibly excited that she was hired on so early in the development process.

"38 Studios is the first dev house outside of Blizzard that I feel has prioritized UI appropriately," Irena said. "A user interface is to an MMOG as a first sentence is to a novel.  It can draw you in or turn you off. "

"There have been many competing games since the release of WoW and, as I said before, they replicated a lot of its UI (some of them down to the same color scheme for buttons and the like)," she continued.  "While this, in and of itself, isn’t a bad thing, these games have failed in terms of interface because they didn’t go to the same level of polish of WoW, nor have they understood the reasons behind some of the choices Blizzard made. Blizzard makes a concerted effort to design from the perspective of the player."

"38 Studios has made a commitment to having a great interface in Copernicus," she finished. "I was brought on early in development so we have as much time as we need to polish and refine.  Like at Blizzard, the team here understands the importance of a good user experience.  The goal isn’t to blow people away with our UI.  Rather, it’s to achieve new methods of letting the players enjoy the game for itself."

It isn't surprising that Irena thinks highly of the focus 38 Studios has put on their UI is a priority. After listening to the UI development team at this year's BlizzCon, creating an appropriate user interface that combines aesthetics with functionality isn't a simple task at all. Iteration after iteration of skins will be created, scrapped, refitted, and retooled, until finally the last piece of the puzzle will be put into place and the UI will be deemed a success. So how did Irena end up at 38 Studios after her stint at Blizzard? It seems like an interesting career step and a giant physical move; Irvine, Calif., and Boston, Mass., are about as far apart as you can get in the continental United States. I quizzed Irena about this fact and wondered just how she got involved with the 38 folks.

"My introduction to 38 Studios is actually a bit of serendipity," Irena  explained.  "Two people heavily involved with the project, Design Director Jason Roberts and Lead Mechanics Designer Travis McGeathy, were members of a raiding guild I ran in EverQuest, and we’ve been friends ever since.   We always joked about how awesome it would be to make a game together.  We went our own ways in the gaming industry, working to be the best at what we do.  Fast forward a few years to this summer, right after Travis joined 38: We were talking and realized that this was our chance to do just that."  

Since almost every MMO developer is a gamer of some sort or another, I decided to find out how Irena got her start in gaming, how long she had been playing, and what's her all-time favorite MMO. Everyone's story is different, and you can often tell what kind of developer a person will be depending on the games that he or she has played in their lifetime. Do they like the fast-paced combat or WAR? Or the more laid back pace of EverQuest? Do they develop with a graceful nod to the PvPers, or is it full on, balls-to-the-wall action all the time? I asked Irena to find out.

Irena's first MMOG love was EverQuest.

"I played a ton of text adventures and ASCII games as a kid, though my first exposure to gaming was in the dorms at USC," Irena said.  "My dormmates and I broke the rules and ran cables for an RJ-45 network along the ceiling of the halls to network all of our 386s to play Quake. Since I was also a BBSer in high school, online gaming just clicked for me.  I’ve been playing video games ever since."  

"When it comes to favorites--and I have a ton--my absolute number one single-player game of all time has to be Diablo," she continued. "Talk about replayability! That was the first game that really kept me up until dawn, killing Diablo multiple times a night.   I couldn’t get enough of it.  However, I wouldn’t have loved it so much if it weren’t for BattleNet."

"As for MMOGs my first love (and hate!) --  EverQuest -- definitely has a special place in my heart," Irena concluded.  "I played for about four years, through Planes of Power, when I finally decided it had become a second job more than a game.  However, there were certainly emotional highs in EQ that no other game has been able to emulate.  I think part of that was because it was so punishing, but there was definitely an element of strategy that EQ still has over other faster-paced MMOGs.  I miss that."

So with a fetish for Diablo and a love of the slow-paced EverQuest, what does that make Irena? An adrenaline junky that gets her thrills from interactive chat rooms? Joking aside, it's obvious that Irena has played her fair share of games (even more than this editor!) and has seen enough UIs to determine which strikes that perfect balance. According to Irena, Blizzard's World of Warcraft wins in the UI department, hands down.

"They’re certainly not perfect, but as illustrated by WoW, they accept that and open up their games to modification in a way that no other company has done," Irena said.  "I think that’s part of their success.  11 million people have a lot more brainpower than the 5 or 6 people talking about a UI feature in a conference room.  However, Blizzard also has the wisdom to take the multitude of ideas that are good and incorporate them into the UI in a way that is understandable even for a customer that never thought they’d have a need for that feature."  

"There’s a lot of UI innovation out there in Dead Space, for instance, with UI appearing contextually in game but so many of those “cool” things just don’t translate nearly as well as you’d think when designing from a perspective of usability," she said. "Also, Fable 2 took a cue from MMOGs (quest tracking, for instance), and simplified it for a single-player experience.  There’s a lot we game developers can learn from each other."

"I find that a majority of my inspiration comes from UIs that fail," she finished.  "There have been a lot of MMOGs attempting to emulate what’s been done with WoW (some more blatantly than others), and it’s a lot like the uncanny valley in it just illustrates the differences more.  It’s those differences, and things that feel weird or uncomfortable, that helps define what works and what doesn’t.  If it doesn’t feel right, a player is going to focus on what’s wrong and get frustrated with the UI and not spend as much energy on experiencing the world that’s been created.  So, especially with MMOGs, I try to play everything I can get my hands on to get perspective."