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

World of Warcraft's user interface is an amazing combination of simplicity and functionality.

Perhaps one of the biggest problems that many massively multiplayer online games experience is the issue of complexity versus ease of use. Many games - perhaps most famously EVE Online - provide so much information for the user all at once that it's almost overwhelming. In this user's opinion, it seems like an incredible achievement that developers can create user interfaces that such wide audiences can learn to manipulate and enjoy. I asked Irena what it takes to make the sort of UI that can be used by the widest audience but still allows players to get the most information out of the game as possible.

 "I tend to think of a game as a piece of software, regardless of the audience," Irena explained.  "My success is more determined by how easy it is to learn rather than how many people it appeals to.  The hardcore audience is a small fraction of the player base, and if a UI is clean, responsive, and appropriately configurable, even they would appreciate it.  Instead of focusing on “what can my UI do?,” I find it’s more important to direct that attention to “What does the game do?” Making the UI as unobtrusive as possible while providing the features a player needs to actually interact with the game is paramount.  Certainly some level of customizability is important. However, it's just as key to avoid the possibility of new users (particularly ones new to MMOGs) configuring themselves into a confusing UI that they don’t know how to fix.  It’s my job to make sure they don’t fall into that trap without making the hardcore players feel like I’ve “dumbed” the UI down.  Not an easy task, I assure you." *smiles*

"My process is ever evolving since it’s the core of my job," she stated.  "Looking top down, I try to look at comparable UIs and question why certain choices were made.  Sometimes I’ll agree, and sometimes not.  Either way, I try not to take anything for granted, because if there can be improvement in what’s done before, there should be.  Of course, forcing users too far from the familiar can also shoot a UI designer in the foot. It’s a delicate line to walk."

Arguably, the user interface experience in massively multiplayer online games has not really progressed, at all, since the standards of the genre were established with the first MMOGs - EverQuest, Dark Age of Camelot, Final Fantasy XI, and World of Warcraft to name a few - and the industry has stagnated in a number of areas. Now that she's in a position of influence on a title that's looking to be progressive, I asked Irena how she plans to push UIs in a progressive direction.

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

As one of our final questions, we asked Irena how her previous experience at Blizzard will affect her contribution to the UI design in Copernicus and what she learned at her former studio that will carry over into her next project.

"In my career I’ve learned the value of metrics and how key it is to have actual data on player behavior," Irena said. "I learned an incredible amount about MMOG UI design at Blizzard, working with Derek Sakamoto and Eric Dodds, especially that it’s important to advocate for the little guy: the voiceless newbie player that doesn’t quite follow what’s going on when he dings for the first time.  I’ve also discovered the importance of the game needing to stand on its own, to play well, without the UI dominating the player’s interactions.   This knowledge will guide the decisions I make in designing the interface for Copernicus."

Will Copernicus raise the MMOG UI bar? We'll just have to wait and see.

Of course, innovation is one thing, but I was sure Irena had some complaints about current MMOG UIs in their current form.  Whether its buttons that make you squint like Mr. Magoo or pop-ups that would only entertain an individual hyped on uppers, everyone has their own frustrations with current UI systems.

"MMOG UIs have a tendency to be overly complicated, especially as a UI ages and evolves," Irena explained. "They certainly shouldn’t be afraid to add features, but developers should also consider the impact that may have on their user base as a whole, not just a specific audience.  My most frustrating MMOG UI experience was recently logging into Warhammer Online for the first time.  There was so much going on at the moment of log-in that I didn’t know where to look.  Error messages were on the screen in all caps yelling at me, and my very first quest required me to scroll down to get all of the quest text.  This just came off as messy."  

"UI is just as integral as any other design discipline and should be started early by a specialized team focused on presenting a polished and cohesive user experience," she continued. "It’s typically underappreciated in game development, though that’s beginning to change in some corners.  Problems like I mentioned could be avoided when there’s someone on a team to advocate for user-centered design."

Eventually, Irena and I came to the end of our conversation, and I asked her what she would like to tell Ten Ton Hammer readers and fans interested in Copernicus. Why should gamers really be excited?

"OMG!! COPERNICUS IS AWESOME!!!!" Irena exclaimed. "Seriously, though, working at Blizzard was one of the most valuable experiences of my life.  To get a chance to work with Curt Schilling, R. A. Salvatore, Todd McFarlane, and all the other immense talent on this team really blows my mind. So, what we’re doing here at 38 Studios is……oops sorry, time’s up!" *winks*

We'd like to thank Irena, Andrea Schneider, and Karen Blondell for taking their time to put together this interview and give such thorough and informative answers.