What is good UI design in RPGs?

[Harthwain]

If an UI needs customization, then it's shit. If it needs more thant one screen to show everything, then your game is bloated with shit.

Bullshit. Customization allows the player to shape the UI to his individual needs. You can have a good UI without customization, but having the option to customize it is never a bad thing.

 

[Dramart]

Dragon Age Origins was pretty good, the PC version. Diablo II. Arcanum, once you get used to it. Dark Souls.

 

[Lacrymas]

I think there are 3 important things to worry about when designing a UI:

1. Everything important has to be clearly shown and apparent. The debuffs must be clear without mousing over anything.

2. No clutter. The battlefield must be as clean as possible. No always-visible nameplates, hp bars or floating damage numbers if it isn't a crit (the floating damage thing applies more to real-time games, though, it isn't as classless in TB games).

3. As few clicks as possible. This is a universal rule, though.

 

[rusty_shackleford]

One of my favorite game UIs is probably ToEE. Not just because of the in-game manual either. Seems to be a love or hate thing but I really liked the radial menus, thought they were easy to use.

 

[The Avatar]

I can give you a bad UI. How about Fallout 1/2? There are pros and cons of doing inventory in a list like Gold Box/Might and Magic, or in a grid like Diablo/Baldurs Gate, but Fallout's awful UI combines the worse traits of both of them and will forever stand out as one of the worse UI's of RPG history, right next to Ultima 7's paper bags.

 

[Butter]

I can give you a bad UI. How about Fallout 1/2? There are pros and cons of doing inventory in a list like Gold Box/Might and Magic, or in a grid like Diablo/Baldurs Gate, but Fallout's awful UI combines the worse traits of both of them and will forever stand out as one of the worse UI's of RPG history, right next to Ultima 7's paper bags.

Fallout 1/2 UI is bad only insofar as it concerns the inventory and bartering. It's extremely usable otherwise, with keyboard shortcuts for damn near everything.

 

[luj1]

Neverwinter Nights

 

[Zed Duke of Banville]

Neverwinter Nights

As much as I enjoy the Gold Box games, their UI was quite clunky due to having been designed for cheaper IBM PCs in 1988.

 

[The Avatar]

As much as I enjoy the Gold Box games, their UI was quite clunky due to having been designed for cheaper IBM PCs in 1988.

But a perfectly serviceable keyboard-driven UX for the time period. I remember going through combats pretty fast.
Perhaps the perceived clunkyness is the result of people trying to use the mouse when the system was designed for keyboard.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

I can give you a bad UI. How about Fallout 1/2? There are pros and cons of doing inventory in a list like Gold Box/Might and Magic, or in a grid like Diablo/Baldurs Gate, but Fallout's awful UI combines the worse traits of both of them and will forever stand out as one of the worse UI's of RPG history, right next to Ultima 7's paper bags.

Maybe the Fallout 1&2 UI had some issues (personally I see only a minor one in the inventory management), but give me an example of a better UI in modern games.

 

[Nifft Batuff]

Ok. I thought one: Disco Elysium.

 

[HansDampf]

Ok. I thought one: Disco Elysium.

Disco's UI is okay. But it's still lacking features like rebindable hotkeys, and I don't like the default ones. The 5 main menu screens are on C, T, I, J, and M. I'd rather have them all in one corner of the keyboard like QWASD, next to TAB which is also needed for highlighting. No matter where I rest my hand, I can never reach everything I need. Why can't I use the numpad to advance dialogue? I also can't play with mouse only because I can't bind highlight to a mouse button.

 

[DraQ]

1. Everything important has to be clearly shown and apparent. The debuffs must be clear without mousing over anything.

Corollary: if you can learn the icons, it's clear enough (see Morrowind).

 

[Lacrymas]

Corollary: if you can learn the icons, it's clear enough (see Morrowind).

Yeah, I was thinking more of PoE's piss poor UI and readability where nothing is clear and everything possible is concealed for maximum discomfort.