Anatomy of a good MMO: User Interface

Lately I've been trying to find a decent f2p MMO that can keep my attention until STO goes into beta. I've been looking for one that I can just play casually and not have to devote my life to it so I can progress. So far I haven't found a new one.

Runes of Magic has ruined the market of f2p MMO's due to its quality and size, a lot of companies are now on the "free WoW" train and trying to play catch up, so it came to me. What makes a good MMO or more directly, what would catch my attention.

The first thing I'm going to look at is the UI.

I think this is probably the most important aspect for me because it's the first thing that really catches my attention on an MMO. If a UI is clunky and basically ugly to look at, I won't last long with the game. F2p games have shown some of the worst I've seen, no customization or ads everywhere. WoW has a great UI because of its customization via addons which has near limitless options when it comes to style and art.

For me, the most minimalistic UI is the best one. Anything that takes up more than 25% of the screen is just a distraction from the actual game and is more like looking at Microsoft Excel. A new game on the block that I really liked the UI for was Champions Online. Its colorful, very simple and customizable. Another one that is looking to be good (even if it is pre-beta and from a leaked video) is Star Trek Onlines. Simple, small and to the point which is exactly what I want.

I think the best example of a bad UI has to be Final Fantasy XI. Square-Enix clearly hadn't got the experience in the MMO business when it came to designing the UI, it was made with the PS2 version in mind but didn't work great on that or the PC.

Check back soon when I go into the next essential of an MMO. Graphics.