Chapter 3: How do other games do it?

How do other Real Time Strategy games apply these design rules?

For step 3 we will be looking at the user interface design of Starcraft II, and for multiple reasons. It is one of the
most popular Real Time Strategy game, and it’s also recommended for novice RTS players. Which means that
the User Interface design should be easy and clear enough to be understood by beginning players. And that’s a
sign of good User Interface design. Besides that, it is also a real time strategy game with an science fiction
setting, which fits our alien design.

Starcraft II is a good example of how Real Time Strategy UI should look like. To be easily understood and

satisfying to use. To analyze the Starcraft II UI, We are going to apply same 5 design rules to it. With this we will be
able to pinpoint the great differences between our Alien User Interface Design, and Starcraft II’s User Interface
design.

Image 5 - Starcraft II User Interface

Image no. 3 that you can see above, is a screenshot taken from Starcraft II. The User Interface is divided in five

sections. Section A is the area that shows the amount of resources. It shows the amount in numbers. Section B
shows the player the control groups. Most player’s will use this section to control their units. And also produce
units back in the base as well. Section C shows which units are selected and the qualities, quantities and status
of that unit. Section D shows the player how many control groups they have. Most players will use this section
to control their units in battle. Section E shows the player the mini map. Both the enemies and allies of the player
are visible in this section. The player can also use this feature to move units.

So now we have good understanding of how the User Interface works from Starcraft II. Now we are going to apply

the five important design rules that we have tested with before. To test these design rules, I will be playing
Starcraft II for the first time. This way I will have an unbiased idea and immediate feedback of how easily a
novice player can use the User Interface.

Learnability: How easily can a new user navigate the interface? When I started up the game I first noticed that

all the information I need, cleary has their own area on the screen. The quick Macro information that I need,
I can quickly glance over. The mini map is very clear and the command box (section B) is very easy to use.
The command box only shows commands that I can actually use, so no unnecessary information there. Now I
will also take in consideration that it is a game recommended for novice players. Since “Blizzard’s game design
philosophy is: Easy to play, hard to master.” [8]

Efficiency: How quickly can users perform tasks? All the player needs to control the game are on the screen.

Features like section B and D, are regularly used. These features have their own area on the screen and are
easily accessible by the player. There is no unnecessary information or menus on the screen. One of the few
bad features is that when you select a group of units in section C,and you click on a single unit, that unit will
leave the group. That is not clear in the User Interface and could use a bit more feedback.

Memorability: If a user hasn’t visited the system in a while, how well will they remember the interface?

To test this, I haven’t played the game for a week, before playing again. Starcraft II’s in-game interface systems
always strive towards keeping functional elements universally designed. So it’s intuitive for the player. This way
I easily remembered how everything works when I haven’t visited the game for a week. I would say this interface
is very memorable.

Errors: how many errors do users make, and how quickly can they recover from errors? I can say that I as a

novice, haven’t made many mistakes. One of the few mistakes I made was accidentally clicking on the mini-map
and moving my units in the wrong direction. This however, is an error that you can quickly resolve. By clicking
next to the units in the game, you can easily cancel the previous movement command.

The command box (section B) show’s only the commands that are available for that unit, so that cuts away a lot
of errors the player can make.

Satisfaction: Do users enjoy using the interface, and are they pleased with the results? I can personally say

that I am pleased with the User Interface design. The efficiency of the UI is very accessible. And it’s very easy
to get used to. Personally as an artist, I would say that the User Interface is not aesthetically pleasing to me.
While it is very clear and accessible, it is not too attractive to the eyes. I would love to see a balance between
being accessible but also visually artistic.

The UI scored very high on learnability, memorability and errors. It is easy for a beginning player to learn how

to use this user interface. Since all the menus and interface have a consistent and clear design, with no
unnecessary information, it is also very memorable. This user interface design, is designed in a way that it
prevents the player from making too many errors. And when errors are made, they can easily be resolved due
to the accessibility of the user interface. The only downside of the user interface that I have found, was in
section C, where the player can see the units that are selected and the qualities, quantities and status of those
units. When you select a group of units and deselect one, it will leave the group. That’s the only part of the user
interface design that I thought needs to show a bit more feedback to the player. In the end we can say that this
User Interface is very user friendly and works very well for novice Real Time Strategy players.