作者：Chris

每款游戏都需要界面，虽然许多人往往会考虑到主要游戏控制的设计，但界面的剩余部分常常被忽略。以下将分别阐述基础界面设计和针对大众用户的5个黄金准则：

UI_simCity(from tintone.com)

一、基础界面设计

准则1：一致性

这个准则似乎是显而易见的，但是仍然会出现诸多控制方式在游戏过程中发生改变的游戏，这种疏忽的结果是让玩家感到愤怒。

最重要的是，要确保所有菜单和窗口的操作采用相同的控制方式。确定玩家选择菜单选项和返回上级菜单的方法，然后在整个游戏过程中保持这种方法不变。

准则2：最小化操作复杂度

操作复杂度指执行该动作所需的次动作数量。比如，点击“开始”打开菜单是1复杂度，从主菜单中退出游戏是2复杂度（游戏邦注：这需要两个步骤，打开游戏主菜单和选择退出游戏）。

通常来说，每个操作的实现都应当保持最低的复杂度，所有的普通操作都应当在3复杂度内完成。最小化操作复杂度可以让界面更易掌握，导航也更快，这会让玩家的挫败感最小化。

《恐龙猎人2》的辐射武器选择总是维持在1复杂度左右，而《黄金眼》的线性武器系统使操作复杂度随玩家所获武器量的增加而增加。

准则3：允许跳过非互动内容

你或许希望玩家能够看看你花费巨额资金制作的过场动画，但他们可能对此漠不关心，或者说这个动画他们可能已经看过上百次，比如位于存盘点和困难BOSS间的动画。提供跳过过场动画的方式，但是不要使用玩家可能意外碰到的控制键位。

准则4：提供可保存的自定义选项

应允许玩家可以根据自身的需要改变界面，这是界面设计的重要组成部分。允许玩家自定义所有不影响到核心游戏玩法的内容。

如果控制可以自定义，那么要记住将这种改变同步到次级动作上。以《黑与白》为例，游戏允许你重新定义移动的控制方式（游戏邦注：默认设置用鼠标左键移动），但是如果你自定义了移动控制方式，那么就无法使用双击鼠标左键直接跳到某个特别地点的功能。

而且，确保玩家可以保存所有的选项。玩家不希望自己每次开启游戏都要重新配置选项。

准则5：将内容记录成文件

即便多数玩家不会阅读用户手册，但是在他们遇到问题或想明白自己的操作是否可行时，他们会去查看用户手册。优秀的文件记录会减少玩家的挫败感。

二、大众用户界面设计

准则1：借鉴玩家熟悉的内容

如果某种界面风格已经为人们所熟知，那么以这种界面为基础开始设计。比如，标准WIMP环境适合用在PC模拟游戏中。如果你想要将它替换成其他类型，那么这种新类型最好是易于掌握且比原做法更适合游戏。

这条准则也适用于图标设计中。你可以使用国际通用的标识来让玩家迅速理解界面内容。

准则2：用图标提升识别速度，用文字来清晰阐述内容

图标可以让玩家迅速理解这项功能的含义。通常情况下，主流玩家的耐心不如硬核玩家，所以要对图标进行文字描述。

《SSX》便是个绝佳的例证，游戏用文字和图标的双重方式创造出令人感到舒适的界面，而且易于使用。

准则3：控制方式不可超载

虽然将控制方式最小化是个很不错的想法，但是不要让控制方式超载。也就是说，确保每种控制都只有一个含义。《Jet Set Radio》有着设计精美的界面，但是手柄上的left trigger超载，镜头控制和喷雾涂鸦用的都是这个键。这就意味着，玩家在涂鸦时无法移动镜头。

准则4：快捷方式仅适用于高级用户

在PC游戏界面设计中，避免使用键盘作为主要的操作媒介（游戏邦注：键盘上的光标键和空格键可以考虑）。游戏中应该有可以单纯通过鼠标来实现动作的操作。这并不意味着你不可设计键盘快捷方式，因为高级用户还是会使用这些快捷方式，但是愿意在开始玩游戏之前先记住大量键位的大众玩家并不多。

在主机游戏中，可以考虑提供高级控制机制，让玩家可以更快地开展某些动作。只是要确保这些控制选项准确地记录在用户手册中。

准则5：构建学习曲线

如果你一开始向他们提供所有的控制方式，那么可能会让主流玩家一头雾水。应当逐步向玩家介绍他们能够使用的操作和控制，理想情况下，这个过程应当在游戏主线中完成。但是如果无法实现，可以鼓励玩家在开始游戏之前先玩玩教学关卡。如果你的教学关卡具有足够的互动性，玩家可以跳过或加速教学关卡，这样就不会影响游戏体验。

游戏邦注：本文发稿于2001年10月，所涉时间、事件和数据均以此为准。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Golden Rules of Interface Design

Chris

Every game requires an interface, and although a lot of thought often goes into the design of the main game controls, many overlook the rest of the interface. This article briefly discusses five Golden Rules for basic interface design:

Rule 1: Be Consistent

It sounds obvious but all too many games don’t check that their controls maintain their functionality across all contexts, and the result can be a major irritation for players.

Most importantly, ensure that all menus and windows are operated using essentially the same controls. Choose how the players accept a menu option, and how they go back up a menu level, and stick to this convention rigidly.

Rule 2: Minimize Action Depth

The depth of a particular action can be defined as the number of sub-actions required to execute that action. For example, opening a menu by pressing start is at depth 1, quitting a game from the main menu is at depth of 2 (open the main game menu plus select quit).

In general, every action should be at the lowest depth achievable and all common actions should be within a depth of 3 or less. Minimising action depth makes the interface easy to learn and fast to navigate, and will minimize player frustration.

Consider Turok 2′s radial weapon select, which is always around depth 1 versus Goldeneye’s linear sequence of weapons, where depth increases as you acquire more weapons.

Rule 3: Allow Skipping of Non-interactive Sequences

You may want the player to see your expensively rendered cut scene, but they may not care – or they may have seen it a hundred times before, especially if its between a save point and a tough boss. Provide a method to skip cut scenes, but don’t use a control the player might hit by accident.

Rule 4: Provide Options – Save Options

Options allow the player to tailor the interface to their own needs. Despite the name, they are not optional to the game design and are a vital part of the interface. Try to allow the player to customise everything that will not affect the core game play.
If the controls can be customised, remember to transfer secondary actions. Black and White, for example, allows you to redefine the control for the move operation (normally on left mouse button) but if you do you lose the double left click function which allows you to jump to a particular location directly.

Also – make sure you save all the options. The player doesn’t want to reconfigure every time they start playing the game.

Rule 5: Document It!

Even though most players don’t read the manual, they will turn to it if they have a problem, or want to find out if such-and-such a thing is possible. Good documentation will save your players much frustration.

Last month we looked at some basic Golden Rules. This month, we’re looking at Golden Rules when designing interfaces for a mainstream audience:

Rule 1: Draw From the Familiar

Don’t reinvent the wheel. If there is an interface style already in use that people know about, use that as your starting point. For example, the standard WIMP environment is fine for PC sim games. If you replace it with something else, it had better be easy to learn and offer significant advantages.

The same rule applies to icon design. There are many internationally recognisable symbols you can use to improve the player’s immediate comprehension of your interface.

Rule 2: Icons for Speed, Text For Clarity

Icons are great for immediate recognition – provided the player knows what it means. Mainstream players don’t generally have the patience of hardcore players so make sure that you provide a text description for all your icons (either as a tooltip, or in a help line somewhere on screen).

The front end for SSX is a good example of using both text and icons to produce a pleasing interface, which is simple to use.

Rule 3: Avoid Overloading Controls

Although it is good to keep the controls down to a minimum, don’t be tempted to overload a control. That is, make sure each control has only one meaning. In Jet Set Radio, the interface is beautifully designed except for the overloading of the left trigger, which is used for both camera control and spraying graffiti. This means that you cannot move the camera when you are close to a graffiti tag, which can frustrate many players.

Rule 4: Shortcuts for Advanced Users Only

In PC games, avoid requiring the keyboard for the main interface (with the possible exception of the cursor keys and the space bar). There should generally be some way (no matter how contrived) to achieve an action from the mouse alone. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t include keyboard shortcuts as the advanced user will certainly want them, but few mainstream players want to memorize a list of keys before they can play.

On consoles, consider providing an advanced control mechanism that allows the player to achieve certain actions more quickly, such as Goldeneye’s ability to trigger mines by hitting the A and B buttons simultaneously. Just make sure that these options are properly documented.

Rule 5: Structure the Learning Curve

Mainstream players can get swamped if you give them all the controls from the start. Introduce the player gradually to everything they can use, ideally within the main game play, but if that’s not possible make sure the player is encouraged to play the tutorial before they start play. If your tutorial is as interactive as possible – and the player can skip it or accelerate it – you shouldn’t have any problems. (Source: International Hobo)http://blog.ihobo.com/2007/02/golden-rules-of.html