The interface is, simply put, the way that information in the game is conveyed to the player. You could also argue that controls are a part of interface (and, strictly speaking, they are) but that is a discussion for another time. For the purposes of this article, whenever you see the word "interface", assume that it means the HUD, command bar, or any variety of names that you can come up with for it. The thing that lets players know what is going on in the game world.

Bad interface design is an extremely easy trap to fall into, because nobody ever tells you what makes up good interfaces! It's really a personal preference as to what exactly makes a good interface, but there are a few general rules that can be followed to design your interface to display pertinent information more efficiently:

• Represent simple concepts with clear and easy-to-understand graphics. This is probably the biggest thing that developers take a swing at, only to completely miss and accidentally leave a nearby bystander with a terrible concussion. In a game such as Civilization, this means things such as credits, gold, happiness, and other such things. It can be as simple as putting a dollar sign in front of the number instead of tagging a "dollars" to the end. In games like Unreal Tournament, this means representing health with a heart and armor with a shield. And the biggest rule of all when doing this is to keep your graphics simple. The more clutter in the graphic, the worse it is. Make it a heart, not a heart with an arrow through it. Another good thing to do is to make it so that the graphic changes based on the status
  
• As a corollary to the previous point, keep text to a minimum in the default interface. Note that text does not mean numbers. Text means letters, words, sentences, and paragraphs. The player should be able to accurately judge their status at a moment's glance. Reading quite obviously slows them down, and makes the interface harder. Obviously, this is more of a problem in strategy games than shooters. Lots of a text will intimidate a player and make them unable to make rational, clear decisions at a moments notice without a deep understanding of your interface. This bias towards simple, text-free graphics, however, does not extend past the default interface, as you will see in a later point.
• Make your interface easy and accessible to newer or less-skilled players. The skill of a person should not be based on how they use your interface, but their grasp of the game's core mechanics. Anyone should be able to pick up and play your game within 5 minutes at a reasonable enough skill level to learn the mechanics. If your interface is complex (read: submenus within submenus) immediately off the bat, players will be too busy learning how to actually figure out what is going on. In simpler terms, they will be learning your interface, not learning your game. And you definitely don't want that.
• Allow for more advanced players to access the interface in more depth to micromanage their experience. In other words, make it so that as a player learns new concepts, they can delve deeper into your interface to apply them. Keep it simple on the front-most end, but allow for the more complex roots to take hold and spread. This aspect is important in a strategy game, but it can also be very important in a roleplaying games as well. Don't force your skilled players to use the baby interface that the new players do!
• As a final note, allow for interface customization if at all possible. The more your players can tweak the overall interface to fit their needs (at a glance or otherwise), the more they will enjoy your game. This is not as urgent if the interface is well-designed, but customizable interfaces are practically a necessity in the realm of MMOs thanks to the incredible complexity contained therein.

These are just a few traits of good interface design, and it is design only. The other major part of interface is the art, and it is just as important. While you may have a good interface design, you will need the art to back it up. The interface should not look out of place within the context of the game, and should have a compositional style that draws the eye to the most important areas quickly. In this regard, you will either need to be a decent artist yourself or have the team artist do the interface in a way that complements the main game.

Lots of work goes into designing a game. However, don't let your priorities elsewhere distract you from what you may think to be "little stuff" like the interface. If you do, you may find that your masterpiece of a game has no players because it just doesn't flow! This is also a good example of the details-oriented requirement to designing good games, as such a seemingly small detail definitely has a huge impact on the accessability and immersion factor of your game.

For more coverage on indie games and the scene, keep an eye out for Indie Showcase at the same bat time, same bat channel. Also check out Freeware Friday and our indie category for some excellent freeware games and indie news, respectively.