I’m working on a UI design for a web app, so I decided I would brainstorm ideas here.

Logout: Top right. Almost always the logout button seems to go there. Seeing as the x to close windows goes there and the opposite corner is generally accepted as the common starting point for Western viewers, having the sign out button seems to be fine there.

Starting Approach: Let’s say you’re in a lobby where you want to find a game. What interface considerations are there? Let’s start by figuring out exactly what the user wants.

• To find an open game or start a new game
• To find a particular user to watch the game
• To chat while in the lobby to start a game

Based on these consideration, the starting interface is simple:

[Find a game, filter by user]

[Lobby/Chat]

This lends itself to a simple vertical two panel system. Now, in Yahoo! Games and most multiplayer game systems, the Chat system is at the bottom of the screen.

Why is this? Is there a psychological reason why having chat on the bottom and the game on top is more intuitive, or is it just a matter of custom?

If we go from the English written custom, the most important information is at the top–the information we need to start with. Newspaper headlines are at the top, so we’re used to starting with the top to get our information. If we read Chinese this might be different.

So since we want a game with chat, and not a chat room with a game, the result is Game Top, Chat Bottom. This might also have something to do with the psychological mindset that takes place in a game. Games generally focus attention on playing over non-game socializing, though this might be different (a) between genders and (b) between games (what would the Sims Online be like?)