The first user interface came about as a result of a discussion concerning what the user needed to know at anytime during the game. Our first idea was to have a side bar interface, which after its design, the team agreed would interfere with the game itself. The meters that were finally agreed upon came fairly quickly to the team after a few weeks of brainstorming and consulting with other teams. The minimalist look-and-feel of these elements allows the user to be more immersed in the game yet also reveals the needed information.
The first interface ended up being quite "heavy" looking. The team originally thought grouping all the UI pieces together would cause less confusion by the player.