08-08-2017, 11:25 PM
Here's the Menu from Final Fantasy 3. I consider this to be pretty close to being the template for how menus should be layed out. As you'll note, the main window occupies about 80% of the screen area-- with secondary windows kept at the edges as opposed to popping up over the main window. Now, admittedly, this is EXTREMELY utilitarian and doesn't actually look all that nice. But I post this as an example of a basic, easy to use menu layout.
The most important lesson I learned from AD&D is this: Trolls are best killed with fire.