Unfortunately, there are no real interface design standards in the game industry, which makes it difficult to find accurate information this topic. If game interface design is something you're seriously interested in, I would take the following steps:
- Learn as much as you can about interaction design patterns - A lot of the research done on design patterns doesn't directly relate to video games or software for that matter, but if you look hard enough, you'll find that there are a lot of parallels.
- Learn general computer UI theory - When is a text box better than a drop-down/combo-box? What are the strengths and weaknesses of each?
- Learn from the successes and failures of others - Look at, and dissect as many UIs as you can (and don't limit yourself just to games!). Go through each UI element, analyzing how and why the component behaves that way. For example:
- In an FPS, why does the reticle expand when the player shoots? Why does it contract when you crouch or prone?
- In a fighting game, when a player takes damage, why does their health bar deplete immediately, instead of fading over time?
- In a RTS, what is the purpose of the minimap?
- In any game, how do you know if you're winning/losing?
- What steps does the player have to go through to start a new game, load a saved game, change the options, exit the game, etc.? Could this process be simplified?
- Practice, practice, practice! - Once you feel like you have a good understanding of what UIs are out there, and how they're composed, try your hand at creating UIs again. Remember to always analyze your work, in addition to having others critique it, from time to time.
I haven't run across any particularly good game UI reading material, but below are a few interaction design books I highly recommend looking into: