[dranor]

The key is to design and implement the interface (both the output and input) such that it's unobtrusive and simultaneously intuitive. I agree that random highlighting and colorization can be quite jarring.

I'm not quite sure I agree that clearly delineating quest mobs and/or providing quest logs can take most of the fun out of questing, though. Again, it has to be done well and in a manner that fits your game design, and I suppose every game can be different. It's all about accessibility for me. If I'm having compelling content added to my game in the form of quests, I want to make sure that players are aware of that content and know how to find it. I don't think it's dumbing anything down to find some way to subtly point out to your players that there's something important that they can do.