The project
project Launch: sep 2020
project release: TBD
Collider CraftWorks is a powerful character creation tool for next-generation games and any real-time production.
A character customization software for game developers to acquire 3D assets to implement in their projects (Unreal & Unity).
The team
I was the sole UX Designer working with a developer, a UI Designer and a producer.
The challenge
To make both UX and UI Design of the entire game from scratch in a very short period of time, front end and gameplay, of a game within the Metaverse.
In terms of usability, our main concern was delivering an accessible and good looking HUD for a very fast paced experience.
the process
phase 1: empathize
ESTABLISHING USER PERSONAS
In a collaborative effort with the development team and stakeholders, we defined the audience for the product. This exercise provided a shared understanding of the needs of our potential users and help drive our design goals and priorities.
phase 2: research & definition
benchmarking
We selected softwares that were a direct competition, such as Character Creator 3 and others like the Sims character creator for strategic purposes.
We defined our Criteria in general and qualitative standards to evaluate the user experience. We then analyzed each and rated them, and later drew conclusions to help guide our design process.
phase 3: Ideation
EARLY WIREFRAMing
In the initial part of the ideation process we layed out different possible solutions, based on our conclusions from our benchmarks, and then selected one for prototyping. The final design drew most inspiration from Adobe design tools, in order to provide efficiency to the customization process.
We also included an editable Randomize option, so developers could make characters on the fly from a specific pool of options to be in line with the artistic direction of their projects.
we drew inspiration from multiple jrpg games that have heavy customization options.
phase 4: prototyping
show, don't tell: the prototype as documentation
We wanted the prototype to be not just a distillation of the experience for the client to share with potential investors, but a documentation tool for developers and artist to see how the actual interactions work.
Phase 5: ui art & Development hand off
mock-ups & ui development
Once the low fidelity process was finalized, the UI Art was handled by UI designer Sabrina Sanchez Mateo, who already started moodboarding during the final stages of the UX process.
