PROJECT : Machine Mind
ROLE : UI UX Designer
DURATION : 8 months
XP Summit Trailer
Project Overview
In Machine Mind you're tasked with rescuing allies with a team of drones. Swap between each drone on the fly while utilizing their unique abilities to traverse the level and avoid danger . Each successful rescue unlocks additional content and skins for yourself and others!
In Machine Mind you're tasked with rescuing allies with a team of drones. Swap between each drone on the fly while utilizing their unique abilities to traverse the level and avoid danger . Each successful rescue unlocks additional content and skins for yourself and others!
Role & Responsibilities
As the UI/UX designer I prototyped, documented and implemented various elements for the User Interface. I worked closely with the engineering team and was responsible for entire areas of the user journey, user interface, interactions and visual direction
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My contributions consists of icons, logos, buttons, animations, typography, wireframes, mockups etc
Mapping & Research
User Journey
Our goal for the highest level of player engagement is during our GAME STATE, as such I mapped out the mean for players to enter t hat state as frictionless as possible with a few key considerations in mind.
users ability to access a tactical view of the game state
users ability to rapidly reset the current game state
users ability to re-enter the game state once completed (reruns)
This step ended up having little to no revisions as we began ideating only after we solidified a vision, scope and full feature list for our game.
User Journey Map
Moodboard
For the first month I conducted weekly research dives to throw together small moodboards to help inspire and inform the look of the games UI, whilst adhering to the visual style laid out by our Art lead.
I searched for compatible titles based on :
Setting : Sci-fi
Mechanics : Drones
Genre : Stealth/ Tactical
Design research : HUD Moodboard
Mockups & Iteration
Low fidelity
Most of my prototyping was done in low-fi. As we identified key user needs through design meetings, mentorship sessions and playtesting, I was able to rapidly iterate on each layout to form intuitive solutions for each problem.
1st pass
Once the team started setting up game scenes to test our core mechanics I was able to begin prototyping HUD elements and layouts to address key features and user needs.
The main advantage of iterating during this step was the ability to address and compensate for the lighting, color and shape contrast of various objects and elements in the game world.
High Fidelity
As development continued and we approached gold master I was able to finalize a lot of the layouts for the HUDS and menus. I developed a style guide, after which I worked with our engineering members to implement the UI to the best of their capabilities whiles trying to remain faithful to the initial design spreads in Figma.
UI & HUD Finals from Figma
Final palette selection
Icons
Icons were drafted for the map, menus and HUD closer to the end of the development cycle. The executive decision to keep them universally recognizable was made by the team as a whole.
Key take away
For a project along such a large timeline it taught me a lot about time management, motivation, team dynamics, communication and self care. Our entire process was done remotely for our final year of college and I felt it tested us at our best and pushed us at our weakest.
Had a wonderful time working on this project with a wonderful team, along with the support of our mentors at Ubisoft and faculty at school.
THANK YOU
Lets create together! Feel free to reach out to me stevierayca@gmail.com
The Team
Stevie Ray HUNTER
Carsten BOOTH
Xinran MA
Benjamin M-DAVISON
Avery AUGUSTO
