Every team wants a 'simple' product. Then someone senior wants a thing, and it comes with a reason that sounds right. Say yes once and nobody notices. Say yes every time and the product stops being simple.
Here's the key guide I've use up over the years. It must have a clear intent: one sentence that states what the product is for, agreed by the whole team. Every request must fit the sentence.
Read MoreI designed the trading system for an upcoming AAA open world game, so players can see a good deal and take it in seconds. The game is under development so the screens under NDA
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Read MoreFriends party system and voice chat for Star Wars: Hunters on Switch and mobile. Add a friend. Invite them. Form a party. Talk. One model underneath, built for controller and touch. Plus the safety controls that keep voice chat from turning toxic.
Read MoreHow we made Modern Warfare III's new loadout system readable inside a front end we couldn’t redesign, and why low friction beat novel UI.
Read MoreI took a bare-bones MVP and turned it into Yopp, a buy now, pay later app for Gen Z in the GCC. A yellow and navy identity rooted in the region, five payment flows, and a design system engineering could build from.
Read MoreApex Legends UX breakdown analysis. One island. Sixty players. Split second chaos.
And yet, you always know what to do. That's not luck. That's design. Dive into the seamless integration of its core game loop and the intricate design of every screen, widget, and UI element.
A look at how console and PC games handle their HUDs. What makes the good ones work, how settings and presets like no-HUD and streamer modes give players control, and games that build the HUD into the world itself.
Read MoreComputers speak maths. People don't. UX design is the translation, and without it, computing would never have left the lab.
Read MoreHorror games know the most frightening place can be a menu. You're digging through your inventory for a health item while something moves just outside your flashlight. The game hasn't paused. Time keeps running, danger keeps coming, and the one screen that should feel safe doesn't.
Read MoreThe harder something is the more people seem to love it. Sounds counterintuitive but here's why. The best reward isn't a badge; it's the feeling of Mastery. Don't reward the user for opening the game but reward them for getting better at the skill the app provides. 🏆
Read MorePeople use products for two reasons. Rewards from outside, like points, loot and streaks. Or satisfaction from inside, like mastery, freedom and connection. This post covers both, how they link to self-determination theory, and how to design for each without one undermining the other.
Read MoreNo health bar. No ammo counter. No menus that stop the world.
Just a man, a suit, and everything you need to know, right where it should be.
It's the most elegant interface in games. And nobody's had the courage to do it since.
Millions of players face barriers. Some temporary. Some for life. The Last of Us Part II removed more of them than any game before it. Over 60 accessibility options, and not one an afterthought. Here’s what every studio can learn from it.
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