Temperance

Outcome
Clickable hi-fi prototype of the main menu sequence to be ported to Unity.
Table of Contents
Brief
Roles & Responsibilities
Problem
Solution
About Temperance
Scope
Goals
Constraints
Outcome
Roadmap
Process
Brainstorm
User research
Survey
Interview
Competitive analysis
User personas
User stories
Information Architecture
Sketches
Wireframes
Design
Branding
Character Design
Accessibility
Prototype
User testing results
Outcome
Highlights
Discovery
Findings
Recommendations
Onwards
Conclusion

Roles & Responsibilities
Evelyn Moroyoqui - Game Developer
Managing Product Goals
Designating User Research
Information Architecture
Designing User Flows
Creating Visual Design
Prototyping
Conducting User Tests
Reiteration + Finalizing
Problem
Speaking up about personal issues and situations tends to be a bit taboo. Asking for help in overcoming any experience seems to be difficult for many, no matter the extent of the struggle. A lot of people tend to use video games as an escape and in doing so, prolong their healing or worst case scenario - they develop negative coping methods. Most games that tackle heavy emotional burdens tend to be slow visual novels with puzzle elements which only attract a small number of gamers.
Solution
Create a fun and engaging game centered around overcoming hardships. Create a game that has equal parts action, puzzles, and story. Create a game that shows negative coping mechanisms as well as positive ways to heal. And finally, create a sense of closure for the player, regardless of their journey.
About Temperance
My goal is to create an interactive story driven game based on abuse and recovery that can captivate the player in an emotional way. I want any player from any background to understand the message through simplicity in design and powerful storytelling. My hope is that the user can feel a sense of relief and strength within their own journey - even if they do not have experience with trauma.

Goals
Interest in Concept
Refine Ideation
Main Menu + World Layout
Constraints
Time
New Journey into Game Development
Research, Research, Research
Roadmap
Brainstorm
Find Long-Term Goals
Ideation
Project Goals
Decide
Surveys
User Test Recruitment
Critique & Polls
Competitive Analysis
Personas
Sketch
User Flows
Information Architecture
Sketch
Wireframes
Prototype
Find Inspiration
Branding
Prototype
Test
Interviews
Learn
Reiterate

Brainstorm
Regaining every color of the rainbow
Starts out grayscale
Each level is a different color
Carrying a bowl
Based off the advice column from Dear Sugar called “The Empty Bowl”
The bowl is the main moveset
It will stay with you forever
Kintsugi
The japanese art of creating something beautiful out of broken pieces.
The bowl can be fixed at some point
Broken statues
User Research
Survey
Interview
I interviewed the participants that took my survey who seem like a good fit.
They play video games at least a few times per week.
Has or knows someone who has struggled through abuse.
Likes the idea of a game overcoming hardships.
Some users brought up having each level bring a new way of growth. Either through coping mechanisms, storyline, or enemies.
All users who were comfortable answering these questions expressed having an incredibly hard time talking about their trauma, and one said I was one of the only people they've told.
Most users really enjoyed the idea of having an Extras menu where you can see the behind the scenes of the making of the game.
All users brought up how important it is for them to be able to customize their gameplay experience through settings, which means having the ability to control sounds, difficulty, and movesets.
Competitive Analysis

User Personas
Nikolett: Age 19 • Student / Los Angeles
Nikolett is a college student who is currently going through a breakup. She is struggling with school which is amplified by her personal life. She is dealing with depression and feelings of not being wanted. She has not left the house in a month.
Oliver: Age 26 • Musician / COLORADO
Oliver has been in a small indie band with some of his friends since high school. He loves to play video games, especially if they are combat heavy. He was raised by a narcissistic parent and still has trouble overcoming his childhood experiences.
Sara: Age 34 • Unemployed / Chicago
Sara is a mother who recently got laid off. She is considering going back to school or starting her own freelance business. She is struggling with imposter syndrome and does not think she is good enough to be employed. Luckily, she has a supportive wife that is encouraging her growth.
User Story

Information Architecture


Sketch
Wireframe

Branding
Characters
Steps to final main character concept + quick ideas for some enemies.
Accessibility
For colorblind users, I will have an option to turn everything to grayscale. Instead of going through the world regaining the colors that have been taken from you, you now go from through the darkness to regain the light. Hardmode will automatically be in the accessible color mode.

Prototype

User testing
Load Game:
All Users did not have difficulty loading a game.
Find the Controls:
All Users seemed to not have difficulty finding the movesets menu.
Accessibility:
Users were a bit confused by the check box. Did not understand what that meant for them.
Finding Storymode:
Some Users had difficulty finding the location for Storymode.

Study highlights
Added an Extras & Gameplay menu.
Users can easily navigate the Menu sequence
Significant discovery
While having the user flows in mind while designing the layout, Tests have concluded that minimal reiteration is required for the menu sequence before porting to Unity.
Interpretation of findings
Overall, Users seem content with the ability to play Temperance once launched. According to my research, there seems to be a demand for emotional growth in games.
Recommendations
Moving New Game under the Load Menu after a session has started.
Different Icon Layout
Configuring Movesets
Add popup menu for storymode.
Add a separate Accessibility Menu with more information on the options available.
Onwards
After implementing the recommendations based on research gathered, there will be much more testing and reiteration before launch. However, as for the menu sequence, minor adjustments are needed.
Next is to port to Unity and then continue on the first level design and core attacks.

Though this project was intimidating I did learn a lot from it. My biggest doubts came from never having created a UI for game design and I didn’t know anything about UX in game development. I didn’t think I would come out with much. However, I managed to get a decent looking start sequence and managed to get some characters created despite my very little knowledge going in.
A positive is that most of the users had an easy time navigating through the startup sequence. However, something I will need to change is moving the “new game” button under the load menu so as to not let the player accidentally start a new game. If I had more time, I would have ported into Unity as my final prototype. My timeline was a bit off since I spent 1 week purley on game development research which took much longer than expected. Now I know I must set a longer time frame for research going forward to the rest of Temperance. It is incredibly valuable to spend the time before creating parts of the game.
I am incredibly proud of Temperance and I cannot wait to see where it will go!
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