Dev Log #1: Main Menu Sequence

Temperance

Outcome

Clickable hi-fi prototype of the main menu sequence to be ported to Unity.

DEMO

Table of Contents

1. Brief

   1. Roles & Responsibilities

   2. Problem

   3. Solution

   4. About Temperance

2. Scope

   1. Goals

   2. Constraints

   3. Outcome

   4. Roadmap

3. Process

   1. Brainstorm

   2. User research

      1. Survey

      2. Interview

   3. Competitive analysis

   4. User personas

      1. User stories

   5. Information Architecture

   6. Sketches

   7. Wireframes

4. Design

   1. Branding

   2. Character Design

   3. Accessibility

   4. Prototype

   5. User testing results

5. Outcome

   1. Highlights

   2. Discovery

   3. Findings

   4. Recommendations

   5. Onwards

6. 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

1. Interest in Concept

2. Refine Ideation

3. Main Menu + World Layout

Constraints

1. Time

2. New Journey into Game Development

3. Research, Research, Research

Roadmap

1. Brainstorm

   1. Find Long-Term Goals

   2. Ideation

   3. Project Goals

2. Decide

   1. Surveys

   2. User Test Recruitment

   3. Critique & Polls

   4. Competitive Analysis

   5. Personas

3. Sketch

   1. User Flows

   2. Information Architecture

   3. Sketch

   4. Wireframes

4. Prototype

   1. Find Inspiration

   2. Branding

   3. Prototype

5. Test

   1. Interviews

   2. Learn

   3. 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

Link to 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

Link to Database

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

Link to 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!