MA Games Design Diary

Arcade Paradise is a business simulation game developed by Nosebleed Interactive and published by Wired Productions. The player is put in the shoes of Ashley, a teenager left in charge of her dad's laundromat, with a dream to turn the business into a retro arcade. The player has to complete various tasks, such as doing laundry, cleaning the toilet, and picking up gum, to make money and buy arcade machines. Each arcade machine is fully playable and earns money, allowing the player to steadily grow the business and eventually convert it from a laundromat to a popular retro arcade. The UI in Arcade Paradise not only complements the retro theme of the game but also greatly enhances the gameplay by making mundane chores feel like rewarding minigames. The UI design of each arcade machine within Arcade Paradise authentically embody the design styles of retro arcade games, with design elements such as neon colours, CRT screen effects, pixelated fonts, and 32-bit illustrations. The game als...

This week, I collected examples of Western game UI from Gun, Red Dead Redemption, Red Dead Redemption 2, Red Dead Revolver, Call of Juarez: Gunslinger, and Desperados III.  Gun I like how the UI in Gun incorporates decorative flourishes, as these were commonly used in American designs during the 19th century. I also like how the minimap takes inspiration from 19th-century map designs, adding a sense of authenticity and immersion. Design characteristics: brown and earthy tones/decorative flourishes/authentic Western typography/bold typography/worn textures/bold outlined illustrations/stylised minimap/glow and gradient effects.  Red Dead Redemption I like the striking visual style of the pause menu and loading screen graphics, as I believe the strong contrast between red and black complements the overall tone of the game. I also like how a pocket watch is used to display the day and time to players, opposed to just using text, as this design choice further communicates the time...

I used Miro to create lists of potential loot items I could include in my Western game prototype. I categorized the loot into different groups to allow me to create a colour-coded highlight system, such as using a red outline for weapons and a gold outline for valuable loot items. Later on in the week, I decided against this approach to avoid overwhelming or confusing the player. Instead, I plan to create a simple interaction system with a maximum of two colours, such as a white outline for interactable/lootable items and a gold outline for rare/valuable items. I think a simpler system will better improve the player's sense of immersion.  I collected examples of interaction systems from existing games to analyse how players can interact with items step by step. Using these examples as inspiration, I then sketched some initial ideas for the looting interaction I aim to create. I mainly took inspiration from the UI design in Crime Scene Cleaner, as I believe the simplicity of the sys...

For my fourth project, I will create 2 UI prototypes within Unreal Engine 5. As of now, I aim to create a UI prototype for a Western game and a 2D game. By using different game concepts and genres for the prototypes, I aim to not only explore different design styles but also learn how to create a variety of UI elements using Blueprints, such as a HUD design and an interaction system.  I created a schedule to plan how much time I will spend on each prototype. For the design process of each prototype, I aim to implement what I have learned from my previous interviews with UI and UX designers, and therefore use techniques such as playtesting and researching industry trends more frequently.  Objectives for Week 1: - Create a list of possible loot items.  - Collect + analyse interaction systems from existing games.  - Sketch ideas for the interaction system. - Create ideas for gameplay - what the player has to do/environment/Blueprint functionality...