Case
StoryFront Game
| Client | SVMD |
| Industry | Game development |
| Duration | 6 months (Sep, 2023 - Mar, 2024) |
| Services | → UX Design of new features → UI design based on existing kit → Vector art → Web banners & App icons |
| Team | → Art Director → Game Designer |
| Tools | → Figma (UI Design, Vector art and icons) → Midjourney (2D art) → Adobe Photoshop (2D art) |
About the game
StoryFront is a game containing multiple visual novels ("Books"), with women of young and average age as the main users. The main vibe is romantic (but not too girly), glamorous and rich. The game is made on Unity.
"StoryFront is not just a visual novel, it's an interactive adventure with choices, puzzles and mysteries. Choose your own adventure and play your role in the game. Only you can decide where the story takes you!"
Where it all started
The development team reached out to me, asking me to create elegant UI and visuals for their game.
They had a working prototype with a technical UI at the moment, and had purchased a few art packs for currency art and Shop cards.
The Art Director shared the visual references the team was aiming for. And the Game Designer provided me with the list of competitors, the game design document and key wireframes for the future game features.
They had a working prototype with a technical UI at the moment, and had purchased a few art packs for currency art and Shop cards.
The Art Director shared the visual references the team was aiming for. And the Game Designer provided me with the list of competitors, the game design document and key wireframes for the future game features.
My goals were:
- Design new game features (UX) and all visuals (UI & art).
- Design visually attractive monetization features (Shop, VIP Subscription).
- Prepare and optimise all the assets for the implementation.
The process
Define feature list and priorities
1. Books & Chapters
Issue:
We already had these features implemented. My goals here were to create beautiful UI and art for those and understand what kind of technical elements and pop-ups are missing.
What I did:
- a visual concept for the whole product based on the main screen (books catalog)
- a few tests for catalog view (+ illustrations for each category)
- unlocking new chapter flow + set of related icons (finished chapter, locked chapter, chapters unlocked by a key currency or ticket currency, chapters still in writing (timer icon))
- suggested a visual representation for the "flirty / hot / funny" user behaviour
- tested ideas on extra monetization (x2 rewards by watching ads, x5 rewards for players with VIP subscription)
- added a missing pop-up for the case when the player left the game before claiming their rewards for successfully finishing the chapter.
2. Book UI
Issue:
The main game mode (inside the book) had a few issues that need to be resolved, e.g. how dialogue answers should look when one of them has 3 lines in length, the other is available only for VIP subscribers, and another one has the price in soft currency.
What I did:
- UI for the dialogues + all possible combinations of different state answers (common, paid, VIP, emotional answer (flirty, hot, funny), image answers (+ prepare icons for some those)
- UI for character's wardrobe in dialogs + as a standalone feature.
3. Loading & Welcome
What I did:
- Created UI for loading and welcome screens
- Collected info on all possible pop-ups appearing right after the game launch and offered the order and limitations to those, so the player won't get overwhelmed.
4. Retention
What I did:
- UI and art for the Daily Rewards (2 tests: just rewards and rewards in comparison between VIP players and common players)
- UI for the Tasks
5. Monetization
What I did:
- Designed UI for the Bank (Shop)
- Made several tests for the VIP Subscription (UI + Art + subtle animations)
- Bundle pop-ups UI design
6. Technical
What I did (it's UI and art, as you already know):
- Updates
- Chapter in writing
- Settings
- Profile
- Report Bug
7. Research
Issue:
The team needed more information about our players, so the game designer and I created another feature: the Starting Quiz. Depending on their answers, the quiz recommended specific books for each player, which was helpful for both players and the team.
