Role:
User Experience Researcher
Tools:
Google Trends, Steam Storefront
Timeline:
October 2023 to December 2023
Team:
Maynard Hearns, Jacob Vickers
What is Courier: Dragon’s Within?
Courier is a video game about facing your anger. Players will take control of a bike messanger in Big Sur. Courier revolves around a breathing mechanic used to simulate great effort by the protagonist.
Roads Diverge
UI denotes not only information essential to the player, but the inner world of the protagonist. So, I researched a dozen games using SEO tools and Design thinking to evaluate how they communicate that inner world.
Citizen Sleeper
Despite the 3D art, most of the action is happening in a 2D format. Dialogue is placed in direct relation to the portrait of the character speaking. Characters, in turn, are directly attached to their location on a map. This reflects the player’s role as a cybernetic “Sleeper,” able to traverse the entire ship, moreso than any other inhabitants.
Night in the Woods
By taking advantage of color and motion, all dialogue reflects the idiosyncrasies of the speaker. Attaching most UI directly to the character or object it applies to helps players feel immersed in this world and in Mae’s point of view.
Firewatch
Almost all HUD elements in Firewatch are contextually tied to what the player’s reticle is facing and player proximity, save a few diagetic elements like the map or walkie-talkie icon on the left: the same side as the hand the character holds it in. This context-first approach makes the UI a closer extension of Henry’s thoughts.
The Better Claim
After an Affinity Diagram and some discussion with the rest of the team, I decided that contextual UI would be resource light and encourage immersion in players.
All the Difference
The central breathing mechanic. This symbol appears along with instructions under contextually relevant circumstances. The circle of vision grows when the player breathes in and shrinks as they breathe out.
For the majority of the game, the landscape is uninterrupted by UI until the proper context triggers it.
The mini-game portions are also pulled out by contextual triggers.
A decidedly minimalist approach allows players to take in the scenery until they are prompted by environmental UI.