Formula Frosty
Top-down, Multiplayer Arcade Racer, Student Project
Roles: UI/UX Designer | Engine: Unreal Engine 4 | Platform: PC | Duration: 8 weeks | Team Size: 13
HIGH LEVEL SUMMARY
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Formula Frosty is a couch-party last-man-standing racing game with a heavy emphasis on the strategic use of player abilities. Players compete with each other for first place, whether that means knocking your enemy off the screen or guarding your place as the leader. The game features a "follow the leader" camera, meaning that while the camera does take the entire party into account, the camera gravitates towards the player in first place. If you happen to go off-screen, you respawn onto the track.
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Responsibilities/Contributions:
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As a technical designer for Formula Frosty, I was responsible for aiding design with the feature design and prototyping process. I prototyped and iterated upon the behavior of the camera (alongside a gameplay programmer) and created a multiplayer vehicle selection menu.
I was also responsible for the entire user interface of the game and created a landing page and in-game HUD. To back up my decisions, I based my work on competitor analysis. ​​Throughout this process, I upheld strong inter-disciplinary communication between programming and art to implement options as well as art assets.
pre-production
Proof of Concepts
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As a tech designer, during the concepting and pre-production phases of the project, I was held accountable for the creation of proof of concepts of features to help programmers and designers. I created prototypes for the selection of abilities (menu) and the use of abilities (gameplay).
Although the abilities that were prototyped were eventually scrapped, these proof of concepts helped the team test the features and evaluate whether they were in line with the vision.
This process also helped me further understand the use of enumerations in blueprints and the physics engine.
ramp proof of concept
research
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Throughout the concepting and pre-production phases of the project, I conducted in-depth competitor analysis and research to understand how reference titles used various mechanics.
As a technical designer, this especially helped me during the creation of prototypes and that of the user interface and menu flow.
Menu flow prototype
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Since I was responsible for the user interface, I created a prototype for the menu flow of the game. By doing this, during the production phase, I was able to create a full-fledged menu basing myself off the flow that I established in this prototype.
ability flow
production
UI/UX Design
Menu interface
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My primary objective was to create a solid menu interface that represented the gameplay aesthetic of the game.I also made sure to base my work off the prototypes and in-depth research on past game trends.
I used Unreal's widget animation system and combined it with the art that our concept artist made for each element that I listed in an asset list to add a joyous and "snowy" feel to the menu. This required a lot of back and forth communication between art and design.
In-game Interface
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As a UI/UX designer, I was also responsible for the in-game player experience. Throughout the game, I created UI elements for:
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Player death count
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Player respawn timer
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Lap count
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Race countdown
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Player winscreen
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Player Icons
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I conducted frequent user testing to ensure the quality and clarity of the information that was displayed to the players.
in-game interface
Tech design
Vehicle selection ​
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Throughout the creation process of the main menu, I created a clear, multiplayer-friendly vehicle selection menu. This required a lot of understanding in networking and actor referencing to ensure that this worked for upwards of 4 players.
I decided to combine the choice of control scheme (360°/Steering) with it to make the selection process more meaningful.
When I presented the idea to my peers, they thought that it was a great way to make the game more interactive.