For this module, I decided to continue with the development of my original concept Slumber, a mobile platformer, even though I was planning on resitting the actual development module and had the chance to change my concept for that module.
To start off my UX portfolio I decided to find some inspiration for my UX design. Continuing on with the origins of this concept, I once again looked at the games that first inspired it but focused more on the menus and skill trees.
I will first look at Ori and the Blind Forest, beginning with the start menu. This menu most notably has an animated artwork that takes up the main focus of the screen. When you first boot up the game, there are no options or menus blocking the majestic view depicted in this artwork asides from the game's title.
This peaceful scene as well as the peaceful music that plays in the background sets the tone for the game’s setting as a whimsical fantasy. Once you do press a button and proceed onward to the menus, the icons are all highly detailed and artistic just like the background, almost blending into the set behind them. This could increase immersion into the game's world while being visually appealing to the players.
As well as the start menu from Ori, I also looked at the skills, pause, and inventory menus.
While skills and statistics were not part of my original concept, as I researched further into his concept I concluded these features can be an effective way to add motivation to the player's experience. This is especially true due to the popularity of completionists, who will play through a game as many times as they need to collect every achievement.
From first impressions of the menu, I think it has quite effective UX, and many points to consider when taking inspiration and notes for my own design.
The menu is quite simple, with just a transparent background into the paused gameplay behind it and colourful small icons. There are few labels, as each of these icons quite clearly shows what they represent within the gameplay with little explanation or guidance. Everything is also displayed in one place, the screen is split into two to show as much information as possible but with simple visuals, making it a quick and effective menu.
The skills menu itself also has a circular selection which is common in games today as it can hold plenty of information while still allowing for quick selection without scrolling.
While looking for inspiration I also turned to the game I've spoken about many times throughout the year across all modules, Sky: Children of Light. As much as I personally love this game, I believe it's UX is somewhat flawed. The game's item selection menu, while keeping to very simple icons that make it quite easy to tell apart items, it becomes difficult to find certain items you are looking for especially as you play the game more. There is no filter for finding certain items and so all these collectable items you accumulate over a long time become a cluttered mess in the long list you can scroll through. This reminds me that menus should be simple and easy to find an item, as having an item or option so difficult to find can take away from the user's experience.
Another two games that originally inspired Slumber that I turn to for inspiration, both created by the same indie developer, are Limbo and Inside. As it seems to be a recurring style choice for the developer, these games have no proper start menu that carries you to various options. There are also no options for skills or achievements, as the game focuses entirely on the interesting story that uses many engaging techniques to keep the gameplay engaging without overcomplicating it.
Inside especially has a very cold open, as it displays the title for a few seconds, then the protagonist comes into view and you're instantly in control. There's no explanation given, you're just dropped straight into the story.
Considering the creepy tone of this game, I believe it's an effective way to begin the gameplay and set up the story, as it keeps the players in suspense by having them always questioning what's going on or what they will face next.
This made me consider more how I would want to begin my game from a story perspective as well as just a UX perspective as the first few interactions with any digital product, but especially a game could be considered the most important. The menus and what comes directly after them can set the tone of the game and be a large factor in the player's engagement.
Considering these sources of inspiration and all I've learnt from them, I moved on to creating mood boards for my UX ideas so perhaps they could provide me with more aesthetic inspiration rather than features and layout.
Since I knew the first level of my game would be set on a dark cloudy beach, many of the first images I used were of darker seaside landscapes, then I worked onwards from there. Images that inspired story aspects of the game as well as inspiration for UX features such as health bars and icons have also been included in this first mood board.
However since I knew the entirety of my game would not be based in this same location I also made a mood board of the overall theme of the two types of spirits at odds with each other, the enemies and the protagonists, signified by red and blue tones.
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