KILL CRAB
An Underwater Western FPS
KILL CRAB
An Underwater Western FPS
KILL CRAB
An Underwater Western FPS
KILL CRAB
An Underwater Western FPS
Tools
Figma, Unreal Engine 4, Photoshop, After Effects
Tools
Figma, Unreal Engine 4, Photoshop, After Effects
Tools
Figma, Unreal Engine 4, Photoshop, After Effects
Tools
Figma, Unreal Engine 4, Photoshop, After Effects
KILL CRAB was a group passion project as part of my dissertation. It focused on players navigating combat challenges by eliminating various aquatic adversaries.
Menu Designs
For the Main Menu, I was focused on keeping it minimal, easy to navigate, and accessible, but I was also aware that it needed to be eye-catching as it will be one of the first things players would see, especially when we would be presenting this game at our University Showcase. To be a bit more eye-catching I opted to show off some of the amazing environmental design of the combat areas.
As for the Pause Menu, I wanted it to serve a more comprehensive purpose beyond just allowing players to resume, access options, or exit the game. We encountered issues where players were unsure about where to go or which areas they had completed. To address this, I proposed a solution: adding a checklist to the Pause Menu. This checklist would display the tasks that need to be achieved, after completion of a task it would check off completed areas.
Lastly, the Options Menu, as a team we sat down and decided what options would be necessary and within our scope. We then broke it down into sections for Game, Audio, Display, and Control settings. I'll talk more about Accessibility options and designs further below.
Playtesting
We had two playtesting sessions set up, during which 15-20 students played our game and provided feedback on its current state. I created online forms for participants to complete after playing a short demo portion of KILL CRAB. These demos were set up in specific combat areas within KILL CRAB, allowing us to test various aspects.
Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the forms and questions asked because my student email is now locked. However, the questions covered a range of topics, from whether the areas felt too big or small to whether players understood what they needed to do next.
Overall, the playtests were incredibly valuable, providing insight into issues that needed addressing and highlighting good practices we needed to continue working on. Below is a few slide from a presentation I created for our Second Progress presentation, during which we shared our feedback and the changes we made based on it.
HUD & Accessibility
HUD Research
I did some HUD research about similar style games to what we were planning to make and what types of layouts and design patterns they used, after presenting my research to the team and noting common themes, we decided to go with simple, minimal with a slight curvature to the interface to indicate a helmet/visor.
First, we decided what information needed to be presented to the player. We settled on a compass to help with navigation, an ammo counter with the gun name, and a health bar. I then experimented with the placement of these elements on the screen. I kept the placements similar to those in other games to ensure they wouldn't feel too unfamiliar for players and would be intuitive for those who have played similar games.
Ability Iconography
We brainstormed some abilities to make the game more fun, fluid, and smooth. These abilities include slowing down time, a dash, and a ground slam. Each ability needed a clear visual indication so players could immediately understand what they represent. Additionally, the abilities had to show different states: empty, charging, and ready to use.
To indicate these states, I designed the icons with a background that starts clear (zero opacity). As the ability charges, the background gradually fills vertically with a low-opacity black. When fully charged, the background color changes to blue, indicating the ability is ready to use.
To avoid relying solely on color, which could pose accessibility issues, I also added a timer and a percentage counter next to each ability. This ensures all players can easily understand the status of their abilities.
Steam Release
During the later stages of our project, we decided to release our game for Free on Steam. Thankfully one of our members had previous experience working to get a game on the platform, which made it a lot easier. Steam requires a lot of graphical assets for events and marketing, I was in charge of designing a majority of the assets such as the Header Capsule, Library Hero, and many more.
Our game was met with lots of lovely reviews, currently sitting at "Very Positive" on Steam. Lots of constructive criticism and well, some not so constructive too haha. We're planning to work further on the game in our spare time. Below is a link to KILL CRAB's Steam Page.
KILL CRAB on Steam →
This was one of my most favorite projects I've ever had the honor to be a part of. I learned so much not only about my role in the team but also tons about each person's role and skill set. We were all willing to teach each other about our respective talents, and that allowed us all to thrive and progress. I've made lifelong friends working on this project. Below will be a link to each respective legend on this team.
NEXT PROJECT
KILL CRAB was a group passion project as part of my dissertation. It focused on players navigating combat challenges by eliminating various aquatic adversaries.
Menu Designs
For the Main Menu, I was focused on keeping it minimal, easy to navigate, and accessible, but I was also aware that it needed to be eye-catching as it will be one of the first things players would see, especially when we would be presenting this game at our University Showcase. To be a bit more eye-catching I opted to show off some of the amazing environmental design of the combat areas.
As for the Pause Menu, I wanted it to serve a more comprehensive purpose beyond just allowing players to resume, access options, or exit the game. We encountered issues where players were unsure about where to go or which areas they had completed. To address this, I proposed a solution: adding a checklist to the Pause Menu. This checklist would display the tasks that need to be achieved, after completion of a task it would check off completed areas.
Lastly, the Options Menu, as a team we sat down and decided what options would be necessary and within our scope. We then broke it down into sections for Game, Audio, Display, and Control settings. I'll talk more about Accessibility options and designs further below.
Playtesting
We had two playtesting sessions set up, during which 15-20 students played our game and provided feedback on its current state. I created online forms for participants to complete after playing a short demo portion of KILL CRAB. These demos were set up in specific combat areas within KILL CRAB, allowing us to test various aspects.
Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the forms and questions asked because my student email is now locked. However, the questions covered a range of topics, from whether the areas felt too big or small to whether players understood what they needed to do next.
Overall, the playtests were incredibly valuable, providing insight into issues that needed addressing and highlighting good practices we needed to continue working on. Below is a few slide from a presentation I created for our Second Progress presentation, during which we shared our feedback and the changes we made based on it.
HUD & Accessibility
HUD Research
I did some HUD research about similar style games to what we were planning to make and what types of layouts and design patterns they used, after presenting my research to the team and noting common themes, we decided to go with simple, minimal with a slight curvature to the interface to indicate a helmet/visor.
First, we decided what information needed to be presented to the player. We settled on a compass to help with navigation, an ammo counter with the gun name, and a health bar. I then experimented with the placement of these elements on the screen. I kept the placements similar to those in other games to ensure they wouldn't feel too unfamiliar for players and would be intuitive for those who have played similar games.
Ability Iconography
We brainstormed some abilities to make the game more fun, fluid, and smooth. These abilities include slowing down time, a dash, and a ground slam. Each ability needed a clear visual indication so players could immediately understand what they represent. Additionally, the abilities had to show different states: empty, charging, and ready to use.
To indicate these states, I designed the icons with a background that starts clear (zero opacity). As the ability charges, the background gradually fills vertically with a low-opacity black. When fully charged, the background color changes to blue, indicating the ability is ready to use.
To avoid relying solely on color, which could pose accessibility issues, I also added a timer and a percentage counter next to each ability. This ensures all players can easily understand the status of their abilities.
Steam Release
During the later stages of our project, we decided to release our game for Free on Steam. Thankfully one of our members had previous experience working to get a game on the platform, which made it a lot easier. Steam requires a lot of graphical assets for events and marketing, I was in charge of designing a majority of the assets such as the Header Capsule, Library Hero, and many more.
Our game was met with lots of lovely reviews, currently sitting at "Very Positive" on Steam. Lots of constructive criticism and well, some not so constructive too haha. We're planning to work further on the game in our spare time. Below is a link to KILL CRAB's Steam Page.
KILL CRAB on Steam →
This was one of my most favorite projects I've ever had the honor to be a part of. I learned so much not only about my role in the team but also tons about each person's role and skill set. We were all willing to teach each other about our respective talents, and that allowed us all to thrive and progress. I've made lifelong friends working on this project. Below will be a link to each respective legend on this team.
NEXT PROJECT
KILL CRAB was a group passion project as part of my dissertation. It focused on players navigating combat challenges by eliminating various aquatic adversaries.
Menu Designs
For the Main Menu, I was focused on keeping it minimal, easy to navigate, and accessible, but I was also aware that it needed to be eye-catching as it will be one of the first things players would see, especially when we would be presenting this game at our University Showcase. To be a bit more eye-catching I opted to show off some of the amazing environmental design of the combat areas.
As for the Pause Menu, I wanted it to serve a more comprehensive purpose beyond just allowing players to resume, access options, or exit the game. We encountered issues where players were unsure about where to go or which areas they had completed. To address this, I proposed a solution: adding a checklist to the Pause Menu. This checklist would display the tasks that need to be achieved, after completion of a task it would check off completed areas.
Lastly, the Options Menu, as a team we sat down and decided what options would be necessary and within our scope. We then broke it down into sections for Game, Audio, Display, and Control settings. I'll talk more about Accessibility options and designs further below.
Playtesting
We had two playtesting sessions set up, during which 15-20 students played our game and provided feedback on its current state. I created online forms for participants to complete after playing a short demo portion of KILL CRAB. These demos were set up in specific combat areas within KILL CRAB, allowing us to test various aspects.
Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the forms and questions asked because my student email is now locked. However, the questions covered a range of topics, from whether the areas felt too big or small to whether players understood what they needed to do next.
Overall, the playtests were incredibly valuable, providing insight into issues that needed addressing and highlighting good practices we needed to continue working on. Below is a few slide from a presentation I created for our Second Progress presentation, during which we shared our feedback and the changes we made based on it.
HUD & Accessibility
HUD Research
I did some HUD research about similar style games to what we were planning to make and what types of layouts and design patterns they used, after presenting my research to the team and noting common themes, we decided to go with simple, minimal with a slight curvature to the interface to indicate a helmet/visor.
First, we decided what information needed to be presented to the player. We settled on a compass to help with navigation, an ammo counter with the gun name, and a health bar. I then experimented with the placement of these elements on the screen. I kept the placements similar to those in other games to ensure they wouldn't feel too unfamiliar for players and would be intuitive for those who have played similar games.
Ability Iconography
We brainstormed some abilities to make the game more fun, fluid, and smooth. These abilities include slowing down time, a dash, and a ground slam. Each ability needed a clear visual indication so players could immediately understand what they represent. Additionally, the abilities had to show different states: empty, charging, and ready to use.
To indicate these states, I designed the icons with a background that starts clear (zero opacity). As the ability charges, the background gradually fills vertically with a low-opacity black. When fully charged, the background color changes to blue, indicating the ability is ready to use.
To avoid relying solely on color, which could pose accessibility issues, I also added a timer and a percentage counter next to each ability. This ensures all players can easily understand the status of their abilities.
Steam Release
During the later stages of our project, we decided to release our game for Free on Steam. Thankfully one of our members had previous experience working to get a game on the platform, which made it a lot easier. Steam requires a lot of graphical assets for events and marketing, I was in charge of designing a majority of the assets such as the Header Capsule, Library Hero, and many more.
Our game was met with lots of lovely reviews, currently sitting at "Very Positive" on Steam. Lots of constructive criticism and well, some not so constructive too haha. We're planning to work further on the game in our spare time. Below is a link to KILL CRAB's Steam Page.
KILL CRAB on Steam →
This was one of my most favorite projects I've ever had the honor to be a part of. I learned so much not only about my role in the team but also tons about each person's role and skill set. We were all willing to teach each other about our respective talents, and that allowed us all to thrive and progress. I've made lifelong friends working on this project. Below will be a link to each respective legend on this team.
NEXT PROJECT
KILL CRAB was a group passion project as part of my dissertation. It focused on players navigating combat challenges by eliminating various aquatic adversaries.
Menu Designs
For the Main Menu, I was focused on keeping it minimal, easy to navigate, and accessible, but I was also aware that it needed to be eye-catching as it will be one of the first things players would see, especially when we would be presenting this game at our University Showcase. To be a bit more eye-catching I opted to show off some of the amazing environmental design of the combat areas.
As for the Pause Menu, I wanted it to serve a more comprehensive purpose beyond just allowing players to resume, access options, or exit the game. We encountered issues where players were unsure about where to go or which areas they had completed. To address this, I proposed a solution: adding a checklist to the Pause Menu. This checklist would display the tasks that need to be achieved, after completion of a task it would check off completed areas.
Lastly, the Options Menu, as a team we sat down and decided what options would be necessary and within our scope. We then broke it down into sections for Game, Audio, Display, and Control settings. I'll talk more about Accessibility options and designs further below.
Playtesting
We had two playtesting sessions set up, during which 15-20 students played our game and provided feedback on its current state. I created online forms for participants to complete after playing a short demo portion of KILL CRAB. These demos were set up in specific combat areas within KILL CRAB, allowing us to test various aspects.
Unfortunately, I no longer have access to the forms and questions asked because my student email is now locked. However, the questions covered a range of topics, from whether the areas felt too big or small to whether players understood what they needed to do next.
Overall, the playtests were incredibly valuable, providing insight into issues that needed addressing and highlighting good practices we needed to continue working on. Below is a few slide from a presentation I created for our Second Progress presentation, during which we shared our feedback and the changes we made based on it.
HUD & Accessibility
HUD Research
I did some HUD research about similar style games to what we were planning to make and what types of layouts and design patterns they used, after presenting my research to the team and noting common themes, we decided to go with simple, minimal with a slight curvature to the interface to indicate a helmet/visor.
First, we decided what information needed to be presented to the player. We settled on a compass to help with navigation, an ammo counter with the gun name, and a health bar. I then experimented with the placement of these elements on the screen. I kept the placements similar to those in other games to ensure they wouldn't feel too unfamiliar for players and would be intuitive for those who have played similar games.
Ability Iconography
We brainstormed some abilities to make the game more fun, fluid, and smooth. These abilities include slowing down time, a dash, and a ground slam. Each ability needed a clear visual indication so players could immediately understand what they represent. Additionally, the abilities had to show different states: empty, charging, and ready to use.
To indicate these states, I designed the icons with a background that starts clear (zero opacity). As the ability charges, the background gradually fills vertically with a low-opacity black. When fully charged, the background color changes to blue, indicating the ability is ready to use.
To avoid relying solely on color, which could pose accessibility issues, I also added a timer and a percentage counter next to each ability. This ensures all players can easily understand the status of their abilities.
Steam Release
During the later stages of our project, we decided to release our game for Free on Steam. Thankfully one of our members had previous experience working to get a game on the platform, which made it a lot easier. Steam requires a lot of graphical assets for events and marketing, I was in charge of designing a majority of the assets such as the Header Capsule, Library Hero, and many more.
Our game was met with lots of lovely reviews, currently sitting at "Very Positive" on Steam. Lots of constructive criticism and well, some not so constructive too haha. We're planning to work further on the game in our spare time. Below is a link to KILL CRAB's Steam Page.
KILL CRAB on Steam →
This was one of my most favorite projects I've ever had the honor to be a part of. I learned so much not only about my role in the team but also tons about each person's role and skill set. We were all willing to teach each other about our respective talents, and that allowed us all to thrive and progress. I've made lifelong friends working on this project. Below will be a link to each respective legend on this team.