Galactic Reign
Galactic Reign was my first game. I joined Microsoft Game Studios as its only UI/UX designer, taking the role over from the previous designer, to bring final polish to the game and make the experience better.
My focus was the visual update and the interactions and animations. The game looked futuristic, but its interface didn't match the gameplay, and it had no achievement icons yet. I redesigned every UI asset, built the achievements library, and added motion wherever there was time and engineering support.
- Role
- Sole UI/UX designer
- Services
- UI designInteraction designMotion design
- Client
- Microsoft Game Studios
- Team
- 22–25 people
- Platform
- Windows Phone
- Year
- 2012–2013
Overhauling the UI
My biggest task was replacing every UI asset with something more polished that fit the game's futuristic style. I gave each one the tech flair, polish and hierarchy it needed, so the game was fun to interact with outside of battles too.
Motion
With time and engineering support left, I was free to do whatever would help the UI shine. Once the full UI update was done, I added as much motion as I could so the interface felt active.
Final screens
Every screen was rebuilt with the new UI, including wallpapers based on the battle videos.
Achievements and icons
Players cared most about achievements for bragging rights against friends and rivals, and none existed yet, so I designed the whole library, along with the game's icon set.
Battle wallpapers
I also made special wallpapers based on the battle videos.
