Case Study
Palette is a simple game about connecting squares of the same color. It was a side project started by a couple of friends, who designed the puzzles and had the game concept down, but needed someone to give the game a visual identity.
Creating a Holistic Experience
My task was to design the UI and UX of the game through visual, interaction, and sound design. The most important quesiton was: what do we want the user to feel as they play our game?
Color
Color is vitally important, not only because it is an integral game mechanic, but also because it is used to signify progression and difficulty. Colors had to have enough contrast from one another, while still fitting the look and feel established within the game.
Animations
Micro animations and transitions play a big role in bringing a game to life. Due to the nature of games, players have a different set of expectations when it comes to aniamtions and interactivity. Buttons are never just hotspots, every interaction should provide interesting and meaningful feedback to the user.
Sound
Sound plays an important role in the game experience. It sets the tone and mood of the game and should live in harmony with the visuals of the game. Like visual cues, audio cues can also be leveraged to convey crucial information to the player, such as a positive/negative event, or interacting with the UI.