Through Woodsy Studio, I develop and publish visual novel games for Android devices and desktop computers. My user interfaces have gone through various designs based on usability testing and ongoing feedback.
For Serafina’s Saga, I created a Costume Menu screen in which players could change character costumes. Some costumes would only be available via an in-app purchase, so I needed the important “Wear” and “Unlock” buttons to be front and center without any confusion.
For Quantum Conscience, the primary game-play revolved around the player’s ability to read the minds of other characters throughout the story. I designed the menu in which characters could be selected, called the Void Stream, based on a pre-existing Infoscreen menu, making my own adjustments to the layout code.
Most importantly, I wrote code necessary to functionality in the “Return” button (originally placed on the bottom-left corner). After usability testing revealed that a lot of people had trouble using the “Return” button, I changed its color and placement to make it more prominent and improve usability.
Through early user testing, I also noticed that players were unable to measure the significance of using the Void Stream, because they did not know how their choices affected the story. To resolve this, I added an alert that flashed in the bottom left corner of the screen when the story branched based on the player’s decisions.
