Protyping on Figma

Context

To test our in-game map concept, we decided to create a Figma prototype and conduct user playtests in order to iterate effectively. This map represents a pre-apocalypse version that the player can access at any time. On this map, information layers can be activated on demand and in specific regions to provide crucial data about the various threats the player will face. The map is designed to help players plan their route and allows them to place markers that remain visible even when the critical information layers disappear.

UX approach

For this prototype, I worked from the concept art and the game designers’ intentions to design, test, and iterate on a product aligned with user needs. Based on my research (benchmarking and personas), I identified several issues and formulated hypotheses, including:

Players tend to use only one or two markers despite having access to more.

Players do not understand that observing an entity is required to unlock critical information, and therefore do not use information layers in safe zones where they are available.

Having constant access to a map and route planning may break player immersion.

Key Design Decisions

This setup allowed players to interact with a version of the map that closely matched our initial design intentions, making it possible to gather relevant feedback and iterate before handing the feature over to the development team. The focus was on simulating realistic in-game behavior while remaining flexible during testing.

Results and Insights

Post-playtest analysis revealed several key insights. Notably, players rarely used the markers. This validated multiple hypotheses, such as the challenge level (level design and entity threats) not being high enough to require map-based planning.

Future tests will focus on an updated version of the map prototype incorporating these findings. Additionally, the tests highlighted a strong need to improve controls visibility and player actions feedbacks.

Accessibility

For this project, I proposed and structured a set of accessibility options designed to make the game more inclusive while preserving the intended experience. My approach focused on identifying core accessibility needs across visual, audio, motor, and cognitive dimensions, and prioritizing features with the highest impact on player comfort and autonomy.

These proposals include customizable subtitles, full control remapping, visual readability adjustments, and comfort-related options, all designed to be accessible early in the experience. The goal was to support a diverse range of player profiles and abilities, while integrating accessibility as a natural part of the UX and game design process rather than an afterthought.

Work In Progress

here is a video that presents our latest project presentation in front of the jury, held on December 10th. It provides an overview of the project’s concept, design intentions, and key decisions, while highlighting the evolution of the experience. The project is still in progress, and the content shown reflects an ongoing development state.

UX Design

From a UX design perspective, I structured the experience around two primary personas and one anti-persona to anticipate player expectations, limitations, and engagement levels. This framework informed decisions related to cognitive load and environmental storytelling, which was designed in layered levels of clarity to adapt to different player profiles without enforcing a single path or interpretation.

Game User Research

Comprehension of environmental storytelling

I conducted initial out-of-game tests to evaluate the comprehension of the first iteration of the narrative frescoes. This first version included only a partial layer of the narrative, aiming to test readability, information hierarchy, and initial narrative clarity.

Based on tester feedback, I made recommendations to improve readability and information hierarchy and suggested increasing the number of frescoes to help reinforce key information.

A second test was then conducted to validate these changes and determine if further adjustments were needed to refine comprehension. With positive results, I focused only on minor recommendations to anticipate in-game readability.

Finally, early in-game playtests, particularly on narrative understanding, confirmed the effectiveness of the readability and interaction adjustments for the frescoes (e.g., triggering illumination when approached). These refinements increased both narrative comprehension and player satisfaction.

In-game playtests

I conducted the first in-game playtests through semi-structured interviews and qualitative questionnaires, focusing on players’ fear perception, lighting and comfort, environmental storytelling, audio comprehension, and player profiles. To ensure no insights were lost, I recorded the audio of the interviews, allowing for a more precise and thorough qualitative analysis.

Based on the playtest feedback, I identified several issues impacting the player experience and prioritized them according to their effect on comfort and emotional engagement. One major source of discomfort was related to player movement in overly dark environments. In response, I recommended adjustments to the lighting, including changes to color, intensity, and the emission area around the player, which significantly improved navigation comfort.

I also analyzed player paths and viewing directions to better understand how players explored the environment. By identifying common movement patterns, I recommended changes to the placement of narrative frescoes to align them more closely with natural player trajectories, increasing their visibility and narrative impact.

The in-game playtests revealed that players were not paying sufficient attention to the frescoes. To address this without increasing production costs, I proposed low-cost environmental storytelling cues designed to naturally draw the player’s gaze toward these elements and reinforce their narrative importance.

Finally, to support a balanced fear experience, the design relied on emotional resolution through empathy, encouraging players to emotionally connect with what initially appeared threatening. As empathy was not emerging strongly in early playtests, I recommended reusing existing narrative assets and integrating them along the player’s path earlier in the experience, helping players build identification progressively. To evaluate emotional impact, I used the PANAS scale, which revealed high levels of both positive and negative affect, confirming strong emotional engagement.

UI Design

On the UI side, I was responsible for the design and implementation process, from early prototyping to in-engine integration. I produced initial UI prototypes to explore interaction flows and visual coherence and then integrated directly into Unity.