I focused on teaching through interaction, designing onboarding that balances player discovery with clear feedback. Using environmental signifiers like chest placement, I guided attention toward key resources while maintaining flow and immersion. Inspired by The Legend of Zelda and Pokémon, I built moments that reinforced purpose, readiness, and strategic clarity through emotion-driven feedback and readable design.

Process
• Defined Learning Goals: Framed onboarding around discovery and intuitive feedback.

• Designed Progressive Flow: Introduced mechanics naturally through player exploration.

• Created Emotional Anchors: Used key moments to reinforce motivation and progression.

• Integrated Prompts: Triggered only when players risked missing essential actions.

• Refined Combat Tutorial: Balanced readability, timing, and clarity for turn-based combat.

I animated unique move sets for each enemy and attack to give combat personality, rhythm, and visual storytelling. I wanted players to read attacks through motion and timing, not just UI cues, making every encounter feel distinct and expressive. Inspired by Pokémon Yellow, I used animation to give each enemy identity and emotion, turning repetition into moments of connection and anticipation that kept players engaged.

Process
• Defined Animation Goals: Grounded combat feedback in timing, rhythm, and visual clarity.

• Designed Distinct Move Sets: Tailored attacks to each enemy’s temperament and behavior.

• Enhanced Readability: Used motion and body language to telegraph combat intent.

• Refined Through Testing: Adjusted speed, anticipation, and impact for player response.

• Strengthened Emotional Feedback: Reinforced character identity with expressive movement.

I collaborated with another designer to build an optional narrative experience centered on Romain, a recurring character who rewarded player curiosity and engagement. My UX focus was on when and how players encountered him, ensuring each interaction felt intuitive, discoverable, and emotionally meaningful. By mapping his appearances across the player’s journey, I created natural pacing and progressive feedback that reinforced exploration as a player-driven reward.

Process
• Planned Narrative Integration: Designed Romain’s encounters to complement progression.

• Mapped Player Journey: Positioned appearances to support pacing and emotional buildup.

• Enhanced Discoverability: Used spatial and visual cues to guide curiosity organically.

• Refined Interaction Flow: Ensured dialogue unlocked naturally without breaking immersion.

• Strengthened Emotional Payoff: Linked player engagement to rewarding narrative feedback.