I designed and implemented five dynamic camera states, idle, walk, sprint, crouch, and climb, each tuned to match player movement and emotion. Smooth interpolation between states enhanced game feel, responsiveness, and overall immersion.

Process

• Established Design Intent: I Defined how camera motion could reinforce the game’s tone of fragility and connection to nature. Mapped five movement states, idle, walk, sprint, crouch, and climb, to express different player emotions, using pacing and framing to reflect the world’s grounded, deliberate atmosphere.

• Built and Integrated System: With the support of engineers, I prototyped a modular camera blueprint that responded dynamically to player states, supporting the team’s goal of smooth, unobtrusive feedback. Implemented interpolation and timing logic to ensure transitions felt organic and cinematic.

• Iterated for Game Feel: I Playtested and refined motion curves, shake intensity, and responsiveness. Tuned camera feedback to maintain cinematic flow without sacrificing control or readability, aligning every adjustment with the game’s vision of quiet tension and emotional immersion.

I led the UX design for Eyes of the Forest’s diegetic 3D menu system, shaping how players navigate and interpret information through spatial layout and camera movement. Collaborating with art and tech, I ensured each menu state, main, options, credits, and exit, conveyed clarity, hierarchy, and emotion while keeping transitions intuitive, cinematic, and connected to the world.

Process
• Established Design Direction: I Defined how the diegetic 3D menu system could reflect the game’s natural, cinematic tone and immerse players before gameplay even begins. Outlined how spatial composition and camera movement would replace flat UI with environmental storytelling rooted in the world’s atmosphere.

• Designed and Implemented Flow: I Collaborated with art and engineering to prototype spatial navigation and framing, ensuring each menu state; main, options, credits, and exit, conveyed clear hierarchy and emotion. Used camera composition to guide attention and maintain player presence within the world.

• Refined for Clarity and Immersion: I Playtested and adjusted transitions to balance storytelling with readability. Tuned camera pacing, angles, and depth cues to create smooth, cinematic movement that kept menus intuitive, cohesive, and connected to the world.

‍ ‍I designed the climbing camera shake as a storytelling tool, not just a visual effect. The motion synced with each paw grip, reflecting the character’s effort and tension. This grounded players in the character’s fragile perspective, turning motion into emotional feedback that made every climb feel deliberate, vulnerable, and alive.

Process
• Defined Design Goal: I Treated the climbing camera shake as a storytelling device, designed to convey effort, tension, and vulnerability rather than serve as a background effect. This aligned with the game’s emotional tone of fragility and perseverance.

• Synced With Animation: I Matched shake timing and strength to each paw grip in the climb cycle, turning motion into physical feedback that mirrored the character’s exertion. The rhythmic jolts helped players feel each movement as deliberate and weighty.

• Refined for Balance: I Playtested and adjusted intensity, duration, and offset to maintain readability and immersion. Each iteration strengthened the sense of player empathy and connection, making every climb feel intentional and alive.

I led the UX design and implementation of Eyes of the Forest’s diegetic 3D menu system, built to immerse players in the game’s tone before gameplay begins. Working with UI art and engineering, I created a cinematic, spatial interface that replaced flat menus with environmental storytelling and guided camera composition. Centered around a single tree, each menu state and transition delivers narrative context and emotion, seamlessly connecting story, gameplay, and user experience.

Process
• Established UX Direction: Defined the core vision and flow for a diegetic 3D menu system that immerses players in the game’s tone before gameplay begins. Guided how spatial layout, lighting, and camera framing could communicate hierarchy and emotion while maintaining clarity.

• Built and Integrated System: Collaborated with UI art and engineering to prototype a cinematic, environment-anchored interface. Used camera composition and movement to transition between menu states, main, options, credits, and exit, creating a cohesive, story-driven experience.

• Iterated for Clarity and Scope: Incorporated playtest insights and team feedback to fine-tune pacing, readability, and performance. Balanced immersive presentation with usability, ensuring each interaction felt intuitive, emotional, and consistent with the world’s atmosphere.

I designed the pause menu UX for Eyes of the Forest to preserve tension rather than provide comfort. By keeping Thistle’s heartbeat audible, players could pause without escaping the sense of danger. Though visual effects were later cut for scope, the core intent remained, making pausing feel empathetic, suspenseful, and emotionally tied to Thistle’s experience.

Process
• Established Emotional Goal: Defined the pause menu experience around tension and empathy rather than relief. Designed it to maintain the game’s emotional pacing, ensuring pausing still reflected Thistle’s vulnerability instead of breaking immersion.

• Prototyped Emotional Feedback: Tested heartbeat audio, subtle vignette, and motion cues to keep the player aware of nearby danger. Explored multiple feedback combinations to communicate suspense while maintaining player control.

• Refined and Preserved Intent: Iterated based on team feedback and scope changes, simplifying visual elements while keeping the emotional core intact. The final design ensured pauses mirrored Thistle’s unease, sustaining empathy and narrative tension even in moments of stillness.

I prioritized dyslexia accessibility when selecting Eyes of the Forest’s primary font, Chelsea Market. Its rounded letterforms and generous spacing improve readability for players with dyslexia, ensuring accessibility never compromises tone. The font’s hand-drawn quality conveys a subtle unease that fits the game’s ominous, post-human forest while remaining warm and readable.

Process
• Established Accessibility Goal: I Prioritized dyslexia-friendly readability in all UI design decisions. Chose to make typography a functional accessibility feature rather than a purely aesthetic choice, ensuring inclusivity from the start.

• Selected and Validated Font Choice: I Chose Chelsea Market for its rounded letterforms and open spacing, improving legibility without sacrificing tone. Tested readability and flow across menus and in-game text to confirm clarity under various lighting and scale conditions.

• Aligned Tone with World Design: Balanced warmth and unease to match the game’s ominous, post-crutter-folk forest. The font’s hand-drawn character reinforced atmosphere and narrative identity while maintaining accessibility and cohesion.