Bella
Artist
UI/UX Designer
Designer
Galactic Code
Galactic Code
PC Game
NDA Client Company
2021
PC Game
NDA Client Company
2021
UI/UX Designer • Artist • Designer
Galactic Code
NDA Client Company
PC Game • 2021
The objectives: reduce the impact of geographic dispersion and that comes with remote work; promote relationship building between peers across multiple tiers of management; allow people to come together to solve a problem as a team; have anyone with any level of technical literacy to learn and play the game within the time constraints of a 30-60 minute meeting.
The client company approached our team of five developers to create a digital solution to enhance remote collaboration after their amount of engagement in meetings and team building exercises had greatly decreased after taking all work, meetings, and events online after the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
The objectives: reduce the impact of geographic dispersion and that comes with remote work; promote relationship building between peers across multiple tiers of management; allow people to come together to solve a problem as a team; have anyone with any level of technical literacy to learn and play the game within the time constraints of a 30-60 minute meeting.
The objectives: reduce the impact of geographic dispersion and that comes with remote work; promote relationship building between peers across multiple tiers of management; allow people to come together to solve a problem as a team; have anyone with any level of technical literacy to learn and play the game within the time constraints of a 30-60 minute meeting.
The client company approached our team of five developers to create a digital solution to enhance remote collaboration after their amount of engagement in meetings and team building exercises had greatly decreased after taking all work, meetings, and events online after the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Background
Our objectives: make communication non-optional; everyone experiences both sides of the game, both describing and deciphering; encourage friendly competition; provide an engaging distraction from real-world events.
We conducted our individual research of the company and met with our contact to gain insight on the company culture, team structures, events, changes the employees went through during the transition to being remote. Given their objectives and the reported employees' love of competition, our team decided to create a timed puzzle game where everyone's involvement and clear communication is necessary to succeed.
Research
Communication
Research
Communication
Research
Galactic Code takes place in outer space, far away from the troubles of living on Earth. The players' goal is to establish communication with extraterrestrials to provide their company's services to them. This is done through "decoding" the messages sent to them in the form of symbols.
Wireframing
Game design
Wireframing
Game design
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Game Design
As the symbols were core gameplay mechanic, they needed to be distinguishable but not overly complicated to keep the low barrier to entry so everyone could quickly and confidently describe their given symbol without taking much time. Originally only having green symbols for correct guesses and red symbols for incorrect guesses, we added a color picker to accommodate those with red-green color blindness.
Accessibility
Art
UI design
Accessibility
Art
UI design
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Symbol Design
To meet these, I created the UI to look like the hub of a spaceship to immerse users in the experience, made navigation seamless by having everything on screen, and included the company's branding.
The company's needs, wants, and desires for the UI are as listed: need to include company branding and adhere to company design and branding guidelines [company branding has been removed from all images as per the NDA], want navigation to be as easy as, or easier than, the tools currently used at the client company, desire immersion in the storyline
Branding
High-fi mockups
UI design
Branding
High-fi mockups
UI design
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UI design
Galactic Code is played in groups of six with five Assistants and one Decoder. The first Assistant is shown a single symbol as the 15 second timer starts. The Assistant then describes the symbol to the Decoder, who will try to correctly guess the correct symbol out of the 18 shown to only them. The Decoder may ask clarifying questions. Once the 15 seconds are up or a symbol is chosen, points are awarded for correct guesses, the next Assistant is shown a symbol, and the process repeats until the five-symbol password is completed. At the end of the round, a fully correct password will grant bonus points. The group then moves to a new round where a new password is generated and a new Decoder is selected. The game ends after 30 minutes, and the final score is tallied from the accumulated points from each round.
Playtesting
Playtesting
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Gameplay