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UI/UX, Level Designer, Project Manager • 2024

Co-op, Fighter • Absolutely Not Games

As a designer, project manager, and social media manager for Dino-Might, I’ve helped it grow from a successful Global Game Jam game to a project showcased at two conferences under our indie studio, Absolutely Not Games. My work spans researching, designing, and implementing intuitive UI/UX, improving gameplay balance with dynamic levels, managing production using Agile methods, and creating engaging marketing content. These efforts ensure Dino-Might delivers a polished, player-focused experience and will ship to Steam in Summer 2025.

Conferences

In April 2024, we showcased Dino-Might at the Midwest Gaming Classic, a consumer convention. In November, we showcased at M+Dev, a game dev conference, with new features. I view conferences as invaluable opportunities for playtesting and expanding our network!

Production

In addition to UI/UX and Level Design, I also handle production management, manage social media, conduct playtesting, and present data to the team.

Production Responsibilities:

  • Scrum and Agile Methodology: Sprint Planning, Retrospectives, Kanban, etc. 

  • Manage Trello + task tracking

  • Project Roadmap

  • Conferences + Budgets

  • Leading team meetings

  • Scheduling internal and external meetings

  • Documentation

  • Organizing and presenting data

  • TEAM COMMUNICATION

  • And anything else that requires any production!

Social Media Responsibilities:

  • Plan content using a spreadsheet

  • Film, edit, and post content regularly

  • Community engagement

  • Research marketing costs

Din-Might Progress.PNG

UI/UX Design

First Problem

We require both a tutorial and a player selection menu that is streamlined, clear, and intuitive. Given the simplicity of the mechanic and genre, I believe an in-game tutorial is not essential.

 

Playtesting revealed that most players were confused about how to play. Additionally, we introduced power-ups and new buttons that require clear explanations.​​​​

Solution

I designed a streamlined menu with a central visual tutorial, enabling players to quickly focus on the most important information.

Based on feedback, I developed a version 2. I reassessed the information hierarchy, incorporating power-ups and a clearer controls visual. Then I integrated in-game sprites for added clarity and worked closely with the artist to finalize version 2.​

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Recent playtesting has shown that version 2 still lacks clarity. I am currently working on developing a more refined, visually engaging menu with animations.

Second Problem

We added customizations and needed an intuitive menu. However, there was disagreement on the layout—while the artist and team preferred a vertical design, I disagreed for UI/UX reasons.

Solution

I conducted user research on the flow and shared the findings with the team. With this data, we decided to move forward with the research-backed approach, collaborating closely with the artist through an iterative process to refine the current menu design.

Level Design

Problem

​We needed to design dynamic levels with enough player maneuverability for a balanced and engaging experience. However, during early playtesting, we found that fixed spawn points gave certain players an unfair advantage, impacting gameplay balance.

Solution

I designed the levels to incorporate varying platform heights and made sure players could move freely across both sides of the screen, allowing for a wider range of movement and playstyles. To address the spawn point issue, we implemented random spawn locations for all players, ensuring a more fair and unpredictable gameplay experience. These changes helped improve the overall balance and user experience in the game.

Gameplay

Credits

TrelloBoard2.jpg

Developer/Programmer................................Kevin King

UI/UX/Level Design, Project Manager...........Katrina Senebouttarath

Character Artist and Animator......................Taylor Deckert

Enviormental Artist.......................................Arinmir Sabin

Programmer..................................................Delano Kraig

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