Gearbox

🟢 2022

SHIPPED

Overview

Role

Tools & Tech

Studio

At Gearbox, I collaborated with the UI/UX Director and Leads to design player experiences for Borderlands 4 and supported Tiny Tina’s Wonderlands. As a Sr. UX Designer, I executed user-centric methodologies, conducted research and audits, and developed design strategies focused on Attention, Engagement, and Retention (AER) principles.

XD, Photoshop, Illustrator, After Effects, Unreal.

Playstation, PC, Xbox

Focus

Research, Art, Design

Sr. UX Designer

Platforms

Gearbox Software

CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT

⚠️

CURRENTLY IN DEVELOPMENT ⚠️

Background

Our aim was to craft a fun, intuitive, and memorable player experience that aligned with both organizational goals and the core game loop. We focused on understanding player needs and minimizing friction for both hardcore and casual players.

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Research & Analysis

Process

Research, UX Audit, & Heuristic Evals:

  • Performed UX audits and heuristic evaluations for multiple titles, with detailed documentation to inform future design work.

  • Conducted thorough analysis and evaluations of existing systems and features.

Player-Driven Design & Player Surveys:

  • Engaged Devs and Players in the design process to optimize features and systems.

  • Created internal surveys to understand player archetypes, play styles, and expectations.

  • Collaborated with the User Research department on external player surveys, using collected data to improve current features and shape new ones.

Usability Exercises & Sorting Tasks:

  • Utilized Miro to conduct remote usability exercises, informing improvements to information architecture, flow, button mappings, interactions, and component placement.

Design

Experience Architecture & Flowcharts:

  • Designed and maintained a living, interactive architecture map of the game, covering all modes.

  • Created interactive flowcharts in Miro to test and verify designs.

Player-Driven Scenarios, Stories, and Flow:

  • Developed interactive scenarios and stories to inform design flow, sell designs, and gain team buy-in.

  • Ideated and iterated on menus, designs, and features with simple, elegant wireframes.

UI Design & Prototypes:

  • Created interactive prototypes in Adobe XD and Miro.

  • Collaborated with the Lead UI Artist and external partners to develop detailed prototypes in Flash and Unity.

Departmental

UX Design Direction & Departmental Tasks:

  • Provided UX design direction on various features to internal and external designers.

  • Reviewed and interviewed UX candidates and documented UI/UX design methodologies and processes for team review.

Vis Dev

Mocks & Theme Exploration:

  • Created style mocks to shape the visual direction and UI development.

  • Applied atomic design principles to develop component libraries using high-fidelity wireframes.

Stay tuned.

Background

My involvement with Tiny Tina's was minimal. I supported the game's UX Designer, reviewing designs and providing feedback during the UX team meetings. I also provided a detailed analysis and audit of the alpha build.

Design

Contributions

Design Reviews:

  • I provided UX design feedback during design reviews for various features with the department director and UX designer.

UX Audit:

  • Performed an audit, documenting pain points and providing potential solutions for early and final builds of the game.

Outcome

Stay tuned!

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