Thoughtfully integrating a feature

Avoiding the “tacked-on feature” blues

The result: An expanded “ship’s cockpit” with a fun, light interaction that appears only when needed and extends our players’ world.

NEED
Our Product team requested a feature to encourage retention by daily offering the player free Energy for continued play. Design guidelines also necessitated a diegetic, in-world approach with a simple, feel-good interaction.

SOLUTION
Collaborating with game designers and UI artists, we settled on a wheel spin skinned as an in-world retro vending machine. I was responsible for integrating this experience with established rhythms of play. Features like this are too often added as an afterthought, creating unhelpful friction in the path to fun. I sought a solution that would:

• feel like an organic extension of the existing UI and player experience

• limit clutter on the game’s lobby screen, calling attention only when necessary

• support larger creative goals of furthering the player’s sense of place in our galaxy.

The result: An expanded “ship’s cockpit” fun, light interaction that extends our world. (The constantly-breaking vending machine later became a running gag in tutorials and character dialogues!)