Scope
Three products, different stages, related interaction problems.
Live · 35M+ MAU at product level
Racing Master
Emotional expression, sharing, and product judgment in a shipped live title.
Public Beta
Beneath the Mist
Build progression visibility and high-intensity decisions when players need a quick read.
Pre-launch
Popular IP (Onmyoji/阴阳师) Spinoff
Onboarding comprehension and high-frequency action in a strategy-focused play loop.
Product judgment · Racing Master
When the brief solved the request, but not the player moment.
For Racing Master’s in-game year-end review, I first built the direction requested in the brief. I then saw an opportunity to make the moment more emotionally resonant and more natural to share.
- 01 Built the requested direction.
- 02 Identified the missing emotional and shareable player moment.
- 03 Prototyped an alternative so the trade-off was concrete.
- 04 The alternative was adopted by Game Design and key stakeholders, then shipped.
Outcome Adopted and shipped in Racing Master.
Gameplay-clarity chain
Gameplay clarity is a chain. Break one link, and the player hesitates.
Perception
Make invisible build progress readable before the next equipment choice.
Beneath the Mist · Public Beta
Player problemEquipment choices contributed to a larger build system, but players could not easily see which abilities were active or how close the next activation was.
Design moveI made build progression and activation states legible at the top of the ability list, so the relationship between a choice and its downstream effect was visible in context.
Intended effectGive players a clearer read of build state before they commit to the next equipment choice.
Protected evidence 01/04
Before/after interface + activation-state logic
Annotated progression states, activation rules, and the interface comparison used to make the system concrete with Game Design and GUI design.
NDA-limited evidence
Protected interface evidence is not configured in this preview.
The complete public case study remains available; confidential visual evidence can be shared separately when access is arranged.
Understanding
Teach placement at the moment it becomes relevant.
Popular IP (Onmyoji/阴阳师) Spinoff · Pre-launch
Player problemNew players needed placement guidance precisely when choosing where a unit should go, rather than after they had already made a strategic guess.
Design moveI made the recommended placement range and its meaning visible directly on the board through in-context onboarding states and a reusable visual cue.
Intended effectMake the first placement decision easier to interpret without separating instruction from gameplay.
Protected evidence 02/04
Board UI + recommended-placement onboarding states
The protected sequence shows the decision-point prompt, recommended range, placement comparison, and the visual language carried into the formal product design.
This module unlocks together with the first one. Return to the protected-evidence access point ↑
Decision Making
Put rescue viability into one decision surface.
Beneath the Mist · Public Beta
Player problemDuring a high-pressure rescue moment, remaining time, teammate status, and possible rescue routes were dispersed across the experience.
Design moveI brought the rescue-viability signals together around the decision moment, including the remaining window, teammate participation, and route progress.
Intended effectHelp players interpret the rescue situation without searching across multiple interface locations.
Protected evidence 03/04
Annotated rescue-state sequence
A step-by-step HUD sequence shows the trigger, remaining-time signal, teammate confirmation, route display, and the state changes around a rescue attempt.
This module unlocks together with the first one. Return to the protected-evidence access point ↑
Action
Turn a three-step command into one continuous gesture.
Popular IP (Onmyoji/阴阳师) Spinoff · Pre-launch
Player problemA comparable interaction required three discrete commands: open a menu, choose an animation, then close the menu before returning to play.
Design moveI proposed a continuous tap-and-swipe gesture that consolidated those discrete actions into one motion, then followed the motion and text timing through implementation.
Intended effectReduce the interaction to one continuous gesture while keeping the action understandable in the moment.
Protected evidence 04/04
Gesture comparison + implementation notes
The protected evidence pairs the multi-step reference flow with the final gesture and documents the motion and timing details checked with engineering.
This module unlocks together with the first one. Return to the protected-evidence access point ↑
Delivery
Treat motion and timing as product behavior, not polish.
I worked across Game Design, GUI/visual design, and front-end engineering through implementation. Prototypes made interaction intent concrete, while motion and text-transition timing were tuned with engineers to preserve readability in the final behavior.
- Aligned Game Design, GUI/visual design, and engineering around concrete interaction states.
- Used prototypes to turn discussion about behavior into something teams could inspect together.
- Tuned transition delays and durations with engineers before design sign-off.
Outcome & reflection
The common challenge was not adding more information.
It was placing the right signal at the exact moment a player needed to interpret, decide, or act.
- Racing Master
- Alternative direction adopted and shipped.
- Continuous gesture
- Incorporated into the formal product design.
- Beneath the Mist
- Currently in Public Beta.
- Other chapters
- Evidence of design judgment, not unverified behavioral or business impact.