UI/UX Design for Sonic the Hedgehog (student work)
Title page of project case study
For my capstone project at the NYU Game Center, I surveyed 101 fans on UX design problems and public reception of Sonic series games.
Top left: Introduction to UX research survey in slide doc
Top right: Lack of fanbase consensus as seen in number of Sonic fan ''factions'
Bottom left: Statement from YouTuber/content creator "ExoParadigmGamer"
Bottom right: First persona and set of need states developed as target for design solution with quote from an actual survey respondent
Player control was cited as the UX issue—to address this, I made personas, need states, and looked to YouTubers ShayMay (now called shoogles) and ExoParadigmGamer for their stories of Sonic and how this conflicts with more recent titles in the series.
Top left: My proposed solution to the problem of slippery controls and gameplay
Top right: User journey map depicting how Sonic enters 'mach state' (separate from Sonic in a ball)
Bottom left: Sonic standing still in Sonic Unleashed with my UI for a Sonic game placed on top
Bottom right: Sonic boosting (running at top speed) in Unleashed with my UI creating the illusion he's in 'mach state'
Not only were many fans older than the series' target of boys 8-14, they also doubted Sonic could get better. To attract players of all skill levels and ages while solving the core UX issue, I made the visually arresting 'mach state' where players achieve flow as they control and eventually master high-speed movement in 3D.
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Posted Nov 19, 2024
Student project. Completed in May 2018 for the NYU Game Center (Tisch School of the Arts and Tandon School of Engineering) class UI/UX for Games.
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