GALDRAKONA

Designing clarity in a complex gameplay system.

UX/UI Designer | 2 months | 2024

Tools

PROJECT OVERVIEW

This project was part of my first Game Jam experience, where I had the opportunity to apply and expand my UX/UI design skills in the context of video game interface design.
I worked as the sole UX/UI designer on Galdrakona, a narrative horror game developed around the theme Song of the Sea

Constraints

  • Tight deadlines
  • Asynchronous collaboration
  • Complex gameplay mechanics

KEY PROBLEM

Managing a large number of objects with different interactions.


One of the main challenges that emerged during the development of Galdrakona was the large number of in-game objects, each with distinct behaviors and interactions. For the player, this meant having to quickly understand what they were using, the current state of the object, and how it would affect gameplay, during tense situations typical of a horror game.

From a UX/UI perspective, the challenge was to make this information immediate, readable, and consistent, without breaking narrative immersion.

MY APPROACH

My goal was to reduce the player’s cognitive load by transforming the complexity of interactions into an intuitive visual system.

To achieve this, I worked on three main levels:

  • Standardization of visual rules across all objects
  • Clarity of states (active, inactive, usable, depleted)
  • Immediate feedback for every interaction

At the same time, I organized the workflow to facilitate asynchronous collaboration, creating clear and shared references for developers and game designers.

INTO THE SOLUTION

The solution was the design of a modular visual system based on:

Colors

  • Color-coding to indicate object states and availability via glowing icons, as well as game states, using a diegetic interface.
  • Ensuring immediate readability of object behavior, player state, and health bar.

Icons

  • Consistent iconography, designed for instant recognition.
  • Reducing player errors and uncertainty.

WHERE DESIGN & APPROACH MEET RESULTS

Given the asynchronous nature of the team, it was essential to structure the work clearly:

  • Definition of shared visual rules
  • Essential yet functional documentation
  • UI assets were designed to be easy to implement and adapt.

This approach reduced the number of revisions and alignment meetings required, allowing the team to work in parallel more efficiently.

RESULTS

Despite time and coordination constraints, the system made it possible to manage object complexity effectively, providing players with a smoother and more readable experience.

The project received positive feedback for the clarity of its mechanics and ranked 6th out of 88 projects, confirming the strength of the design decisions adopted.

MY LEARNINGS

This project taught me that, in high-pressure contexts:

  • Clarity outweighs completeness.
  • A well-designed system is more effective than isolated solutions.
  • Work organization is an integral part of design, not a separate activity.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT

I am refining some assets to make them more intuitive for players.

One example is the icon set: the controls are being reorganized to reflect their actual positions on the keyboard, improving readability and making the control scheme easier to visualize and understand.