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UX & Level Designer
Enter the ruins, solve the puzzles, and uncover the secrets! Your adventure begins now ─ will you escape?
Escape the Ruins
2D Top-Down Puzzle Adventure
Escape the Ruins, where every room is a new challenge! You must navigate the mysterious ruins and solve puzzles to unlock the doors and escape to the next level. But here's the twist: the keys to your scape are runes hidden throughout the ruins. Can you unlock the secrets of the runes before the ruins keep you forever? After all, it's fun and games until the ruins become... well, your ruin!
Solo Project
Role:
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User Experience Designer
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Level Designer
Developed:
May 2024 - Aug 2024
​Background
Escape the Ruins is my first solo project, developed as a personal challenge to apply and refine my skills in UX/UI and Level Design. My goal as a designer is to create an experience that is not only visually captivating but also intuitive to play, with a strong emphasis on crafting seamless interfaces and continuously evolving the levels, mechanics, and puzzles throughout the game.
Tools & Skills Applied​
Skills:
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Game Design
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Level Design
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UX/UI Design
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User Testing
Tools:
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Unity
- Figma
- Google Forms
- PixilArt
Project Goals
Explore a UX/Level Design Pipeline
Creating intuitive user interfaces and game levels that enhance player engagement. Through iterative design, testing, and feedback, the focus is on delivering seamless navigation, clear player guidance, and rewarding gameplay experiences.
Iterative Design
The goal is to refine the design process through feedback and playtesting to make key improvements. This approach ensures the final product is polished, intuitive, and specifically tailored to the needs and preferences of the target audience.
User Experience
Research
To ensure my design was tailored to the right audience, I conducted a survey with 26 participants, reaching a diverse sample of users across different ages, races, and backgrounds. This allowed me to gather valuable insights into user preferences and needs, which were essential for shaping the game's experience.
Personas
Based on the survey results, I developed three personas that represented different groups within my target audience. These personas became the foundation for my design decisions, helping me prioritize features and ensure the gameplay experience was intuitive and engaging.
Wireframes
Early Prototype
I conducted research on similar games for inspiration (right images) and gathered valuable insights from a survey of 26 participants to refine the design.
Then created detailed wireframes to map out the game's user interface, focusing on structure and flow. This process allowed me to prioritize key elements, ensuring intuitive navigation and laying the groundwork for a smooth, user-friendly experience.
The chart (below) shows the UI preferences from my survey, helping me make design choices that best match player expectations and improve usability.
These are the wireframes I created, based off of that information.
Clean and Minimalist that are not overwhelming
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Start Menu
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Pause Menu
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Options Menu
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Sound Effects
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Music
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Screen Resolution
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Toggle Full Screen
4. Credits Screen
5. Head-Up-Display (HUD)
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Inventory (Hotbar)
- Pause Button
Game Mechanics
Rotating Benches
I designed the rotating benches to be intuitive by portraying the direction they can be rotated using animation. This helps players know which direction the bench is facing.
Pushing Crates onto Pressure Plates
I made the pushing crate mechanic clear by visually connecting the crates to the pressure plates. This allows players to instantly understand how to interact with the environment, fitting smoothly into the puzzle flow.
Interacting with Objects
I ensured that interactions with objects feel responsive. Using camera panning, visual cues, and audio signals to communicate to players when something is interactable, guiding the player effectively.
Player Onboarding
The onboarding begins as the player spawns into the game, with floating text prompting them to use WASD to move. When approaching interactable objects, additional text appears, instructing them to press E to interact. These prompts disappear when the player moves out of range and reappear if they return, serving as a helpful reminder for the controls that will be used throughout the game. See video below.
User Testing
Level Design
Room 1
Planning/Overhead Map
The overhead map for the first room in my game outlines a thoughtful layout, balancing space for player exploration with clear guidance.
It annotates the placement of tutorial triggers, interactable objects like pressure plates, crates, pillars, a door, and a chest, ensuring each element contributes to a cohesive and engaging player experience.
Prototype/Final
Room 1 introduces players to one of the core mechanics of the game through helpful tutorial text that appears when they’re near certain objects.
These prompts guide them through basic controls like movement and interaction, disappearing when they move away, but reappearing if needed.
Players learn how to push objects by interacting with them, with a tooltip showing the letter "E." Successfully solving the puzzle rewards them with the first rune, causes the pillar to rise, and unlocks the door to move on to the next area.
Room 2
Planning/Overhead Map
Room 2 is designed around two benches, with clear annotations indicating the direction of the stairs and the placement of key objects.
The design focuses on ensuring that the player has space to manipulate the environment and engage with the benches, setting up the challenge for the next puzzle while maintaining fluid movement throughout the room.
Prototype/Final
In this room, players learn to rotate two benches to the correct direction, which is key to solving the puzzle.
A helpful hint is provided in the top-left corner to guide them along the way. Once they successfully complete the puzzle, the chest rewards them with the second rune, unlocking the door and allowing them to move on to Room 3.
Room 3
(Planning/Overhead Map)
The overhead map in Room 3 highlights the layered design of the puzzle, combining pushing and rotating mechanics. It directs players to key areas, such as the locked rooms with the bench and crates, the hidden room, and the downstairs crate puzzle.
By showing how interacting with the sign unlocks these elements, the map reinforces exploration and ties mechanics together for a cohesive challenge.
(Prototype/Final)
Room 3 takes the puzzle mechanics to the next level by combining bench rotation with crate manipulation.
One bench is locked in a room on the left, while two crates are in a room on the right. Players interact with a sign to move a wall, revealing a second bench and unlocking a door to a downstairs area.
This leads to the locked room where they can solve the crate puzzle. The level builds on earlier puzzles, adding more complexity and engagement while setting the stage for the challenges in Room 4.
Room 4
(Planning/Overhead Map)
The layout integrates mechanics from previous rooms, such as bench rotation and crate pushing, while introducing new complexities.
Key areas include interconnected rooms and a central hub, that contains the exit and rune altar.
The map ensures a logical flow, guiding players through a sequence of puzzles that build on their understanding of earlier challenges.
Each space is designed to encourage exploration and problem-solving, with the final reward and exit strategically placed in the middle
(Prototype/Final)
Room 4 offers a more complex puzzle experience that builds on the mechanics from earlier rooms.
Starting in a central hub, players navigate through interconnected spaces, each one introducing new challenges that test their skills in bench rotation, crate pushing, and uncovering hidden interactions.
To unlock new areas, players must solve a multi-step puzzle, uncover hidden elements, and complete tasks that ultimately lead to the final rune.
This room encourages exploration and critical thinking, weaving together the mechanics learned in previous rooms.
What I Learned
This project has been an important and memorable experience in both UX/UI and Level Design, deepening my understanding of how thoughtful design enhances player engagement. I learned the importance of clarity and usability, in creating intuitive UI menus.
In Level Design, I created engaging puzzles that not only challenge players but also guide through the game world using visual cues and spatial relationships. In this process, I learned my hardships and how to overcome challenges using creative solutions.
Looking ahead, I would focus more on playtesting early in the development process to gather feedback sooner, allowing for more refinements.
This journey taught me the significance of balancing complexity with accessbility and fuels my passion for creating immersive experiences that resonates with players. Overall, I gained insights into maintaining a player-centered perspective throughout the design process.
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