DRIFTKING
“Drift To Cast Spells“
DRIFTKING is a 3v3 Multiplayer Online Car Battle game for PC. Players do drifts to gain Drift Power which is used to cast spells to eliminate enemies.
The game was made in Unity with C#.
UX AS PART OF GAME DESIGN
Our criteria for the UX of DriftKing were defined early on.
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Intuitive - making it easy to learn for the “one and done“ nature of the Industry Night event which the game was built for.
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Good feedback - as the game relies heavily on the intense adrenaline of vehicular warfare (kind of like bumper cars!).
THE LOBBY
The original lobby was imitating MOBA games. However, it was overwhelming for first time users to understand, and it also did not match well with a console controller scheme.
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UI buttons jump all over the place based on which team you are in.
...And so we changed it to something more intuitive - one of our most important criterias.
UI buttons don’t move around and remains in the same position, improving consistency.
When a player connects to a server, a PlayerInfo prefab is instantiated for that player. This object exists only in the lobby, and holds data pertaining to that player such as their name, team, and car.
These various data objects are placed into the corresponding RectTransform positions.
SPELL COOLDOWNS
The lack of indication for casting a spell felt unsatisfying, and leaves the player wondering when the spell can be used again.
When every second counts, players need to know their spells' availability.
Spell Just went off cooldown!
Off cooldown and Sufficient DriftPower. Ready to cast!
On cooldown. Cannot cast regardless of DriftPower.
Off cooldown but not enough DriftPower. Cannot cast.
DRIFT METER
We wanted the players to feel in power when they pool a large reserve of Drift Power. To achieve this, a mere number and bar wasn’t enough, there needed to be visual effects that grow along with the power value.
The Drift Meter had to meet some requirements:
• Needs to visually build up along with the player’s Drift Power
• Needs to be visually obvious but not obnoxious
• Needs to fit the theme of cars (hence the circular meter and fumes)
DRIFT POWER
The meter is a slider component in radial mode.
References the player’s drift power value (normalized).
NO POWER
HIGH POWER
METER EFFECT
Particle effect of a looped texture sheet animation.
Emission is linked to the player’s drift power.
NAMEPLATES
The final requirements for the UIUX:
MAIN MENU
Join Game
Host Game
Exit Application
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LOBBY
Car Selection
Team Selection
Game Countdown
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GAME HUD
Health Bar (allies and enemies)
Energy Bar (aka Drift Meter)
Spell Icons + cooldown timers
Elimination List Display
Team Score
Timer
Scoreboard
Tutorials Display