CONTEXT
Super Smash Bros Ultimate is a brawler fight game that focuses on players with many characters in the Nintendo Universe.
Even though there are many characters to choose from, there are not many customization options for players to select or work towards.
Challenges - Creating a new customization screen proposal in Super Smash Bros. Ultimate for players to customize their character, learn how to play the character, and get rewards for playing.
There are three main pillars I am tackling for this project:
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Players can already customize the character’s skins in Smash, but we can push it much further to allow mixing & matching
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Create a system where players can get rewards just for playing a character, unlocking more fun cosmetics
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Players can find all the characters’ backstories and abilities in the new fighter screen
Role - UX Designer
Project Length - 2 weeks
Skills - UX Design | Prototyping | Design Proposal
Tools - Figma
This is a project that I have worked on from attending an advanced UX course.
DESIGN PREVIEW
WORK PROCESS
I created a list of key goals for this project, ensuring the project will tackle the three points listed above.
Experience Goals
[Usability] Players can customize their characters in and out of the game
[Usability/Desirability] Players can unlock item via playing the game
[Desirability] Players can find their ideal characters from the customization + store screen
[Usability/Desirability] Players can go to the fighter screen, and it is a one-stop shop for shopping cosmetics and discovering character’s lore and abilities
[Desirability] Players can personalize the characters your own characters and create unique looks for the game
[Desirability/Usability] Players are encouraged to play all characters and modes by creating chase items via missions + character mastery
[Usability/Feasibility] Players can conveniently create and select their character profiles on almost every in-game screen, so players can play with their pre-made characters.
New Cosmetics
For new cosmetics, I am accounting for three main screens: Loading screen banners, in-game characters, and post-screen animations.
[In-game characters] Skins
[In-game characters] Accessories
[Banners] Background
[Banners] Fonts
[Post-screen] MVP
[Post-screen] Idle poses
FLOW CHART
This is a flow chart that shows how the new fighter screen will be implemented through the current flow
Final Design
Fighter Overview
Players can preview each character, rather they have unlocked them or not
Players can assign a color for their player profile, so when they are in the character selection screen, they can see what character they have saved.
Player can press L(ZL) + R(ZR) to look at different sizes of the banners. They can also toggle all the characters and view their banners in the same screen.
Selected fighter overview
Players can pick what they want to adjust on their skins/animation poses, etc. They can also go to the bottom tab where they can view their fighter’s abilities.
Players can get rewards by playing a specific fighter. The experience bar indicates how much more exp you will need to earn the next reward.
Players can view the character origin and story will be showing on the right-handed tab to give players a bit more context about the fighter.
Selected fighter cosemtic
Every cosmetics/item, there will be three different rarity levels (circle/square/pentagon). Each of them costs differently and it gives players a faster and better idea how each skin is valued.
Players can pay cosemtics with coins or unlocked via a specific mode. If an item has a game mode logo on it, that means you can do a mission to get via completing it. This encourages players to play more modes.
Players can see what materials/color they used on the cosmetics. Before the players decide to buy the item, they could test them in the 3d version.
Lobby
The fighter screen will appear with an icon. Players can click on it to get into the fighter selection screen.
Character selection profile creation
Players can now create and pick their player profile in the character select screen
Players will see their color will change with their banner as well as their pre-saved skins
All the character players have adjusted with have a colored tag on the fighter profile
Button states
Conclusion
Outcome
Identified what is lacking for SSBU’s character customization and the overall player experience, and created a design plan
Created new features that complement the current design flow
Added a new feature that can help players engagement with the gameplay flow
Post-Mortem
Created a design proposal that covers from experience goal setting to the final design
Implemented a design that prioritizes player experience
Successfully create a design proposal for the director’s buy-ins