WASTELAND 3
Wasteland is one of the venerable granddaddies of RPGs, and a contemporary of the original Fallout in the 80’s
Microsoft bought the studio that had the rights, and wanted a 1st party pen and paper RPG for their Xbox systems
That meant me and my strike team had to honor old school sensibilities with modern conveniences.
Clients: Microsoft, inXile
Responsibilities
UX Conceptualization
UX Wireframing
UI Art Asset Creation
UI Animation & Effects
Striketeam collaboration
Future Primitive
My work on Wasteland3 ran that gamut of UI Art, UX wireframing and Striketeam collaboration (right through Gamescom!).
Microsoft recently purchased the IP, which meant this old school pen-and-paper RPG had to run *flawlessly* on a controller
Traditional rules and systems had to go – we had to make bespoke solutions for a brave new age.
Retro Waves
Wasteland is based around classic 80’s-style pen and paper mechanics, but Microsoft wanted a killer RPG for their consoles (that would work well on their controllers!)
The task was simple: honor old school sensibilities and audiences, while modernizing everything else – starting with the most complicated part of RPGs: inventory management
The Shell Menu design was one of the biggest challenges we tackled, opting for a triptych, with each 3rd independently showing information.
Keep it Clean
There was a also quite a bit to do about the UX of the HUD
We envisioned our HUD to be more in alignment with a modern shooter: clean, compartmentalized, and built for minimalism
This was especially important in an isometric tactics game, where screen reel-estate is a strategic resource!
