- Could you say a few words about yourself?
I graduated with a BSc. in Computer Science & Game Design from DigiPen Institute of Technology Singapore in April 2018.
Before joining Ubisoft in January as a UX designer intern, I worked as a client developer intern on Brave Frontier, a mobile game, at gumi Asia.
My hobbies include playing games, reading books and studying new languages. I’m currently studying Japanese.
- What does your job consist in?
I mainly work together with game designers to make the game system clear and understandable to players. I first read the game design document written by the game designer, and then discuss with them regarding the design & its intentions. After that, I write documents to describe the signs & feedback, and create iterations of flowcharts, wireframes and mock-ups to display how the information is shown to the player. I conduct research on other games to see what they do well, and to learn from them, eg: researching on the accessibility options of other games.
- What makes your job special?
I think the special thing about UX designers is that we’re the bridge between the game designers and the player. Given the current design, how do we show information that the player needs to make a decision while playing the game, while not overwhelming them? We look at the game as a whole and iron out unintended friction to improve the player’s experience.
- Can you describe your day-to-day?
I join the teams that I follow for daily stand-up meetings and give a brief outline of what I’ll be working on for the day. After that, a large chunk of my time is spent on creating and iterating on flowcharts & wireframes. I sometimes attend meetings to discuss the game system’s design with game designers.
- With which teams do you work?
I work very closely with the UI team and game designers & programmers from other teams.
- What do you like the most about your job?
The process of discussing the game system’s design with game designers, taking that design and iterating continuously to find the ideal method to display the information that the player needs, then seeing it come to life in the game. It’s a satisfying experience to work with others to create something.
- What is it like to work at Ubisoft?
There’s a lot of friendly, hardworking & talented people at Ubisoft and there’s a lot to learn from them. Training resources are plentiful and there’s potential for growth.
- What do you think of the Graduate Program?
I think it’s a good opportunity as you get to work in a local studio for a year, then move overseas to work in a different studio as you get a lot of exposure on how different teams in different studios work. No two projects are the same after all, and I’m looking forward to see where I’ll be going to for my second year!