PlayNC Launcher
As a publisher of MMO games, NCsoft has a strong interest in creating good online experiences for their customers.
The PlayNC launcher is a game launching application similar to competing game client software such as Steam. In this project, I worked with the U.S based developers of the application to provide interface designs covering every corner of the application’s functionality.
The project lasted a number of months and I worked to the eleventh iteration of the design.
Click to view This linked example shows how I used Flash to make prototypes to demonstrate the basic interactions and animations taking place within the application.
As the branding for PlayNC had already defined by the work from the Design Manager at the time, Aegir Hallmundur, it meant I was able to create designs for the launcher which were instantly recognisable as being part of the PlayNC brand.
The project led me to work on a number of user journeys across different parts of the application, plus create corresponding style guidelines for the UI. Also shown here is a design for the later addition of a voice chat application.
Click to view In this additional Flash prototype, a compact mode of the launcher is shown with a friends list. Basic menus are included to indicate how the user can interact with them.
The designs included sections where game software could either be purchased or updated by the user, plus a friend management tool allowing for text chat and access to friends profiles. I also designed a compact-mode application view, meaning summary information for actions being carried out had to be displayed within a small amount of on screen space.
I used Flash to create prototypes demonstrating the animations within the UI and a select amount of interaction which would take place. These prototypes were important in bringing the flat designs to life, showing off exactly how I imagined them working to the U.S based development team.
Many parts of the designs I created went on, in some form, to be used in the PlayNC Launcher; although the overall vision and style guides were not implemented.