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Don't Bleed
PC (Steam)
Black Banshee Studios
Shipped as Early Access January 2018
On Don't Bleed, I primarily worked as a producer keeping track of a small team of 3D artists and animators that created in-game firearms with cosmetic skins in addition to participating in server tests to provide QA feedback. I was also asked to fully redesign the user interface in-line with the game's art direction and narrative theme at the time. I drafted wireframe layouts, collected feeback from the team, and created usable assets for the gameplay HUD, main shell menu, and character customization menu.
My UI work was never implemented in-game due to a mid-development change in game direction away from a multiplayer survival-shooter to more of a battle-royale shooter. I was a student intern with the studio and departed after graduating, cutting ties with the project. In my opinion, Don't Bleed was going through a conceptual identity crisis that has since doomed it to 'development hell'. As of April 2024, it is still released as Early Access on Steam.
Team Size
20+
Roles
UI Designer, Art Producer, QA Tester.
Duration
1 Month
Tools
Adobe Photoshop, Microsoft Office, Slack.
Published To
Gameplay Synopsis
Don't Bleed was as a multiplayer PvE surival game where players attempted to escape apocalyptic urban and rural environments littered with monsters known as "Leechers" and blighted by the toxic gases produced by them. Leechers were attracted to blood and would slowly hunt for people (players) to eat, but would become fast and dangerous when frenzied by blood. Players had to scavange for weapons and consumable resources; specifically ammo, traps, medkits, gas mask canisters, and batteries for charging a flashlight and localized Radar. Each player could choose to either cooperate or compete with eachother in order to survive long enough to coordinate rescue via helicopter and reach an evacuation zone revealed only after making radio contact. Each helicopter could only carry a small number of players to safety per trip, and odds of survival worsened with time as players and Leechers grouped into the evacuation zone. Play sessions were expected to last 10 minutes on average.
By the time I was designing UI for Don't Bleed, the original idea was being reworked into more of a PvP focused battle royale style game where players parachuted into that dangerous environment, scavanged for resources, and competed with all other players for a higher KD ratio while riding out a large countdown timer projected diagetically onto a wall. Leechers were still around as an environmental threat, though now they would sometimes become invisible, for reasons. Toxic gas hazards were removed along with the need for gas mask canisters. Radar was still used to detect players and Leechers, but was now on a cooldown timer. There was also no longer a need to call for helicopter rescue. Being that my involvement ended not long after this change of direction, I am uncertain how similar or different current gameplay is to its early 2018 version.
UI System Design
I designed the below UI systems following an iterative workflow starting with an analysis of the existing interface to propose changes based on accessibility and usability. I prototyped their wireframe layouts in Microsoft PowerPoint, gained feedback, and iterated their designs as needed. I then created all relevent assets using Adobe Photoshop, exported them for implementation, and used these assets to compose high-fidelity mockups overlaying screenshots of the game as available. Character customization was a new incomplete feature at that time.
Each section contains 4 images: a wireframe showing the proposed interface layout changes, a supporting list of elements within each interface, and 2 mock-ups showing all elements composed as intended.
NOTE: If images for one of the sliders does not load, refreshing the page can correct the error.
Gameplay HUD
The interface for the primary gameplay mode uses a third-person 'over the shoulder' POV where the aiming reticule was fixed to the center of the camera. The reticule was designed to be context-sensitive for enemy detection. It was also the anchor point for a three-quarter radial progress meter for reloading feedback. The session timer, compass, and notification text boxes were anchored across the top of the screen, though the text would disappear after a short duration. Anchored at the bottom just behind the PC was a cluster of vital information, including a health meter, inventory slots, the equipped weapon, ammo counts as applicable, and the cooldown meter for the Radar. Radial meters would also appear above the health meter while status effects were active.
Main Menu UI
The entry point and outer shell of the game. Players land here after launching the software and waiting for the branded splash screens to finish. This interface enables players to host a game session on a selected server, manage invites from their Steam friends list, access the settings menu, start the game session, or close the application. Players are directed to the character customization screen once they 'start' the session. All versions of this menu had a 3D animated scene for its background.
In hindsight, this design was still overlooking desirable features, such as setting up a LAN server or requesting to join a game session hosted by a friend instead of the host needing to invite fellow players. I delivered requested features based on what was already implemented and had only suggested minor extensions of the original interface. The original menu simply assigned players to a newly hosted session on the selected server with no option to invite friends.
Character Selection UI
The character selection and customization menu serves as a lobby while waiting for the session queue to populate. Each player could select which character they would like to play as, which weapon they would start with, and apply outfits or skins as applicable. Customization was limited to the options available rather than providing detailed character creation. Players would click 'start' once satisifed with their choice to load into the game session after all players have finished with their selection. This system was intended to remember each player's last selection to streamline multiple play sessions.
This menu was an entirely new feature at the time of its design, thus the pink 'empty' background on the mockups.
