Starcrafting

Project Description

In this project, I tried to iterate on the Starcraft original UI. This project is focused on improving the UX for new players and players that don’t use macros.

Project INFO

Level-Ups

Design Decisions

Tracking Buildings

-The Problem

The first two problems I identified are that for one, new players are not good at tracking which building has finished its task, and secondly, it takes them too much time to find and then give them an order.

-The Solution

What I propose is that after selecting a building, the player gets the option to add/drop it from his UI. When added, you can constantly look at the building’s “progression bar” and also quickly click it to give it a task, or double click it to focus on it.

Combat Warnings

-The Problem

While watching gameplay, I notice new players have a tendency of missing warning signifiers or map changes and then have even more trouble trying to identify where it’s at.

-The Solution

What I propose is to have a list of 3 possible warnings on the side, paired with SFXs and their unique items. The warning would be for 1- enemy spotted, 2- building attacked 3- troops attacked. Warnings will fade away but can be clicked to focus on interaction. The red circle you see is the range of that current signifier. Any troop outside it will count as a new signifier.

Skill Cooldown

-The Problem

My biggest issue playing starcraft was tracking unit’s skill cooldowns, especially when they were grouped into squads.

-The Solution

I propose two signifiers. One appears when a squad is selected, showing which units have their cooldown completed and what skill is off-cooldown.

The second one is for when no squad is selected, letting the player know that units in that squad have skills that got off-cooldown and what skill.