AAA FPS (UNANNOUNCED)
Role
Lead UI Designer
Type
PC/ Console
Tools
Figma
Duration
2025 - 2026
PROJECT & ROLE
I worked on this unannounced AAA FPS, combining dark fantasy mysticism with '80s action cinema, for over a year. It was being built in Unreal Engine 5, in partnership with a first-party studio owned by a big publisher. As Lead UI Designer, I owned the full UI roadmap: visual language, design system and screen work, from pre-production through early production stages. Sadly, the project was cancelled during early production when the partner studio closed as part of a broader restructuring. The cancellation was unrelated to the UI team's output.
CONSTRAINTS
The project required coordination between two studios in different time zones, with no in-person contact. Alignment depended on weekly calls with the Art Directors covering progress, feedback, and brainstorming, plus messaging tools for day-to-day communication. Every UI decision had to be documented clearly enough to be reviewed and understood by both parties.
PROCESS
Early production covered three areas. First, a UI pipeline for cross-studio work: file structures, naming conventions, and a review schedule. Second, a design system defining visual rules for typography, iconography, and color. Third, iteration on core screens: early HUD layouts and menu flows, tested and revised across multiple rounds of internal and partner-studio feedback. Exploration volume was high. A large number of UI concepts were prototyped and reviewed before the team converged on a direction.
HEAVY BUT FUNCTIONAL
The visual direction combined two references: dark fantasy mysticism and '80s action cinema, which was rather unorthodox. Typography and iconography stayed heavy and functional. The colors were bold, matching the overall direction. Occult and mystical motifs were applied throughout in-game systems.
UI EXPLORATION EXAMPLE
UI EXPLORATION EXAMPLE
UI EXPLORATION EXAMPLE
WHAT REMAINS
The game was cancelled before release; the interface work did not go to market. What remains: a UI pipeline built for cross-studio production, a design system built from the ground up, and a body of prototypes produced under real production constraints. The project confirmed a working method and taught me a lot about collaboration between two distant teams.
LEAD UI DESIGNER AT GRIP STUDIOS
Next project
BioTech Corp