Microsoft Solitaire Collection
I was initially hired for Microsoft Solitaire, where I worked closely with Kevin Lambert, a seasoned designer with over 25 years of experience in game design and UI. His mentorship greatly enhanced my professional skills
Role
UX/UI - Game Designer
Industry
Game Design
Duration
3 years
Summary
In this section of my portfolio, I will share insights into the projects I have been involved in, discuss the challenges we faced, the solutions we implemented, and the valuable lessons learned throughout the process. This overview aims to provide a glimpse into my contributions and the impact of my work on the game.
Summary
In this section of my portfolio, I will share insights into the projects I have been involved in, discuss the challenges we faced, the solutions we implemented, and the valuable lessons learned throughout the process. This overview aims to provide a glimpse into my contributions and the impact of my work on the game.
Limitless
With AI, iteration and exploration become seamless, fun, and highly creative.
Accessible
My solutions always consider accessibility and main heuristic principles to ensure the best user experience at all times.
Micro Animations
Breath life into your ideas with motion
Powerful Effects
I leverage AI, effects, and dynamic movements to transform any concept into a compelling logo, brand identity, or gamified object.
Design & Layout
After Effects and key-frame animations
- its important to have the fundamentals :)
Icons
Crafting distinctive logos, icons, and UI elements.
While maintaining Solitaire and its various modes, we also aimed to promote other games to enhance our engagement and provide diversity for our players.
A significant task was balancing the 'digital real estate' on the game screen
- how much space should be allotted to new games without overshadowing Solitaire or detracting from its playtime?
Let's Start
Throughout my years at Solitaire, we navigated substantial changes that required diligent data analysis and comprehensive user research. Altering a game with 35 million active monthly players was no simple task. Each design decision was deeply rooted in understanding the nuances of our user base and their gaming habits.
Identifying Unique Challenges
Our ongoing challenge was articulated through a critical questions:
How can we create additional retention loops without significantly altering existing player behaviors?
How can we enhance accessibility standards, offering extensive customization while maintaining ease of navigation and quick gameplay?
Let's Start
Throughout my years at Solitaire, we navigated substantial changes that required diligent data analysis and comprehensive user research. Altering a game with 35 million active monthly players was no simple task. Each design decision was deeply rooted in understanding the nuances of our user base and their gaming habits.
Identifying Unique Challenges
Our ongoing challenge was articulated through a critical questions:
How can we create additional retention loops without significantly altering existing player behaviors?
How can we enhance accessibility standards, offering extensive customization while maintaining ease of navigation and quick gameplay?
Powerful Effects
I leverage AI, effects, and dynamic movements to transform any concept into a compelling logo, brand identity, or gamified object.
Resolving Complex Problems
My role also included extensive design exploration for the Mobile Solitaire Collection. This project involved adapting our classic Solitaire game to a mobile interface, ensuring that the design was both user-friendly and visually appealing on smaller screens. My contributions spanned from initial concept development to final implementation, focusing on enhancing user interaction and ensuring seamless gameplay across various mobile devices. This work underscores my ability to innovate within the constraints of mobile UX/UI design.
Design & Layout
After Effects and key-frame animations
- its important to have the fundamentals :)
While maintaining Solitaire and its various modes, we also aimed to promote other games to enhance our engagement and provide diversity for our players.
Icons
Crafting distinctive logos, icons, and UI elements.
Undo All: Strategic Adaptation: Introduced to offer veteran Solitaire players a way to reset without losing points, the "Undo All" feature was considered for integration with the existing undo function into a dropdown menu for space efficiency. However, due to concerns about visibility and ease of use, we maintained it as a standalone feature on the action bar. This decision allows for further research and user feedback to determine its future.
Solver - Step-by-Step Guidance: The Solver feature is a recent addition designed to help new players navigate the game through step-by-step guidance. This tool is particularly valuable for those unfamiliar with Solitaire, enhancing their understanding and enjoyment.
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In developing these features, I was heavily involved in both research and execution, ensuring they met user needs and enhanced overall gameplay experience. This showcases my commitment to innovative UX/UI design and responsiveness to user feedback.
Undo All: Strategic Adaptation: Introduced to offer veteran Solitaire players a way to reset without losing points, the "Undo All" feature was considered for integration with the existing undo function into a dropdown menu for space efficiency. However, due to concerns about visibility and ease of use, we maintained it as a standalone feature on the action bar. This decision allows for further research and user feedback to determine its future.
Solver - Step-by-Step Guidance: The Solver feature is a recent addition designed to help new players navigate the game through step-by-step guidance. This tool is particularly valuable for those unfamiliar with Solitaire, enhancing their understanding and enjoyment.
————————————————————————————————————————————————
In developing these features, I was heavily involved in both research and execution, ensuring they met user needs and enhanced overall gameplay experience. This showcases my commitment to innovative UX/UI design and responsiveness to user feedback.
Micro Animations
Breath life into your ideas with motion
However, this was merely one aspect of Solitaire
One of my initial responsibilities early on was to develop a multiplayer Solitaire game flow integrated with Microsoft Teams.
This allowed players to compete against colleagues in a structured game loop, crafted as a proof of concept with prototypes. This phase involved presenting to senior management, gathering feedback, and iterating based on these insights.
A specific challenge I encountered was adapting to the screen size and breakpoint constraints imposed by the "Teams" gaming environment, which was more complex than our consumer-facing versions.
However, this was merely one aspect of Solitaire
One of my initial responsibilities early on was to develop a multiplayer Solitaire game flow integrated with Microsoft Teams.
This allowed players to compete against colleagues in a structured game loop, crafted as a proof of concept with prototypes. This phase involved presenting to senior management, gathering feedback, and iterating based on these insights.
A specific challenge I encountered was adapting to the screen size and breakpoint constraints imposed by the "Teams" gaming environment, which was more complex than our consumer-facing versions.
Additional considerations and projects included:
Advertising strategy: determining the optimal number of ads to display without overwhelming users
Assessing pop-up fatigue, particularly how it affects new users.
I focused on optimizing the user experience to ensure quick game starts and sustained engagement without risking user disinterest.
Reflections
This case-study highlights the complexities of game design within a highly competitive industry and underscores my role in innovatively solving these challenges. I prioritized user satisfaction and engagement, ensuring that each solution not only addressed immediate concerns but also enhanced the overall user experience.
Reflections
This case-study highlights the complexities of game design within a highly competitive industry and underscores my role in innovatively solving these challenges. I prioritized user satisfaction and engagement, ensuring that each solution not only addressed immediate concerns but also enhanced the overall user experience.
Other projects
Jammy: Did Somebody Say Research?
Let me show you an example of how my research process works and how I derive my design conclusions based on market analysis and user research
Motion Design & AI
Motion Designs, Micro Animations AI Explorations, and Playing with Emerging Technologies
Enterprise Developer Tools
Let me explain how I identify problems, conduct research, find and apply solutions, and then reflect on the process to understand what went well and what could be improved. This introspective approach fosters continuous learning, enabling me to refine my methods and strategies over time.
Asset Making
Game asset exploration using multidisciplinary techniques