Zombies were everywhere in 2013, and so was Clash of Clans. It was perhaps inevitable, then, that I would find myself designing the UI for a free-to-play mobile zombie strategy game as Microsoft began exploring the idea of publishing its own mobile titles.
The work formed part of Lift London, a new internal Microsoft studio established to experiment with connected and free-to-play games across tablets, phones and cloud platforms.
By the time I joined the project, the team had already established a strong visual direction reminiscent of The Simpsons: bright, characterful and slightly irreverent. My role was to design the in-game UI and help shape its overall presentation, translating that established visual language into an interface that complemented the playful world while still supporting the layered information and decision-making expected of a strategy game.
Lift London was developing several early mobile concepts, but Microsoft eventually moved away from the plan before any of them were released. Even so, it was an interesting project and an early glimpse of how the company was beginning to respond to the shift towards mobile, connected and free-to-play gaming.
The work formed part of Lift London, a new internal Microsoft studio established to experiment with connected and free-to-play games across tablets, phones and cloud platforms.
By the time I joined the project, the team had already established a strong visual direction reminiscent of The Simpsons: bright, characterful and slightly irreverent. My role was to design the in-game UI and help shape its overall presentation, translating that established visual language into an interface that complemented the playful world while still supporting the layered information and decision-making expected of a strategy game.
Lift London was developing several early mobile concepts, but Microsoft eventually moved away from the plan before any of them were released. Even so, it was an interesting project and an early glimpse of how the company was beginning to respond to the shift towards mobile, connected and free-to-play gaming.
