Description
Evolution of Crafting UI/UX
Originally starting as a game in the Survival Crafting genre, crafting was one of the most crucial mechanics in New World. As New World evolved into an MMO genre and gameplay changed, the Crafting UI underwent numerous modifications. However, crafting remains one of the most frequently used game mechanics. I was the main UX designer for this feature.
Field Crafting (Deprecated)
Field crafting refers to the ability for users to craft anywhere, anytime, without the need for a crafting station. This feature was crucial during the era when survival crafting was a primary game mechanic. However, as the game evolved, this feature became deprecated. Nonetheless, I would like to share the UX motion mocks that were created to explore the UX at that time.
Station Crafting
Station crafting is a game mechanic where players must craft within stationary buildings.
Station Crafting V 1.0
Initially, crafting was quite simple, featuring basic functionalities (for example, combining 3 wood pieces + 1 iron piece = an axe). However, as the game design grew more complex, station crafting evolved into a significantly detailed feature, requiring intricate UX design in versions 2.0 and 3.0.
Station Crafting V2.0
I participated as the main designer for UI/UX design from Crafting 2.0 onwards. The biggest challenges in this design were twofold:
- The rarity of materials determines the gearscore of the gear being crafted, yet the outcome was also random. Creating a UI that could effectively communicate this mechanic to the user was a significant challenge in this design.
- At that time, there were no quest or other progression systems in place, so the crafting experience needed to provide players with a sense of progression and purpose in their gameplay (for example, “I need to craft a Tier 3 sword since I crafted a Tier 2 sword.”).
The UX director and I concluded that presenting recipes to users in a simple vertical list would not effectively convey a sense of purpose to the players. Therefore, we designed the crafting process to be divided into two steps: 1) selecting the recipe, and then 2) choosing the tier. This flow made the crafting experience more structured and purposeful.
Here are some motion mocks that I created. It was implemented as it’s shown exactly in the video.
UX Wireframes
Additionally, there are UX wireframes that I created prior to developing this motion mock. These wireframes underwent several iterations, and what I have here are the final versions of these wireframes.
