USER INTERVIEWS
The second challenge I came across was aligning the visual design and art style of the product to better fit the branding.
To preserve storage space, our initial game demo was released using low-poly blocks in Unity. The low-poly, blocky art style complemented the characters that we had designed for the game which was based on Funko Pop! toys and figurines. We wanted to foster a lighthearted, meme-inspired environment that didn’t take itself too seriously. See right for what the art looked like prior to the major overhaul (so different - right!?).
Following the release of the demo, I conducted several user interviews with our Discord community of avid players to get some feedback. Initial user feedback indicated that the existing art style made the game feel too unelevated & simple - and there were already an exorbitant amount of similar browser games using low-poly aesthetics. What differentiated our game from theirs? How can we stand out?
In response to our users’ feedback, we undertook a comprehensive artistic overhaul, transitioning to a more sophisticated and mature style.