Keith Morris-Peters

Client: NExT Studios / Studio GOBO

Role: UX/UI Designer

More details coming soon…

Client: Hangar 13 Games (2K)

Role: Senior UX/UI Consultant

Mafia: Definitive Edition, released in 2020, is an action-adventure video game, developed by Hangar 13 and published by 2K Games. A remake of the 2002 video game Mafia, it is the fourth main instalment in the Mafia series.

I was brought in by Hanger 13 to oversee UX/UI investigation and implementation. I worked on wireframes and Adobe XD interactive prototypes to explore navigation and usability solutions. I created mockups of the menu systems and in game HUD. From these I was able to make animation suggestions in After Effects.

I worked on all areas of the UI including; Main and Pause menus, vehicle list menus, collectables menus, in-game HUD messaging, flanking indicators, weapon reticles, mission-specific objective meters, mission complete and fail banners, iconography, and more.

I worked with a style guide in order to maintain consistency, and implemented and animated the widgets in the engine for the code team to hook up.

The UI created was using Hanger 13’s proprietary engine and a UI system based on Scaleform and Flash, it was a fun challenge to remember all the old tricks I’d learnt earlier in my career.

Client: Studio GOBO / Ubisoft

Role: Senior UX/UI Consultant

Hyper Scape is a fast paced, online multi-player, battle royale game. Set in a cyberspace Paris. Players have to face off and eliminate their rivals in order to obtain the crown.

GOBO had been asked to create the 3D interactive menu space where players could customise their character, socialise with their team, and launch into the Hyper Scape lobby - also an area designed by the team at GOBO.

I was on this project from preproduction to just before launch. My initial responsibilities saw me look at the menu flows and information architecture. Creating UX prototypes that explored 3D menu environment traversal and navigation. Customisation stores. Season battle-pass reward calendars and more.

Several styles were investigated, including cute kawaii colours and shapes, and a more traditional sci-fi look and feel. I worked up UI concepts for various menu and HUD treatments. I also created several animated ‘stickers’ that players could use like graffiti tags during gameplay.

Client: Studio GOBO / Ubisoft Montreal

Role: Senior UX/UI Consultant

Stuido GOBO were working on two modes for Ubisoft on FOR HONOR; Tutorial levels, and a PvE ‘Arcade Mode’. Ubisoft were finding new players had a hard time getting used to the unique control system and were being eliminated quickly by more experienced players.

GOBO developed a narrative tutorial system that helped train new players on the controls of the game during FTUE, and a training arena players could revisit at any stage.

They also created an Arcade mode, where players would face off against NPC bots in a series of rounds of increasing difficulty. The aim to hone skills and unlock valuable rewards.

I came in to help oversee the implementation of the bespoke UI for these modes. The style of FOR HONOR had already been set, so it was a case of ensuring new UI sat within that style. I helped animate and layout the UI using Ubisoft’s own engine, ANVIL.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: NetherRealm

NetherRealm, creators of the legendary Mortal Kombat, have recently released a new incredible beat-em-up: Injustice 2, the eagerly anticipated sequel to Injustice: Gods Among Us. There is a huge list of DC Super Heroes and Super Villains to choose from, players can customise, power up and battle with the ultimate version of their favourite DC character.

It was an incredible experience to work with the talented team at NetherRealm on three key features of the game: Guilds, King of the Hill and AI Battle Simulator.

As Senior Art Director at Sprung Studios, I oversaw creation of user flows and wireframes, mapping out areas in fine detail. Creating a solid flow structure helps create an efficient system, and can also highlight redundant menu pathways, you don't want to send players down a rabbit hole. Once the flow was finalised, I used the information to identify screen-count, navigation requirements, and information content, ready to be turned into wireframes.

It was important to keep true to the style already created by NetherRealm Studios. This style was populated across the all the new screens for Guilds, KOTH, and AI Battle Simulator. Before generating assets to lay out and animate fully in Flash ready for use with Scaleform.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: Creative Assembly, 343i

Creative Assembly are industry leaders in real-time strategy games. The Total War series is extremely successful and addictive. They bring this magic to the Halo universe in Halo Wars 2.

While at Sprung Studios I worked collaboratively with my team, Creative Assembly, and 343i. We created the initial UX systems and the UI concepts for this new console based real-time strategy game.

We designed a collection of high-fidelity wireframes, and a variety of UI concepts to determine the direction the art style would take. These varied from resembling previous Halo games, to something more bold and innovative. Following this experimental stage, the in-house team at Creative Assembly continued to evolve the style.

Client: Adventure Roll

Role: UX/UI Designer, Web Design

Adventure Roll was a fully interactive multiplayer roleplaying system. It was based on the Dungeons and Dragons Fifth Edition rules. Players would have the ability to either play as the Games Master, or an Adventurer.

The Games Master (GM) has the ability to fully edit a series of maps, placing buildings, treasure, obstacles, traps, and monsters, based on their own campaign ideas. They would then run the game with their friends playing as Adventurers. The GM would then describe the story in their own words, play the part of all the NPCs, and fully take control of the monsters in turn-based combat.

Players who wanted to be Adventurers could choose from a number of Races and Classes, and build out their character’s skills based on how they wanted to play; sneaky, aggressive, good, chaotic…

Adventure Roll needed someone to come in and help boost the presentation of their in-game UI and store, as well as look at their website.

I created widgets for the GM HUD - their map editing tools, the Player HUD including combat panels, and their highly detailed character sheet. The character creation screens, The in-game store with bundle offers. And updates to their website design with specific areas for GMs and Players.

Unfortunately, Wizards of the Coast who own the rules of Dungeons & Dragons changed their licences making it very difficult for third parties to freely use the 5e rules in their games. As such it became financially impossible to keep the game live.

Client: Curiscope

Role: UX/UI Designer

http://www.operationapex.com/

“Enter the deep and discover the most expansive, fascinating and diverse places on Earth. Using virtual reality, put on your diving gear and explore the underwater world. Venture through reefs scanning for marine creatures and hidden discoveries. Operation Apex is designed for room-scale and seated modes; you’re able to explore no matter the size of your playspace.”

Curiscope were looking for assistance in updating the UI on their oceanic VR exporation experience for HTC VIVE.

Players explore coral reefs, kelp forests, and the deep blue sea with the use of two hand-held, submarine propultion units. Each with its own ability; the left houses a map, and can scan marine life, the right can grab items and form holographic lures to entice creatures closer for scanning.

I worked closely with the game designers, engineers, and creative director to create the in-game diegetic UI, on the map scanner and the lure tool and make it legible and intuitive. I also created mockups for the game menus that describe where you are in your game progress.

These were then gererated into assets that were brought into Unity 3D to be implemented in prototypes, playtested, and polished.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: RARE, Microsoft

Rare Replay is a collection of 30 iconic games, re-released to celebrate the 30th anniversary of legendary British developer; RARE. The collection contains classics such as Battle Toads, Viva Piñata, Blast Corps, and many more titles from RARE's impressive back catalogue. 

My part in this project was to animate the 30 'Stages' and 30 'Vignettes' that present the games to the players. As you scroll down a corridor of pictures, pausing one causes it to pop out and a play looped vignette animation. Selecting a game takes the player to a bespoke paper theatre stage with artwork and animation based on that particular title.

It was great fun creating mini stories within these stages that alluded to these classic games. These animations were created in Flash to be taken into Scaleform and incorporated into the build.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: Ubisoft

Draw Race 3 is the latest instalment of the intense mobile racing franchise, published by Ubisoft.

The new features of this version rely on winning and unlocking gacha boxes, and crafting upgrades to your car’s components. There is strategy involved as one component may be unbeatable in one arena, but next to useless in another. Players need to perfect the racing line or else be left for dust by their competition.

The crafting system and garage were a particularly challenging areas to structure, as they needed to convey a large volume of information in a variety of different ways. Here are a few different UI layout concepts that the team at Ubisoft took on and developed to be put into the final game.

I had an amazing time working with my team at Sprung Studios alongside the talented developers and designers at Ubisoft.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: SEGA

Kingdom Conquest: Dark Empire is a real-time strategy game set in a vast fantasy world populated by other players. Players choose to work together or against each other to rule the kingdom of Magna, battling Monsters and gaining control over the various territories that colonise the map.

Remaining faithful to the previous games in the franchise, the brief was to create something new and fresh, and give a sense of style that was undoubtedly fantasy. Without overloading the screen with heavy, skeuomorphic elements, the buttons are used to give a tactile sense of the game world. The other UI elements are more simple and clean, making it easier to absorb the information being displayed.

These UI concepts were taken on by the development team and used throughout the game.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: Nordeus

Top Eleven Football Manager from developer Nordeus, is a hugely popular online game utilising social media to engage with 130 million registered users worldwide and 3 million daily active gamers. Organising the training of a top level football team is an absorbing task with team building, training and tactics playing a major role to success, all played out in a giant stadium that every user can develop and build.

To update the game Nordeus wanted to add a new feature: Associations. This would add a guilds system to the game. An area where players could team up with 3 other friends to help train, loan, and boost each other's players, while preparing for monthly tournaments where big prises are at stake.

Working with the team at Nordeus, I developed ways of encouraging players to join and form football associations, and integrated this complex UI system into the existing UX flow. Following an extensive and collaborative wireframe phase, we moved on to creating the visual concepts that reflect Top Eleven's existing brand and style. We wanted to evolve and innovate where appropriate so introduced some new gestural controls and button styles.

Position: Art Director, Sprung Studios

Client: PsyOps, Illfonic

Dead Alliance is a fast-paced, multiplayer first-person zombie shooter. Set in a post-apocalyptic wasteland where zombies are your weapons, you must build your squad, take strategic control of military bases and fight for survival in a world consumed by a zombie plague.

I oversaw the entire application of the UX/UI process for this game. We generated user flows to identify screen-count and content. We designed high-fidelity wireframes, ensuring correct placement of accurately sized components; complete with icons and font sizes. From there we generated a series of UI concepts that were narrowed down to a style that reflects the genre of the game, without being cliched or over styled.

Position: Designer, Zoë Mode

Client: Disney

Disney's karaoke game for XBOX, PS3 and Wii. Sing It has hits from their record label and hit shows for kids to bring the performances home, to their own living rooms.

As a designer on this project I was responsible for creating 'themes' where players could choose between various looks for the user interface. Be it Hannah Montana or the Jonas Brothers, kids can choose how they want their menus, buttons and in-game HUD to look.

Here are a few UI concepts from the game

Position: Art Director, Mind Orchard

Client: LEGO

To help promote the launch of their new product line, Lego asked for 2 flash games for their main site. The first set in the playset 'Bagend' Bilbo Baggins' house. You play the part of Bilbo and try to keep the arriving Dwarves fed and happy. If you do so, then you are rewarded by conducing an interactive musical performance from Thorin Oakenshield and his friends.

The Second Game is a side-scrolling platformer. Take control of Gandalf the Grey and rescue the Dwarves who have been locked up and hidden throughout the halls of the Goblin King.

I was the lead designer on this project. I guided the game design and decided on mechanics of how the games should play and be scored. I was also responsible for the user interface, menus and in game HUD. I also created in-game assets and painted up the in game environments.

http://thehobbit.lego.com/en-gb/games/the-halls-of-the-goblin-king/ 

http://thehobbit.lego.com/en-gb/games/an-unexpected-gathering/ 

Position: Art Director, Mind Orchard

Client: LEGO

To accompany the release of the Marvel blockbuster movie: Iron Man 3, Lego released a series of Lego Marvel Superheroes play-sets. They wanted a flash game to run alongside the toys for kids to play on their website. 

Tony Stark's house is under attack! In this 'endless runner' game, take control of the invincible Iron Man to fly over the streets of the city and fight off the waves of attack helicopters hell-bent on destruction.

As the lead designer on this game, I was in charge of the look and feel of the overall game: I animated the quick title sequence; Designed the UI and in-game HUD; Created in game assets and painted up the main menu environment.

https://www.lego.com/en-gb/marvelsuperheroes/games/ironman

Position: Art Director, Mind Orchard

Client: Disney

Evermoor was a live-action mystery series aired over halloween. It followed the adventures of a girl who moved into a new house with her family. It quickly becomes clear that all is not what it seems as the eccentric inhabitants of the village make them selves known. Who are the Everines, and what is their plan?

To run along side the miniseries, Disney wanted an HTML5 game to be played out over 4 chapters on their site. Each chapter would unlock after the show had aired, allowing fans to play along with the characters as the story unfolded.

I created all of the environments, with an illustrator working for me to create some of the furniture and props. I designed all of the UI interface and prepared assets for the animators and developers to implement.

Position: Designer, Chroma

Client: Comic Relief

Comic Relief alternate between their comedy and sport based fund raising events year on year. In 2012 Sport Relief needed a new App. They had an initial concept they were interested in so we fleshed that out a little more and used model-railway figures to stage a mini Sport Relief run. The idea of using a short depth of field to produce a tilt-shift effect where full size items appear as models and vice versa.

The main menu was a panoramic shot of the mini marathon where users could scroll left and right to see different sections of the scene.

Different members of the crowd have a speech bubble telling you what part of the app you can explore. A game, a donation page, a news centre and a 'be inspired' video section. There was a lot to fit in this App, so we had our work cut out to keep it looking clean, uncluttered while remaining clear and easy to use. But above all it had to be fun!