UI Design Elements

This page is a collection of UI elements that I designed as part of a third university project. The serious game was called 'Just, Another Day' and intended to confront players with the horrific dilemmas faced within modern urban conflicts, striving not to win but prevent loss. The player controls squads in a tactical top down gameplay as they keep others and themselves safe while attempting to fight the war.

Main menu concept art

The following asset was only ever a concept image for the main menu screen and actually never made it into the game however it is still a picture that I value for the story that I intended to portray with it. What I intended to capture in the image was a small glimpse of the devastation's experienced from the two main parties mixed up in modern urban conflicts. 

The picture depicts the faces of a soldier and a child separated by an explosion in the middle of the frame. 

The soldier's head is positioned towards the ground to suggest a sense of despair and feeling defeated. To the left of the soldier is a personification of a recent memory of his where he lost a fellow comrade. The memory shows the soldier holding his comrade in his arms as his life and blood slowly bleeds out  of him from a stray bullet to the lower abdomen. The soldier is surrounded in a cold dark void with an expressionless face.

On the opposite side the child is seemingly looking up to the sky desperately to be filled with hope again. To the right of the child reflects the loss of his home to not only a missile strike but the several conflicts that have plagued his country.

Level of force buttons

To progress through each mission for 'Just, Another Day', the player must discern when to toggle between four levels of force that each squad will act on. towards both enemies and civilians.  The four levels of force are as follows,

1. Death from above: The most extreme aggressive level of force that a squad can have. It is a level of force to be used when the player wishes nothing else to be left in their wake. It is depicted by the colour red and a UAV armed with missiles.
2. Take no prisoners: Is a high level of force for a squad which often results in squad acting first and asking questions later. It is depicted by the colour orange and a hand grenade.
3. Protect oneself: Is a moderate level of force for a squad and will consider to preserve life but not at the cost of ones own life. It is depicted by the colour yellow and a unloaded handgun with a full magazine.
4. Non-lethal: The lowest level of force that a squad can have. This level will always consider preserving civilian life above their own and will attempt to deal with enemies with minimal force and lethality. It is depicted by the colour green and a pair of handcuffs.

Mission debrief report

At the end of each mission the player receives a mission debrief report on their performance which is depicted on the concept end screen image below. The main aesthetic for this piece was to simulate a sheet of stylised type writer paper and format it in a way perhaps similar to that in the military. 

The public relations bar is determined by how the media and civilians perceived the players troops. If deconstruction came to civilian building or the loss of civilian lives, the public relations bar would decrease. 

Troop efficiency is set by the care of the soldiers lives while on a mission. If a lot of soldiers are falling in combat it will consequently decrease troop efficiency.

Other placeholder factors on the report are also recorded such as the mission name, time of completion, civilian and solidier casualties and events completed.