Racing Legends...
During the development of the Grid Legends Mobile port, I undertook various responsibilities as the Lead Designer with the aim on improving upon what Feral had achieved with the loved port of GRID Autosport.
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Primarily, I was the Lead UI/UX Designer; in charge of adapting GRID Legends UI to mobile platforms. This involved restructuring the Front End to have a more defined hierarchy, adapting UI elements best fitting for a gamepad to provide an improved user experience and to implement polish to UI based on playtesting and feedback. This was achieved while closely following the style guide.
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Unlike previous projects however, I was also responsible for implementing much of the User Interface for GRID Legends on Mobile. For some parts of the game this involved modifying existing UI Template files, while for other it meant writing or rewriting the template from scratch using the proprietary 'UX Tool' for the EGO Engine. As I became more experienced with the software, I was able to dabble with adding UI states, animations and SFX; becoming a knowledge base for less experienced UI Developers.
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Outside of the regular game UI, I was also responsible for designing the touch controls to be implemented using our VCP system (initially designed for Alien Isolation) as well as various other Gameplay improvements including Automated Teammate Commands, improvements to Drifting in order to make it more accessible and balance changes for Time Trial mode to allow for fair competition on the Leaderboards.
The Final Product
A UI for all modalities
Building on my experience with UI design from Hitman Blood Money Reprisal, I approached the UI development for GRID Legends with scalability across all mobile devices in mind. Key design decisions included optimising font sizes for mobile phones to ensure better legibility, adjusting the height of UI elements on tablets—especially those in scrollable menus—to enhance information density, and reorganizing the game HUD dynamically when a gamepad or keyboard is connected. These changes not only maximize screen space but also alleviate visual clutter at the top of the HUD. Overall, this thoughtful design provides a seamless and premium user experience across varying device form factors and input methods.
Intuitive Interface
The mobile version of GRID Legends underwent significant improvements to its Front-End UX. One of the key changes I implemented was transforming the interface from a tabbed system into a menu with a dedicated 'Home' screen. This adjustment enhanced navigation and made the game more intuitive for new users, as it allowed them to quickly form a mental map of the menu structure with only limited use. Additionally, I redesigned the process for creating Custom Cups. Previously, players could only create individual races that couldn't always be combined into a valid Cup. To address this, I introduced a system where players first set shared parameters for all races in a Cup before adding extra rounds. This streamlined approach improved the experience of creating Custom Cup events, ensuring greater ease and enjoyment for all users.
For the love of cars
As a longtime enthusiast of car games and car culture, I aimed to implement numerous quality-of-life improvements to enhance the game's enjoyment for players like myself.
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One of the most significant changes I introduced was transitioning the teammate command system from a manual process to an automatic one. Players no longer need to actively request actions such as having their teammate attack the car ahead or defend against the car behind. Instead, the teammate now autonomously performs the appropriate actions based on a variety of factors. This system would scale with the existing 'Teammate Upgrade' system.
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Another notable improvement was the introduction of a feature allowing players to 'pin' their favorite owned vehicles to the game's background. This, combined with expanded car color customisation options and a new ability to hide the UI for creating 'beauty shots' of the pinned vehicle, provided players with greater personalisation and agency.
Virtual Control Pad Mk.III
​Unlike its predecessor, GRID Autosport, GRID Legends leverages the Virtual Control Pad (VCP) system originally introduced in Alien Isolation Mobile, instead of employing a bespoke control scheme. Adapting the VCP for a racing game presented a unique challenge, as the system was originally designed for First- and Third-Person shooters. One key enhancement made to the VCP for GRID Legends was the addition of 'sliders,' which allow players to precisely control throttle and brake application, adding a new layer of granularity to the gameplay experience.
Virtual Control Pad Editor Mk.III
In GRID Legends, one key focus was enhancing the user experience of the Virtual Control Pad (VCP) Editor. A major improvement was enabling players to resize individual buttons from any side or corner. We also introduced the ability to resize buttons freely, without being constrained to a fixed aspect ratio seen in previous iterations. These changes were designed to improve player comfort by allowing greater adaptability of touch controls to individual preferences. Additionally, we implemented smaller but impactful enhancements, such as a more intuitive method for adding extra buttons.