During my time at Yaku Corp I served as the contracted Lead Character Artist and was tasked with designing a comrehensive playable character system for their MMORPG built in Unreal Engine 5. I spearheaded everything from the design, to the customization programming, animation, and player locomotion.
Role:
Character Artist / Technical Artist
Industry:
Web3 Gaming
Duration:
28 weeks
Challenges
Stylizing: The main playable characters for this game were meant to take inspiration from a game developed by Square Enix called Final Fantasy. The CEO and main developer wanted the characters to have a Neo-Tokyo cyberpunk style while also incorporating elements from fantasy games.
Customization: There are two main characters, Isoka and Lucy. They are meant to serve as a male and female blank slate for players to customize and choose their own style.
Adaptability: Figuring out the characters locomotion system was a huge undertaking especially when there is so much to do in an open-world MMORPG game. Apart from the main locomotion movements like sprint, jump, strafe, and jog, the characters also had to be able to do things like mantel up ledges, swim, dodge and roll. This created a very complex state machine and used a ton of animations.
My Approach
Design Phase
Character Creator: For the base body of Isoka and Lucy I used a powerful program called Character Creator 4 to
Competitive Analysis: Studied competitor websites and best practices in music band websites to identify key features and design elements.
Design and Development
UI/UX Design: Designed a visually captivating interface that embodies Aura Vault’s artistic vision while providing fans with easy navigation to explore music releases, videos, and tour dates.
Content Management System (CMS): Implemented a flexible CMS to empower Aura Vault to manage and update content independently, including blog posts, tour schedules, and merchandise listings.
E-commerce Integration: Developed an e-commerce section that seamlessly integrates with their music streaming platform for fans to purchase music albums, merchandise, and concert tickets.
Testing and Iteration
User Feedback: Conducted usability testing with Aura Vault’s fan base to gather insights and refine the website’s design and functionality based on user preferences.
Performance Optimization: Ensured the website’s performance is optimized for fast loading times, responsiveness across devices, and seamless user interaction.
Conclusion
Through strategic planning, creative design, and innovative development, we delivered a website that not only met but exceeded Aura Vault’s expectations. This project exemplifies our commitment to crafting impactful digital solutions that amplify online presence and foster meaningful connections in the competitive music industry.
