Wildgate
I contributed to Moonshot’s game Wildgate, quickly onboarding and owning sprint-based features. Custom Lobbies became a highlight for me. I crafted an intuitive layout, familiar to FPS players, that spanned both the client and combat spaces. The result was a player-driven feature that enhances social play, supports community events, and provides a strong foundation for future growth.
Role
UX/UI Designer
Feature
Member
Timeline
1 week
Tools
Figma
Wildgate is a crew-based PVP multiplayer shooter that blends tactical ship-to-ship combat with fast-paced first-person action. Evade deadly environmental hazards, search for powerful weapons and ship upgrades, and be the first crew to escape with the Artifact... or the last crew left flying.
Goal
Allow players to set up games with friends and give event organizers the tools to run tournaments and exhibition matches.
Research
Requirements
Upon onboarding to this feature, the team identified these as the core requirements for Custom Lobbies.
Lobby owner role
Settings
Invite by friends list and code
Spectator Roles
Lobby Chat
Access to equipment and gear
User Personas
I identified three key player types, each with different motivations and needs.
Market Research
I reviewed popular FPS games to understand industry standards for custom lobbies:
Apex Legends demonstrates strong organization for managing large party sizes effectively.
Valorant offers simple, clean visual treatments that keep the interface approachable and easy to navigate.
Black Ops 6 integrates shortcuts for equipment and gear customization in the lobby space.
Design
Concept
Custom Lobby
A private game session that is intuitive for both players and event organizers, while staying true to the game’s unique brand identity. Key features are:
A organized space where players join, form teams, and prepare for matches.
Dedicated perspectives for spectators and viewers to follow the action.
A detailed results screen summarizing performance, outcomes, and team stats.
Scalable layouts for feature growth.
User Flow
I defined clear, separate flows for players and spectators, ensuring each participant can fully enjoy and follow the action throughout the match.
Lofi Wireframes
I explored multiple grid and column layout variations that aligned with the game’s established style and shape language, ensuring the experience felt visually familiar to existing players.
Hifi Wireframes
I created high-fidelity wireframes as the MVP baseline to help engineers understand the intended flow, interactions, and behavior. I also designed a controller-specific version to account for navigation and input states.
Solution
Modular Design
Designed for system longevity to easily accommodate new game modes and layout variations in the future.
Customization
Options that allow both players and developers to quickly tailor their experiences, supporting experimentation, testing, and a wide range of playstyles.
In-Game Experience
A complete end-to-end experience that supports players, spectators, and eliminated players throughout the entire match.
Learnings
In UX/UI design, we focus not only on current functionality but also on past learnings and future growth.
Through designing Custom Lobbies, I learned that live service designers invest significant effort behind the scenes documenting insights, decisions, and constraints that shape the present solution while planning for long-term scalability. This forward-thinking approach creates more sustainable systems and makes future iterations and handoffs clearer and more efficient.
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