Player-facing systems, built to scale.
At Vela Games I was the sole designer responsible for redesigning and scaling the full player-facing experience for Evercore Heroes: Ascension during a major shift in product direction, building cohesive systems across progression, rewards and interaction while balancing clarity, complexity and performance in a live multiplayer environment.
A co-op action roguelite
Ascension is a co-op action roguelite with MOBA-inspired elements where up to three players team up across unique maps, defeat enemies and face powerful bosses, unlocking heroes and powering them up across each run.
I owned the redesign of the full player-facing experience, from progression and rewards to moment-to-moment interaction, during a major shift in product direction.
Fragmented, fast, scalable
The product had fragmented and inconsistent UI across systems.
Players needed to make complex decisions quickly during gameplay.
Systems needed to scale as new features and content were added.
UI had to work across multiple input types and performance constraints.
Consistent, scalable, readable
To address these challenges, I focused on designing systems that were:
- Consistent — ensuring patterns and interactions were predictable across different parts of the product.
- Scalable — allowing new content and features to be added without breaking existing structures.
- Readable under pressure — enabling players to make quick decisions during gameplay.
- Flexible — supporting different playstyles and evolving player strategies.
This approach guided decisions across all systems, from progression and rewards to moment-to-moment interaction design.
Owned across the product
Alongside the core systems above, I owned and delivered improvements across multiple areas of the product experience, improving clarity, consistency and usability across key player journeys.
- Refactored the in-game HUD to improve readability and clarity across abilities, combat states and real-time decision-making.
- Redesigned post-match screens to surface both individual and team performance, reinforcing collaboration and shared progression.
- Improved matchmaking and session flows for creating and joining games, reducing friction in multiplayer setup.
- Enhanced the map selection experience to better communicate rewards, challenges and player choice.
- Streamlined hero unlock and progression flows, improving clarity around acquisition and ability information.
- Refactored the vendor interface for clearer item browsing, selection and comparison.
- Designed an iconography system for rewards and upgrades to support consistency and recognition across the product.
A cohesive, scalable player experience
Delivered a cohesive and scalable player experience across core systems, improving clarity, consistency and decision-making in a complex multiplayer environment.
Owning both design and in-engine implementation provided a holistic understanding of how systems, interaction and performance combine to shape the overall product experience.
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