M² is an ecosystem for builders, businesses and users that enables mass scale social and gameplay experiences for up to 20,000 players in interlinked worlds with a shared digital asset economy.
As the Design Lead of M² Consumer Experience, I oversee the design of all user-facing platform features developed in Unreal Engine 5.
Vision - Co-authoring product vision with the VP Creative and roadmap with Executive Producer.
Direction - Driving design direction and defining feature set to make the consumer experience more approachable, social, interactive and modular.
Leadership - Leading multidisciplinary teams, working day to day with designers, programmers and artists to review progress, provide feedback and support.
Quality - Defining quality criteria, working closely with stakeholders to achieve an effective balance of feature scope and quality given time and resource constraints.
Collaboration - Building collaborative relationships with external project leads to understand their needs and problems, presenting direction and progress to create excitement and alignment.
STRATEGIC INITIATIVE ROADMAP & DESIGN PROCESS
Situation - We needed a product vision that matched the company's creative strategy and a plan to bring the vision to reality in a way that meets the needs of partner projects.
Task & Action - I co-authored the vision for the product together with VP of Creative Strategy, setting aspirational pillars that will guide feature design work.
I organized the feature set on a coherent, well-structured roadmap and translated feature requests (which come from many sources across multiple projects and are often suggested as solutions) to problems & needs written as user stories linked to strategic initiatives.
I then created feature briefs focusing on the problem (why), audience (who), DOs and DON'Ts (how) to allow the team to ideate and identify the right solutions to pursue (what).
Result - This effort helped us align on and communicate our direction and develop features that are prioritized based on user value and customer needs rather than out-of-context requests.
Furthermore, it reduced redundant feature development time for downstream projects using our platform as we prioritized and started developing modular, reusable features, which also ensured a consistent user experience across projects built on these foundations.
APPROACHABLE PARTICIPATION
Situation - We had to service partner projects with audiences that were not familiar with traditional gameplay controls and mechanics. Making the core experience more approachable to a wider audience was the highest priority at the time.
Task & Action - I took charge of the entire process of introducing means of participation. This involved leading the feature team, designing and planning features together with gameplay programmers achieve the right balance of feature scope and quality, monitoring and reporting progress, setting up playtests to gather feedback and iterate accordingly within project timelines.
The features delivered as part of this initiative includes approachable locomotion features such as click-to-move, crowd control tools for event hosts, smart camera solutions. I designed these features in a modular way to allow partner projects to configure or disable them as necessary. They are also compatible with all target platforms (desktop, mobile, web) and control schemes (keyboard & mouse, mouse only, touch, gamepad) with an optimized UX approach for each I devised from the start with detailed mockups.
Result - Approachable participation features were successfully integrated as the new default for the M² platform. It was used in over a dozen live experiences such as MLB's Virtual Ballpark, helping expand their audience by lowering the barrier of entry.
INTERACTIVE DIGITAL ASSET SYSTEMS
Situation - I recognized the need to enhance interactivity and self-expression in our consumer experience and an opportunity to add functional value to interoperable digital assets that the M² business model is built around.
Task & Action - I took initiative to pitch and lead the design and development of core inventory and interaction systems. I proposed an ontology of digital assets according to function (equip, place, interact, wear, play) and designed data-driven UX solutions to make them interactive and interoperable.
I worked closely with production and engineers to plan, design, prioritize and iterate on these complex tasks. I delegated technical oversight responsibilities to tech owners I proposed to appoint and advocated for the benefit of using these systems to design leadership in other projects to drive adoption.
Result - This initiative has added functionality to previously non-interactive digital assets and greatly expanded the interaction vocabulary in the virtual world. It enabled partner projects to easily create modular assets that can be reused across events and projects. It also enhanced the foundations of digital commerce by adding value to digital assets beyond aesthetics.
MOBILE SUPPORT & UX
Situation - M² projects were not accessible on mobile devices, which greatly limited audience reach.
Task & Action - I led a feature team to introduce mobile device support with full feature parity for navigation, interaction and communication features. I designed and drove the implementation of an optimized UX for mobile from the ground up and improvised design solutions to counter numerous resource and technical limitations (especially involving cloud streaming services such as GeForce NOW).
Result - Successful and timely delivery of this feature greatly expanded our audience reach and became a key selling point for the M² ecosystem.
