Have you ever dreamed of ruling a planet and taking it with you wherever you go?
That's what the video game Nebulae World offers.
My team and I have one mission: to provide players with a space combat and strategy experience that is both intuitive and captivating.
When we joined the project, the combat system was entering its balancing phase with the game design team.
Already very advanced, it took into account the player’s level, the number of their ships, how they positioned them, and which character was in command…
All of these parameters needed to be translated into the gameplay experience in a way that was understandable and effortless for future strategists.
Through workshops and discussions with the studio, we established a vision around which to design the ideal player experience: moving beyond a list of parameters to manage, and making players feel like heroes of the galaxy.
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Who better to help us identify the key elements of an engaging combat experience? Our future heroes, of course.
Meeting with a panel of users with diverse gaming habits allowed us to identify the pain points and motivations of each profile.
After more than 15 interviews - and a few hours of workshops - we now had a clear vision of the opportunities to seize.
A combat encounter in Nebulae World should be easy to understand, free of cognitive overload, and a source of emotional investment.
We also identified a crucial piece of information: a successful and enjoyable first combat encounter is a major driver of player retention. The initial introduction to the combat experience will therefore become the priority of our mission.
The tutorial phase is an essential part of the gaming experience.
It is through this phase that users learn the game’s core mechanics as well as the stakes of the world presented.
We introduce logical mechanics into the combat tutorial in a gradual, step-by-step manner. But that’s not all: the tutorial is led by one of the characters players will encounter during their adventure, a character who embodies the game’s overall tone.
Players also begin to understand the consequences of their actions, which will be significant later in the adventure.
The combat interface is designed with clarity as a priority: reducing the complexity of the display without compromising the game design was the main challenge during the design phase.
Once the tutorial was ready, a new group of users tested it across six scenarios.
We observed them as they built their fleets and fought their first battle, making strategic choices that had a real impact. The result?
An experience that was perceived as very enjoyable, simple, and intuitive. All the players expressed a desire to continue the adventure.
