Group Up is a design software that allows videogame developers to create quality communication experiences in their online multiplayer games. This allowed me to leverage my experience as a gamer to deepen my knowledge of the subject.

Videogames are a complex medium derived from diverse principles, combining narrative with gameplay, audio with visuals, engineering with art, and, most importantly, people with each other. In this project, I envision a tool that bridges the gap between gamers, as mainstream gaming is rapidly advancing toward the online environment.

Branding | Motion Design | UI/UX | Video Storytelling | Prototyping

Recognition: ArtCenter Graphic Design Gallery, Summer 2022

The Group Up application is designed to streamline the creation of the most common communication assets—text chat, voice chat, and social presence. My intention was to give game developers the tools they need to visually create the experience while the software handles all of the back end.

While Group Up was designed to be a tool for developers, the ones who complete the experience are the players. Communication is about self-expression, and today, we love to express ourselves using imagery. To accurately capture this dialogue between unity and differentiation, I looked to jellyfish as a source of inspiration, as they, like us, come in a wide variety of looks and behaviors. This eventually led me to create a series of characters, each having their own unique facial expressions.

As the name suggests, Group Up is about getting together and sharing great moments. A good communication tool is simple to navigate and easy to use; a great one makes you feel as if your friend is right beside you.

This video is self-contained to introduce the concept of Group Up to gamers and game developers. The goal here is to give the audience a concentrated overview of the problem with current in-game communication, the role of Group Up, as well as a vertical slice of how the application works. The greatest challenge behind the creation of this video was the alignment between my voice work and my graphics and motion skills. That said, it was a gratifying experience to see all the elements settle in place.