REND


FROSTKEEP

THE GAME


The cataclysm of Ragnarok has left Midgard decimated and Valhalla almost completely destroyed. But the surviving Gods are recruiting; building new, stronger armies in a bid to restore Valhalla to its former glory. In this mythical Norse universe comes Frostkeep’s brutal survival game, Rend. Players must join one of three factions and work as a team crafting weapons, building fortresses and battling demons. You must fight to survive and win. Only in victory will you ascend to Valhalla.

Rend UX/UI Design by Sprung Studios
Example of menu flow design for Rend

FLOWS


Frostkeep fully intends to respond to Rend’s gaming community by acting on feedback and creating updates that fulfil the needs and requests of the players.  With this in mind, it was important to design the flows in such a way that the game remains flexible for future updates without compromising the flow of the interaction design. We also took the time to identify key areas that may change post-launch and so designed the flows accordingly.

WIREFRAMES


With the huge variety of choices available to players within the game, we knew that it was important that the solutions we provided for the menu system reflected a thoughtful considered process and intuitive design.

The two main areas of the menu system that needed particular investigation were the Crafting Trees and Talents areas. We used vertical and horizontal flow and clearly defined menu elements to differentiate each area.

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HUD


The HUD had a number of design challenges that we were able to solve through our comprehensive wireframe investigations. The menu elements needed to be visible at all times, however, it was important that their size did not compromise the space that the menu screens required.

For example, players have a considerable amount of control over how they move and interact with chat. In order to maintain a clear interface within the HUD and avoid confusion, our solution was to automatically reduce the chat box to its smallest state when players are interacting with other elements.

A further example involves the stats bars. For players to quickly identify them they needed to be bright and vibrant, yet, it was important that the colours and style didn’t conflict with the rest of the design. We resolved this by creating strong borders around each bar making them easy to see yet maintaining a design that is in keeping with the rest of the UI.

VISUAL CONCEPTS


For the visual style of Rend, the Frostkeep team gave Sprung Studios a strong and clear direction. Our leading design inspiration was the blend of ancient Nordic magic with new technologies. Norse/Celtic knotwork designs were a perfect fit influencing the details and patterns of our work. Alongside these intricate embellishments, it was important to balance this with simpler components. We utilised rectangular shapes and light frames to highlight interactive elements.