My Roles
Web Design, Graphic Design, Illustration
Tools I Used
Figma, itch.io
Overview
Vessels of the Stars is an interactive digital world developed in the Unity engine. It is an exploratory, meditative surreal environment. It is downloadable and can be experienced on Mac and PC. However, this project needed an online presence in the form of a one-page website containing information, videos, screenshots, links, and a button to download the playable build.
Live website: https://alienfae.itch.io/vessels-of-the-stars
Objective
Design and develop a one-page website for the purpose of distributing the project and garnering interest. Develop brand guidelines and select corresponding colours and fonts based on the project’s visual content.
Process
Rather than developing the website from scratch, I researched existing independent game platforms for the following reasons:
- Increased visibility from the platform’s existing users.
- Having a well-supported content management and blog system for game downloads and media.
- Community building through comments, forums and blog posts.
- Ease of development and maintainability.
I chose the platform Itch.io, as its page editor allows pages to be designed by modifying settings for typography, colours, and layout settings. I designed the website with these limitations in mind, focusing on colour and typography to match the theme of the game. I started with the web style guide to validate the general concept. Then, I arranged the copy and screenshots.
Outcome
The website brought some success to the project. It receives regular pageviews and downloads. However, through my other experiments with using the Itch.io platform, its existing user base is generally drawn to specific genres. My most popular project is very specifically a ‘digital game’ rather than an exploratory experience. It would be interesting to find digital platforms that cater to experimental, non-game digital experiences, although I imagine that their userbases would likely be smaller than digital games platforms.
Style Guide
Final Design
Project Development
The process of developing Vessels of the Stars in Unity and Visual Studio.