DarkNet | ALFA-ARKIV

USER INTERFACE

ALFA-ARKIV

USER INTERFACE

ALFA-ARKIV

Named a Best Mobile App Game of 2014 by CNET and Top App of 2014 by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation — ALFA-ARKIV was probably the most complex undertaking I have ever been creative lead on. The project required the direct involvement of no less than 70 people in over 20 countries and took over 2 years to complete.

The iPad-only app was highly innovative for its time. It was one of the first truly "interactive novels", had multiple AI chatbots to assist players with hints and purchasing, featured a non-linear interactive soundtrack, and utilized camera facial recognition to trigger game events.

ALFA-ARKIV was a genuine "multi-screen" experience, tracking player's physical locations and assigning them missions to accomplish on their desktop browsers by way of a Google Chrome extension's overlays. To this day, nothing has really matched it in terms of a pervasive narrative gaming experience.

Because ALFA-ARKIV did so many things, its user interface posed a considerable design challenge. Having mapped out the complex userflow and larger ecosystem of the game, I set about designing a series of functional modules that could deliver content in a variety of compelling ways.

There was the INDEX, which listed scanned classified documents, photos, and videos — made available according to a player's current operational security clearance.

The READER allowed players to page through documents (including a fully illustrated, Russian manuscript journal) and translate them into English.

Lastly, the COMMUNICATOR was a hybrid email and texting component that enabled players to receive static messages triggered by game events, as well as interact dynamically with chatbots.

More mysteriously, there were also intermittent, split second "spectral appearances" showing one of the main characters under various states of duress. And of course, visits by the Vera Avatar, a prominent character who spoke in riddles and presided over the unlocking of new levels whenever a player completed a mission.

I used a minimalist, dark or "night vision" aesthetic for most basic UI elements, preserving gritty texture and saturated colors for the rich media content. This allowed for nice dramatic contrasts in the game and also created a seemingly authentic military-intelligence environment.

USER INTERFACE

ALFA-ARKIV

Best Mobile App Game of 2014 by CNET and Top App of 2014 by the Canadian Broadcast Corporation — ALFA-ARKIV was probably the most complex undertaking I have ever been creative lead on. The project required the direct involvement of no less than 70 people in over 20 countries and took over 2 years to complete.

The iPad-only app was highly innovative for its time. It was one of the first truly "interactive novels", had multiple AI chatbots to assist players with hints and purchasing, featured a non-linear interactive soundtrack, and utilized camera facial recognition to trigger game events.

ALFA-ARKIV was a genuine "multi-screen" experience, tracking player's physical locations and assigning them missions to accomplish on their desktop browsers by way of a Google Chrome extension's overlays. To this day, nothing has really matched it in terms of a pervasive narrative gaming experience.

Because ALFA-ARKIV did so many things, its user interface posed a considerable design challenge. Having mapped out the complex userflow and larger ecosystem of the game, I set about designing a series of functional modules that could deliver content in a variety of compelling ways.

There was the INDEX, which listed scanned classified documents, photos, and videos — made available according to a player's current operational security clearance.

The READER allowed players to page through documents (including a fully illustrated, Russian manuscript journal) and translate them into English.

Lastly, the COMMUNICATOR was a hybrid email and texting component that enabled players to receive static messages triggered by game events, as well as interact dynamically with chatbots.

More mysteriously, there were also intermittent, split second "spectral appearances" showing one of the main characters under various states of duress. And of course, visits by the Vera Avatar, a prominent character who spoke in riddles and presided over the unlocking of new levels whenever a player completed a mission.

I used a minimalist, dark or "night vision" aesthetic for most basic UI elements, preserving gritty texture and saturated colors for the rich media content. This allowed for nice dramatic contrasts in the game and also created a seemingly authentic military-intelligence environment.
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