This is concept work for a hypothetical AR game that I created called “Sherlock’s Box”. The game would allow users to enjoy solving digital puzzles and mysteries in the comfort of their own home. It is designed to be used with a VR/AR headset that can display the box and tools, while still allowing the user to see the environment around them.
This concept was made in my junior year and was a completely solo project. The goal of the project was to create a UI/UX high-fidelity prototype projection-based AR design using a user-centered design approach to create a high-fidelity AR design with Figma.
This idea first started out from a very simple place; I wanted to play a game like it. I have always been a massive fan of puzzles and mystery, so the idea of solving one in AR sounded very appealing!
With this being my second project designing for VR/AR I was comfortable with the design process for this type of game. Once research began, instead of focusing on how to design for an AR game, I focused on researching various puzzles and thinking of how they could work in a game.
To make sure I had a strong understanding of how this hypothetical game would work, I sketched out various aspects of the game like puzzle concepts and the clipboard, both to understand their function, as well as how their interactions could best be conveyed. I made sure to take careful note of things like hover states, responsiveness, and interactivity, as I knew factors like that would be pivotal for designing for VR/AR. When designing the screens, I often found myself cross-referencing my notes, and making sure everything was being properly portrayed in the screens.
For the screens themselves, as this was only a concept and lacked various 3D models, I pulled the images of the puzzles from the concept drawing. I made sure that their perspective matched the background images, and that all the in-game visual responses were on display. With this, I was able to fully convey the game’s concept and the interface that would come with its AR design.
