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Crafting Menu Re-design
Overview
One of my favourite pass times in the evenings is to play some videogames with friends and lately that game has been ARC RAIDERS. Its been an absolute pleasure to play which makes elements of friction more obvious, which is why I thought it might be fun to streamline the crafting flow.
This has been something myself and others have mentioned could have been simpler. The current crafting menu is nested within the workshop tab under a series of work benches. While this does give a more real feel to the preparation of equipment before playing, it can also get frustrating on repeat 'raids' where you just want to quickly craft the essentials and get into the next match. So I thought I would try to find a solution to this issue, that doesn't eliminate the need for the workshop but allows quick crafting while within the inventory.
The aims they had for the re-design were:
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Reduce the number of clicks required to navigate crafting and prepare for the next match.
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Allow crafting without leaving the main matchmaking menu
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Create a system that can co-exist with the current workshop system.
Role: UX Designer & Researcher
Tools: Figma, Claude, Chatgpt, Pencil & Paper (and coffee, always coffee)
Flow Comparison
Below you can see a video comparison of the flows. I've structured the flow from the perspective of a player who is currently in the lobby within their inventory and realises they need to craft some items for the next match.
Original Flow - Workshop
New Flow - In-Inventory Crafting Menu
Conclusion
The introduction of this quick access crafting menu within the inventory:
- Reduced the number of clicks to craft a singular item from 7 to 5.
- Fewer nested menus/tabs that lead to friction if its not clear how to return to desired location, which myself and others have experienced when using the workshop UI.
- Allows user to find items for crafting using the same categories they are used to from the inventory, rather than separate work benches.
What's next?
Next I'd like to design a 'saved loadout' system so users/players can create, craft and safe desired equipment loadouts, by simply selecting them from within the inventory, removing the need to memorise equipment and searching the crafting workbenches.