The Paladin in Green

A 3D turn-based strategy game. Team up with a charming cast of characters to keep the world from falling into darkness.

I did UI/UX design, UI art, and graphic design on The Paladin in Green, an independent project by my awesome colleague Steven Rowland. You can download and play the demo here!

Steven had a clear vision for the game, so gathering requirements was straightforward. I did a UI pass and some format modifications to replace some placeholder UI. I created several scalable assets in multiple styles that fit the theme of the game.

A whole bunch of boxes! Now this is what UI is all about!

Aside from boxes, I was also tasked with creating character portrait backgrounds and some kind of action menu. When I suggested a radial menu, Steven brought up that the sun is an important motif in the game, and a sun-shaped stone is the key to the game's story. We knew what we had to do!

As for the character backgrounds, I asked if there were any distinguishing themes I could use for the different characters. I was told that the characters can have different alignments: Day, Night, and Twilight. I decided to give each background a light texture that reflected the character's alignment. For the Day character, I used an image of a mandala representing the sun. For Night, I used a lithograph of the moon's craggy surface. For Twilight, I used a medieval woodcut of the stars and their path across the sky. It was fun to look for public domain images that matched what I needed!

Once the alignment textures were created, the portrait backgrounds were given character-specific colors.

The witch character is able to brew potions in battle. She needed an interface to display which potion ingredients she had ready, as well as what order they were in. I did some research into the character and found a bit more about her style; she has a little purple cat familiar, and her home is adorned with lovely gold ornaments and jewelry.

To fit this theme, I drew a cloisonné pin of her cat, lined with gold trim and beads. When empty, the circular ingredient frames are lined with fabric that matches the character's stockings. This interface is anchored to the upper-right corner of the screen.

I also created the game's logo.