Minotaur’s Labyrinth
JANUARY 2023 //Navigate the labyrinth to find its hidden treasure, leaving a trail of string to retrace your steps. But beware—the Minotaur prowls the maze and won’t take kindly to thieves!
ABOUT THE PROJECT //Created during a three-day game jam hosted by the University of Utah’s Game Development Club, this project was inspired by the theme: 'Leave it Behind.' As my second major game project, I took on a more active role, designing the player HUD and creating sprites for the game
MY ROLE //This project gave me valuable experience in UI design, and how crucial it can be for the player experience despite being a more overlooked aspect of game design.
In Minotaur's Labyrinth, players navigate a dark maze, placing string to find their way back while avoiding the Minotaur. I designed the UI around two phases: 'string' and 'escape.'
String Phase: The player navigates in darkness, with limited vision—a light circle around them and a smaller one around the Minotaur. A yarn ball at the bottom of the screen visually represents their remaining string.
Escape Phase: Once the treasure is collected, most UI elements disappear, shifting focus to escaping quickly. The darkness lifts, the string meter vanishes, and the yarn ball transforms into a red warning icon labeled 'RUN!'
I enjoyed designing a UI that not only conveyed information clearly but also reinforced the game’s atmosphere and narrative—like using a yarn ball for the string meter and later repurposing it as a warning signal.