Using Leadership skills through applying user centered design in games, enhancing player experience.
Role
Creative Director
Timeframe
1 year
Team
Project manager, Game Designers, Developers, Voice Actors, Creative Writers, UX/UI Designers
Team Size
~7-8 people
GAME DESIGN | CREATIVE DIRECTION | 2024-PRESENT
I co-founded Table Salt Studios alongside our Project Manager and Creative Writer, building the company from the ground up. I played a key role in recruiting and managing our creative team, ensuring that our collaborative vision translated into every project.
I led a 12-member cross-functional team, implementing Figma and Notion systems to streamline communication between front-end and back-end development.
The result? One of my proudest contributions was shaping the final Kickstarter trailer, where I ensured my creative vision was fully realized. Through strategic direction of our crowdfunding campaign, we raised thousands of USD. Additionally, I drove a 23.5% increase in social media engagement and reduced company expenses by 10% through careful software research and contract management.
Tools used
Context
What makes a video game truly successful? The flashy characters, the storyline, or the subtle design players barely notice?
Good user experience design can make or break a game, yet it often goes unnoticed. Table Salt Studios was founded to place player experience at the forefront of game design.
Approach
It didn’t start with just “making a video game,” we wanted to understand what truly makes a good game. By analyzing our favorite titles, we pulled together the features that made them stand out and began shaping our own.
Ideation
We quickly began ideating ways to streamline information and ensure clarity when convening information. Through this, we also created user journey maps to identify pain points in how patients understood medical information.
After 1 week of communication, planning, and gathering inspiration, we landed on an idea...
Crowdfunding through Kickstarter
Begin planning: Trailer
We selected Kickstarter as our primary crowdfunding platform because of its strong reputation and popularity within the indie game development community.
Given Kickstarter’s popularity in the indie game community, many developers rely on short gameplay trailers to build hype and earn player trust.
Storyboarding
Our first step was developing a storyboard, which allowed us to outline what we wanted to showcase, identify key storylines to expand, determine which characters to design, and plan the voice acting needs.
Design, design, design
Sketch
sketch thumbnails I made of the table salt logo :)
Rapid Ideation
Delegating Responsibilities
Honing Down Some Ideas
Concept Art of Character Concepts/Title
Clover, an Indie RPG centered around Celtic Mythology.
Our goal was to design a game built around four non-negotiable core qualities.
Thoughtful, player-centered design that prioritizes engagement and accessibility.
A compelling, well-crafted storyline that keeps players engaged from beginning to end.
Developed characters that reflect diversity and allow players to feel represented within the game world.
A carefully balanced game loop that feels rewarding, sustaining long-term engagement.
Ready, Set, Build
The Start of The Beginning
We chose to create an RPG inspired by Celtic mythology because the genre allows players to fully shape their own journey. Unlike competitive or multiplayer games, story-driven RPGs prioritize personalized experiences, giving players the freedom to explore and decide their path.
Once we had our idea, we landed on obtaining our funding
We brought in talented voice actors to bring our characters to life, then moved forward with the next stages of trailer production, planning, designing, and coding gameplay.
Voice Acting
We refined our designs through multiple careful iterations for example, our UI concept for dialogue went through several rounds of development before reaching its final form.
Colorized V.1
Colorized V.12
(final version)
Launch Day!
We spent days researching successful Kickstarter trailers to learn from industry examples. After extensive work and iteration, we produced our own final video on February 4th 2025, click the icon to watch!
Kickstarter ends your campaign after 1 month, where were we?
With the support of passionate backers who believed in our vision, we raised $2,764.
However...
Despite raising $2,764 with strong community support, we came just shy of our full funding goal.
Kickstarter ends your campaign after 1 month, where were we?
...But this isn’t the end
Next steps...
Even though we didn’t reach our funding goal, we remained committed. Our focus shifted to supporting our team financially while continuing to deliver a well-designed game and a unique player experience. Here’s what’s next on our journey.
Sophia Lee, 2025
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We are now exploring grants, student organizations, and platforms like Patreon to support anyone who wants to contribute.
Our biggest challenge during the campaign was limited marketing, so we’ve made it a priority to actively engage on social media and build meaningful connections with our audience.
Our team is actively participating in local game developer organizations, attending game jams, and cultivating connections with other indie developers in the area.
