Reducing cognitive load by transitioning from nested menus to a scalable hub framework.
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Navigation restructuring for a pre-release mobile product.
Following a strategic pivot, the legacy "Phone" navigation became a critical bottleneck. It prioritized immersion over usability, failing to support the game's new core loop.
Before diving into the process, here is what this redesign achieved for the Soft Launch:
Mapping the legacy architecture revealed a fragile system unable to support the game's expanding scope:
The audit revealed that core gameplay loops were buried behind 4+ taps. Inconsistent "Back" button behavior frequently trapped users in deep sub-menus, creating logic dea
Forcing players to open a nested "phone" menu for every interaction created a jarring modal interrupt. This deviated from standard mobile game patterns, introducing unnecessary friction and risk for a pre-launch title.
The "Phone" The "Phone" metaphor suffered from functional overload. Disparate tasks, like starting a physical race or changing system settings were forced into the same narrow context. This "orphaned" key features, as users did not expect to find global settings inside a diegetic character item.
After ideating and feedback, I had narrowed down to two primary directions to present to the product manager and team:
Primary navigation points live directly on the HUD. However, technical constraints prevented 'Deep Linking' or lateral tabs between screens. This created a 'Pogo-Stick' effect: users were forced to return to the HUD for every task switch, doubling the interaction cost.
Adopts an industry-standard Hub model to minimize onboarding friction.
We selected this direction to prioritize clarity over immersion. Testing confirmed this decision, achieving a 100% navigation success rate in subsequent user tests compared to the confusion of the legacy model.
A Tiered Hub & Spoke Framework. To solve the 'Pogo-Stick' navigation issue, I developed a three-tier architecture that balances player immersion with critical business drivers.
The following maps illustrate the structural hierarchy (left) and the resulting Top Bar UI logic (right).
In a feature-rich live service game, 'Alert Fatigue' is a major risk. If everything screams for attention, the player sees nothing. To manage cognitive load, I designed a dual layer notification system based on urgency and permanence:
Transient, high-motion alerts reserved for immediate gratification (Level Ups, Mission Completes). These operate on a strict priority queue. completion events always override incremental progress.
Persistent, static anchors for deferred actions. We utilized a 'Progressive Disclosure' model: simple dots at the top level to reduce noise, revealing specific counts (numbers) only as the player navigates deeper into the menu structure.
Post-launch player feedback highlighted a mental model conflict within the "Play" menu. Currently, Structured Gameplay (Races) and Unstructured Exploration (Free Roam) are grouped together, which contradicts our onboarding.
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